What the heck is that thing?
You mean we have to eat that?
That’s disgusting!!
Actually, it was extremely yummy. (Mmmm… brine.) If there’s one thing my man can do it’s cook a frickin’ feast. Thanks babe!
(Thank god, you can cook, ‘cause I sure as hell can’t.) – wg
Footnote to Thanksgiving – The game “Who Is the Favorite Grandparent” is only truly a competitive sport if and when more than one grandparent is playing. According to Olympic committee guidelines, if other grandparents within the arena are serenely visiting with family members and/or swapping senior cruise stories then the first grandparent’s extreme athletic display is considered only commandeering of the grandchild and the performance ceases to hold competitive status. We’re sorry, no medals will be awarded at this time, however points for irritating the parents of the grandchild will be attributed to your overall national scores.
Oh yes – brining is indeed a wonderful thing. We’re doing our big family turkey day tomorrow afternoon, so I just finished preparing our brine … I love Wolfgang’s recipe: http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/recipes/recipedetail.php?Alias=RE_WP3147
Haha, he is getting so big! The kid not the hubby. Hey, as long as favorite grandparent kept kiddie-boy busy all day I say, “you win” even if nobody elese cares!
Never heard of brining. But then again, I’m not much of a cook. Hope you guys had a great holiday.
BRINING? Pray, tell…
Brining is a process where you basically submerge your uncooked bird in a salt-water liquid for 12 (for chicken) to 24 (for turkey) hours. You also add flavor/spices to your brine and by the magical process of osmosis (!) the flavor and juice gets sucked into the bird. Then when you cook it (because it has more than it’s natural juices) it’s wonderfully moist and juicy. (I hate dry turkey.)
Keen uses a gallon and a half of water, a half gallon of orange juice, 2 cups kosher salt, a cup of brown sugar, 6 – 8 garlic cloves, and two tablespoons peppercorn for a 14 pound turkey. Keen says the proportion of the ingredients is the most important thing, and covering the bird. (A typical proportion is one gallon liquid to 1 cup salt to 1/2 cup sugar.)
Once we tried brining we couldn’t go back (she says like she’s actually involved in the cooking process)!