Turkeycaust 2013!

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, I have just finished cooking the last of 2 turkeys this November- including veggies, gravy and a stock for future use- and Thursday morning I will be picking up a third bird & sides from Bayou Market.

I didn't want to cook & clean on Thanksgiving because I'm going on a little road trip to attend Joe Bonamassa's taping at Austin City Limits. (WOOT!)

Tomorrow will be spent doing some last minute shopping for the fixings of side dishes appropriate to kosher & vegetarian diets and the necessary house cleaning...especially the disaster area formerly known as my kitchen.

Have a happy holiday, and safe travel to all!

 

[sabrinathecat]

Happy turkey-fire

 

[Janx]

We cook steak. Faster. Easier. Not stuck with leftover turkey for 4 months.

 

[Umbran]

If you're stuck with leftover turkey for four months, you're not choosing your turkey properly. Get a smaller one, for cryin' out loud! Smaller ones cook better anyway.

My wife had surgery last week, and is still recovering, so all the cooking (and cleaning, and shopping) falls on me this year. Luckily, the gathering we're having is far smaller, so the menu rather less extensive.

 

[billd91]

I brined and roasted a turkey on Sunday for our weekly Skull and Shackles Pathfinder game. I'm starting to make a tradition of this since this is now the 2nd year running. My family usually goes to either my in-laws or my cousin's house to have Thanksgiving with either my wife's family or mine and cooking for the gaming group lets me channel my inner Alton Brown.

I also made mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (yes, the French's friend onions casserole but I used fresh green beans), and a lentil loaf for my favorite vegetarian (my wife). Quite a lot of work, but an excellent dinner overall.

Last night, I made 2 pies to take to my in-laws this week. I had to make them gluten free because of my sister-in-law's diet restrictions so we got a couple of GF crusts from the local food co-op and made a strudel topping for them with a GF mix. Blueberry pie (recipe courtesy of Mark Bittman) and pear-cranberry pie (recipe off the internet). I'm really curious to see how the pear-cranberry pie turns out since I used maple syrup for extra sweetening instead of sugar.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If you're stuck with leftover turkey for four months, you're not choosing your turkey properly. Get a smaller one, for cryin' out loud! Smaller ones cook better anyway.

Its IS all about cooking technique and how much you need.

First, I "steam" my turkeys, which is fast and easy: my @22lb bird went in at 6PM and was cooked by 9PM*, and the first nibbles were taken after it rested for a little while. The steaming technique is also a lazy man's technique- once its in, you leave it alone until cooked. No tenting, basting or flipping or any of that noise. (And no, it's not dry, either.)

Second, yes we eat a LOT of bird. Besides just eating it as-is, I use it in all kinds of dishes as a chicken alternative/supplement...including gumbo, sometimes.

I didn't mention it before, but I also did a kitchen experiment this time around. I tried changing my pie blitz recipe into a cookie/bar. Results were NOT good in texture, but were tasty. (May continue down this path after talking to some of my friends who are serious bakers- a caterer and a pastrymancer...)









* Besides the fact that it helps keep moisture in the bird, I think that the steam in the oven also works like fat in a frying pan- it helps with efficient heat transference. That's the only way I can explain my cooking times. Normally, a bird that big takes about 1-1.5 hours longer to cook.

 

[Umbran]

* Besides the fact that it helps keep moisture in the bird

Keeping moisture in the bird is, as I understand it, more a question of the fat content of the meat (fat or water, it *feels* moist to the mouth), salt content of the meat, and how much you cook it, not the moisture content of the cooking method. You can boil or poach chicken too long or too hard, and have it come out dry. As you cook proteins, the muscle fibers contract, physically squeezing the liquid out of the flesh. This is most of what "overcooking" of meat is - cooking it until you've squeezed moisture out.

Brine helps not so my by adding water, as adding salt (and sugar, in some brines) which helps keep moisture in the bird via osmotic pressure against the physical pressure of contracting tissues.

I think that the steam in the oven also works like fat in a frying pan- it helps with efficient heat transference.

This is entirely correct. Steam (or very moist air) is far more efficient at delivering heat to meats than dry air.

However, very moist air is also not nearly at good at browning meats as dry air, so there may be a bit of a trade-off, depending on how moist that air really is.

 

[Herschel]

Stupid 20# bird was in the fridge 5 1/2 days and still had a bit of frost inside, into the sink for some convection thawing this morning, hope the SO got it in the brine around 11:00. Making Amaretto Orange Crannberry Relish, my mashed garlic dairy, er, potatoes, a fairly standard dressing and rolls from a local bakery. Aunt is bringing dried corn (family tradition, reconstituted with cream), scalloped corn, mom bringing pumpkin custard and NA beverages, brotehr-in-law and sister bringing veggies.

For the cheese tray before dinner I have nine types of cheese. Stupid cheese shops get me every time.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

For the cheese tray before dinner I have nine types of cheese. Stupid cheese shops get me every time.

The experts usually suggest no more than 3-4 different cheeses.

But I'm with you on this'un- screw the experts and bring out the Quesocopia!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Keeping moisture in the bird is, as I understand it, more a question of the fat content of the meat (fat or water, it *feels* moist to the mouth), salt content of the meat, and how much you cook it, not the moisture content of the cooking method. You can boil or poach chicken too long or too hard, and have it come out dry. As you cook proteins, the muscle fibers contract, physically squeezing the liquid out of the flesh. This is most of what "overcooking" of meat is - cooking it until you've squeezed moisture out.

Brine helps not so my by adding water, as adding salt (and sugar, in some brines) which helps keep moisture in the bird via osmotic pressure against the physical pressure of contracting tissues.

Well, you're right about the boiling or poaching- I've had a couple dry chickens served to me after both processes. But I don't brine or baste, and my butter is no-salt (in fact, I use zero added salt of any kind when doing this). I also don't buy the same brand of turkey all the time, either. I aim for low sodium, but we buy based primarily on price- turkeys at 55-77¢/lb with a $20 purchase is hard to pass up... IOW, there's no consistency in the uncooked fattiness or saltiness of the birds I cook.

Perhaps my birds' juiciness is all about the more efficient transfer of heat to the meat reducing overall cooking time, thereby allowing the meat to retain most of its moisture.

This is entirely correct. Steam (or very moist air) is far more efficient at delivering heat to meats than dry air.

However, very moist air is also not nearly at good at browning meats as dry air, so there may be a bit of a trade-off, depending on how moist that air really is.

The combination of the 30min of 425F heat at the beginning of the process helps with that- there will be more browning while the air is dry.

Of course, the cayenne pepper and paprika in my seasoning mix add a bit to the nutty-brown color as well...