The Thanksgiving Mega Thread

Tell me about brining. Does it really make a big difference? We don't do Thanksgiving, and I usually end up having Christmas either with my family or Guy's, so don't have to do the cooking ... but I'm angling to have it at our house next year. Any tips?

i love to cook but i have always had issues with turkys- until last year.  what did i do differently?

1- fully defrosted the puppy.  do not attempt to put an even slightly frozen turkey in the oven.
2- brined.  i'd have to look up the water/salt ratio for you.  i brined for (4) hours.  it was a bog standard tesco turkey (NOT self-basting).  it was the moisted turkey ever (didn't stop the brits from drowning their plates with gravy though).
3- air dried.  placed in the fridge overnight.  it made the skin really crispy.
4- brought the turkey out about an hour before it went in the fridge.  got it to room temp so that it didn't take so long in the oven.
5- started the cooking breast side down for the first hour or so.  then flipped.  moist!
6- i only basted for this first hour, when the breast was down.  after that i didn't baste at all.
7- bought & used a meat thermoeter that stayed in the turkey the whole time.  there was a little wire that attached to a moiniter on the outside.  no need to open, stick in the thermometer, make sure it was in the right place, etc. 

viola!

Tell me about brining. Does it really make a big difference? We don't do Thanksgiving, and I usually end up having Christmas either with my family or Guy's, so don't have to do the cooking ... but I'm angling to have it at our house next year. Any tips?

This is the recipe I use
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=d998ca5657265110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a99b84d26e194110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=recipecontent_food&lnc=5a79cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD

I find it gives the turkey a nice flavour and it is always soooo moist.  no dry breast meat when you brine.  I brine for abotu 24 hours and then let it sit for a good 12 to air dry, as Meggles says.   

I baste with melted butter and a bottle of white wine (martha's method), covering the turkey with cheese cloth soaked in the basting sauce and baste it every 30 min. It is absolutely fantastic!  So rich though and not for those who are watching their waistline!

I'd be interested in the brine ratio Meggles.. I have tended to do them breast down, but would love to try brine too!

Oh thanks Mrs. Pink!

the ratio i use is from cooks illustrated.  they have a 4 hour & 12 hour recipie.  it's very similiar to the martha's except it's only water & salt. 

Thanks, Meggles & MrsP! 

my mother just called to ask if my little sister could come for thanksgiving!  long family drama but she has nowhere to go.  of course!  yippee!!! what do I do with a 14 year old?  hmm...

what do I do with a 14 year old?  hmm...

The general consensus seems to be that brining is the way to go.... 

The general consensus seems to be that brining is the way to go.... 

though for a 14 yo I'd leave out the wine!

though for a 14 yo I'd leave out the wine!

and the other whine..

I actually have no idea, except that I want to use my great-grandmother's recipe for Boston brown bread.  I don't normally get to make that since it requires 3 different kinds of flour which I don't have, but my mom has all three kinds, so I can make it at home.  Should be quite tasty ^_^  Otherwise I want to talk my family into making enough low-calorie veggie dishes to get me through this without worrying about my weight.  Just in case, I'm going to wear a tight corset since I've put hundreds of dollars into losing weight and won't let myself go now!

I always brine. I use Alton Brown's recipe for the brine and Nigella's cooking method and it always turns out great. Last year, I cooked my turkey a day ahead of time and carved it and put it in a roasting pan with some broth. The next day, I popped it in the oven, covered, to heat it up and it was perfect.

I recommend brining, but if you don't brine, then doing as others suggested and roasting breast side down is the way to go!

Here's the recipe we used last night:
http://www.recipezaar.com/77861

This recipe doesn't call for brining, and we did the recommendation of roasting breast side down until the last hour or so, the top skin turned out nice and crispy and this was so juicy it was like eating a well-cooked roast chicken!

question...

we're having 29. 

i'm doing 35 lbs turkey.
5 sides (stuffing, green beans, mash, candied yams, corn cobbler).  i'm doing only double or triple recipies of these- for between 18 - 24 people.  I think b/c there's so many sides, i don't have to do 30 portions of each.

am i correct?