We halved every recipe this year and are glad for it. All the traditional side items were a success, except the rolls, which were burned, but that's a family tradition dating back 40 or more years. Both turkeys, roasted and smoked, came out well. All in all, we had a disaster free day. How did everyone else make out?
I made: bourbon creamed corn - which was great mashed taters - a little dry bit very tasty black eyed peas - pretty solid, though ive made better 2 chicken breasts - both were really good, one bbq the other apple chipotle 3 steaks - 2 tenderloins that were solid but not great, one flat iron that was really good We also had: turkey, ham, spinach, sweet potatoes, rolls, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and other stuff i dont eat. All and all it was really good...takes a lot longer to make than it does to eat. Tons of leftovers to divide up. Very thankful.
Brined and smoked turkey breast, too delicious is all I can say. It is so tasty you look forward to leftovers.
Brining the turkey was a good thing-- We just moved, and thought we had figured out the kinks in the new oven-- but apparently not. 2 and a half hours into cooking an over 20 lbs turkey and the thigh temp was over 180. The breast wasn't quite high enough, but another 25 minutes did it. I think that, had we not brined, the turkey would have been terrible-- dry and stuff. I think brining made the turkey a bit salty. I like the other flavors to come through a bit more, and the salt kinda overwhelmed them. But-- it definitely kept the turkey from being ruined! And it wasn't bad, by any means... But I think I'll stick w/ my roasting bag All the sides came out great, and we've got leftovers galore! Yeah Thanksgiving
Brined my turkey for the first time this year because of posts I read here. OMFG it is a masterpiece! Can't wait for sandwiches tomorrow
You can and I do reduce the salt a bit. I taste the brine and adjust if it is too salty. The leftover of my brined smoked turkey breast are fabulous. I look forward to having leftover turkey when it is brined. The heavenly dinner rolls heated in the oven for just a few minutes with some leftover turkey is food fit for a king.
I had many intersting moments, since everything was a first for me. however, the end product was better than any other specimens in my life. cornbread oyster stuffing. bacon-cheddar smashed taters GB casserole, with fresh beans, and from scratch cream of wild mushroom soup. brined/fried bird turkey gravy (gravy ended up a tad salty) some time, when i will feel like it, i will discuss my MIL doing her best to f**k up my entire project that day.
Brined the boid in kosher salt, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, cardamon, basil, juice of three oranges... Dried it.. stuffed it with apples, oranges, onions, asian pears, squeezed juice from half an orange on skin, half cup of champagne... basil, oregano, olive oil on skin.. put in roasting bag.... Nirvana!
Fried 2 turkeys...not injected so B+ Smoked a tukey A+++ smoked 12 racks of St. Louis ribs A+++ of course smoked 7 briskets A- smoked 10 lbs of tablitas A+ for the 7 lbs that were pulled off in time. F- for getting drunk and forgetting the other 3 lbs still cooking!!!!!
Ate at my in-laws so I didn't have to cook. I did manage to eat 12 stuffed jalapenos before dinner, so later that night was exciting in a burning sort of way.
I used a Ziploc "big bag" for the brine and I think that kinda messed things up, as the bird wasn't totally submerged the entire time. Smoked the turkey and it wasn't as good as last years, which was just amazing. Next year I'm using more brine. Garlic-rosemary mashed potatoes were very good. Our stuffing (with wild rice and dried pluots) was out of this world. But the highlight of the dinner was the cream of pumpkin soup, topped with crispy bacon and shiitake mushrooms. I totally copied the Iron Chef America Thanksgiving episode, but it was, dare I say, exquisite. My jalapeno-white cheddar cornbread was basically a block of sodium. Just an utter disaster. That recipe is going in the trash.
