Personal-wines.com  
 
 
   
 

ARTICLES

One Bird the President Didnt Pardon

Talking turkey The talk around town in November was mostly politics, but after the election, people started talking turkey. The thought of using a self basting or kosher turkey did not appeal to me, I've never liked taking too many short cuts, I find it ruins the fun. But I had heard a lot of talk about brining and how it cut cooking time down and made the turkey universally moist. I did a bit of research, reading magazines and online articles and finally I got the basic formula: one cup of salt per one gallon of water. Salt and water seemed pretty boring so I researched further.

Recipes for brine were a dime a dozen, some made sense while others were downright bizarre. Finally, I decided I wanted my brine to give my turkey a little more than a salt bath and came up with my own recipe based on that one cup ? one gallon ratio I started out with a half gallon of water in a large pot. I added two cups of salt and one cup of brown sugar. I brought it to a boil and kept it on just long enough to dissolve the salt and sugar.

Next, I dropped in some peppercorns, a couple of bay leaves, and some thyme. Finding a container big enough to hold a fourteen pound turkey and enough brine to cover it wasn't much of a task. I just so happened to have a five-gallon bucket that I used for home brewing. I poured the slightly cooled liquid into the bucket, topped it off with another half gallon of water, and added a couple trays of ice cubes to hasten cooling. I then added one gallon of apple cider and one cup apple cider vinegar.

I placed my turkey into the liquid, completely covered and let it brine away in the fridge for eighteen hours. The Big Day On Thanksgiving morning I preheated my oven, pulled the bird out of its salt soaked slumber, rinsed it off, and patted it dry. I stuffed the bird with stuffing that I had pre-cooked that morning and found a suitable roasting pan. Twenty minutes per pound was what I had heard for roasting a brined turkey and I factored in an additional twenty minutes for the stuffing.

I roasted the foil-covered turkey at 400F for the first three and a half hours, basting it every half hour. In its last hour, I removed the foil, turned the heat down to 375F degrees and brushed a honey mustard glaze on it. I let it rest about thirty minutes so that the juices could settle and then it was carving time. My first reaction was "Wow it slices like butter!" The reaction of my dinner guests said it all?this turkey was different from its grainy, bone dry predecessors?this bird had taste! Safe to say I'm sold on brining. Paul Rinehart is the founder of Online Cooking.

.

By: Paul Rinehart



Wines






Christmas Recipes Cakes Tarts No of Mincemeat Marzipan Tart - Christmas recipe serves: 8 calories per serving: 780 preparation time: 1 hour and chilling cooking time: 45 minutes suitable for freezing after step 4 Christmas recipe ingredients: * white flour, plain 225 g (8 oz) * salt, a pinch *.

A View Of The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid - The food pyramid we're most familiar with is based on portion size and does not take into account the different qualities of food sources.

Do you know these smart shopping tips for healthy eating - Any healthy eating plan begins at the grocery store.

The French Press Coffee Maker Connoisseur Equipment - Ask any connoisseur how he likes his coffee.

Christmas Recipes Main Dishes No of Turkey Meatballswith Cranberry - Christmas recipe serves: 4 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes Calories per serving: 875 Suitable for freezing after step 3.

more...
Wine & Health
Wine, alcohol and health research: an in-depth look

Every month, new, valid research findings on alcohol, health and social issues are being published in peer-reviewed journals.
Buy, sell or hold: wine country real estate trends

Kendall-Jackson To Sell 900 Acres; Mondavi Puts 1,500 Acres And Two Wineries On the Market; Coppola Pays A Record $350,000 Per Acre For Napa Vineyard.
U.S. funds grant for wine/health study

In an unprecedented breakthrough, the U.S. government's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) provided the first major multidisciplinary programmatic grant to study the effects of moderate wine consumption on cardiovascular health to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Wine slightly better than beer for cardiac health

A recent article in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis determined that drinkers of wine benefit from its cardioprotective effects, more so than those who drink beer or other spirits, and wine drinkers may also live longer.