Turkey time

You want the best-est, tastiest, juiciest bird on your table this Thanksgiving? Then maybe it's time to toss out what you learned from grandma and take a stroll through a new culinary neighborhood.

Turkey, by nature, is not what you'd call a juicy meat.

Made up of about 75 percent water, the big bird made so popular by our Pilgrim forefathers, does a lot of drying out in a hot oven. Too much roasting can make a turkey downright inedible, particularly the white meat, or breast, which has very little natural fat to keep it moist.

So, if one has visions of succulent turkey dancing in their heads on Thanksgiving eve what can be done to prevent you from turning the main course of your feast into a bone-dry culinary wasteland?

Brining or salting.
While the techniques are as different as night and day in their approach brining is a wet process, requiring a gallon or more of liquid; salting is a dry process both use the same concept: salt triggers osmosis, which moves liquid and flavor inside proteins, i.e. meats.

Both processes take time: brining takes at least 12 hours; salting one to two days.

Brining involves a simple solution of salt, sugar and herbs and spices. To brine a turkey, you submerge it in the solution for 12 to 24 hours in a large non-reactive container. When the salt enters the meat, it unravels the protein structure and opens it up. Because the amino acids are no longer bonding with each other as much, they are open to finding another partner to bond with.

Enter the brine.

The meat can suck up as much as 10 percent extra water during the brining process. That's a hefty amount, in meat terms. It keeps the meat juicy during the cooking process and packs the protein full of flavor.
A typical brine recipe calls for one gallon of water, three-fourths to one cup of kosher salt, a half a cup of sweetener (sugar, honey, molasses, etc.) and an assortment of your favorite herbs and spices.

Salting a turkey is a variation on a meat preserving process that goes back thousands of years.

To salt a turkey, you cover it in a liberal douse of salt, spices and herbs and let it sit for 24 to 48 hours before roasting. The salt flavors the meat and breaks down the proteins. It also draws the moisture from the interior to the surface of the turkey, where it combines with the salt and seasonings. Eventually, the flavored liquid is reabsorbed, seasoning the meat internally.

Salting a turkey gives its meat a more natural texture (brining can give the turkey a hammy texture and flavor). A salted turkey is dryer than a brined turkey, but it has a more full turkey flavor as the end product.
Picking the right bird

Turkeys to avoid.
Self-basting, birds with pop-up timers, wild turkeys.

What? No wild turkey? Isn't that what the Pilgrims ate?

Yes, it was. But this is 2008, not Colonial Massachusetts. You might think you're getting back to your Pilgrim roots by serving a wild turkey, but it's probably a mistake. Wild Turkey is an acquired taste, far more gamier and drier than commercially raised turkeys. Spare your guests and the bird and leave the turkey in the woods.

Self-basting turkeys are injected with a solution of butter or other fats, broth and water. The solution can turn the texture of the meat into mush.

Turkeys with pop-up timers are simply unreliable. The pop-up device, itself, leaks valuable juices from the interior of the bird. Worse? They can malfunction, leaving you with a half-raw turkey or an overcooked hunk of shoe leather at dinnertime.

So what does that leave?

"For the turkey, fresh is always best, if available," says Todd Singleton, graduate of the Pittsburgh Culinary Institute and founder of the Liberty Street Cafe in Warren and Forte in Jamestown. "Look locally for fresh capons."

A capon is a male turkey that has had its reproductive organs removed at a young age. Capons have tender, fatty flesh because they are not as active as roosters. They also have a less gamy taste due to a lack of sex hormones, which affects the flavor of the meat.

"Don't fall victim to the 19 cent per pound cryogenic poultry disaster," Singleton says. "While they work to feed a big family, the fresh capon is a holiday treat."

If you can't get a fresh turkey, you're going to have to thaw out a bird frozen as hard as a bowling ball. It needs to be thawed correctly.

Never thaw a turkey at room temperature. Take it from the freezer and put it in the fridge. Give it one day for every four or five pounds. In a pinch, go with a cold water bath: submerge it in a five-gallon bucket for 30 minutes per pound, changing the water every three to four hours. A 16-pound turkey can be thawed in eight hours.

After brining or salting your turkey, it's time to get the bird in the oven.

"Stuff fresh herbs under the skin and slather it with butter," Singleton says. "Baste the turkey with melted herb butter. Basting with juices will rinse out the fats that make a good bird moist."

To get that beautiful brown skin on your turkey, put it in a 500 degree oven for a half an hour, uncovered, then turn it down to 350. Check the temperature by inserting a meat thermometer in the inner part of the thigh. When it reaches 165, your turkey is done. Let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.

To stuff or not to stuff
In the words of Food Network expert Alton Brown: "Stuffing is evil."

Indeed.

Stuffing a turkey slows down cooking time and provides a playground for dangerous bacteria to take up residence smackdab in the middle of your Thanksgiving feast. Stuffing must reach 165 degrees in order to kill any bacteria that would lead to food poisoning.

Instead of putting the stuffing inside your bird, cook it separate. Stuff your turkey with sliced apples, quartered onions and bunches of fresh herbs, like rosemary and sage.

"I always, always put dried cranberries in my stuffing," Singleton says.

Singleton starts with a loaf of fresh crusty bread, cut into cubes. He sautes celery and onion in a generous amount of butter, then adds fresh rosemary.

"Toss in the cranberries and a couple cups of stock," Singleton says. "Saute until it's all nice and hot. Pour it over the croutons and bake the whole mixture on medium heat, covered, for about 45 minutes to an hour."
Singleton finishes the stuffing by uncovering it and cooking it until it's browned.