Mastering the Flame » In the Kitchen

How to Carve a Turkey

Tom — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:08:03 +0000

Carving a turkey is an easy process, and I’m going to highlight a couple of ways to do it. If you’re a traditionalist and carve your turkey at the table in front of your guests, then the traditional approach is the one you should take. Otherwise if you are not too worried about presentation and the “wow factor” or you will be carving up the turkey in the kitchen, then the kitchen carving method may be right for you. Either way, they are both easy.

Image by ninjapoodles

The Traditional Way to Carve a Turkey

Starting with the drumstick and thigh, push them away from the body until the hip joint is exposed. Slice through this joint until the thigh and drumstick are removed.
With the thigh and drumstick removed as one unit, we can separate the two by slicing between the joint connecting the leg and thigh. At this point you may serve the drumstick as is, or slice the meat off of it. I always leave the drumstick as is. It comes down to personal preference.
Carve up the turkey thigh meat by running your knife down both sides of the thigh bone, and then run the knife underneath the bone to cut it out. You then may slice up the thigh meat.
Carving the turkey breast. From just above the wing joint toward the bottom of the turkey make a horizontal cut all the way to the breastbone in the center of the turkey. All the breast meat slices will end at this cut.
After making the horizontal cut starting from the outside edge of the breast, start slicing downward toward your horizontal cut. I prefer my slices about a 1/4″ thick.
Continue making these vertical slices working from the outside edge of the turkey breast inward toward the breastbone.
Repeat all the above steps for the other side of the turkey.

The Kitchen Carving Method

Follow steps 1 through step 3 in the Traditional Way to Carve a Turkey section.
At the center of the turkey, along side the breastbone cut down with long strokes until the whole turkey breast comes off as one piece.
Place the turkey breast skin side up on the cutting board. At this point you can slice up the breast into uniform pieces.
Repeat the steps above for the other side of the turkey.

Here is a video that demonstrates the simplicity of carving a turkey using both methods.

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What is a Turducken?

Tom — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:16:16 +0000

What is a turducken? It is an odd name that is for certain. The name turducken comes from combining letters from Turkey, Duck, and Chicken. Can you see it now? And no, a turducken isn’t the product of some mad gene splicing scientist. What a turducken basically come down to is turkey that has been stuffed with a duck, which in turn has been stuffed with a chicken. Between each layer of bird, there is also a layer of stuffing.

Image by zimpenfish

The result of this bird layered, stuffing filled dish is a solid, layered piece of poultry that is ready to be cooked. This seemingly odd creation is starting to gain popularity as your main Thanksgiving Day dish. Even though there is no actual documented proof, turducken is said to be Cajun in origin stemming from Hebert’s Specialty Meats in Maurice, Louisiana. Other people claim that Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme was the first to come up with the turducken creation. No matter what the origins of the turducken this is a dish that you need to try.

Making a turducken is no easy task, it can take you most of a day. With the exception of the leg and wing bones of the turkey, all three birds need to be completely de-boned. Once de-boning is complete, each bird is spread open and layered with stuffing and seasonings. The chicken is then stuffed into the duck, and the duck then stuffed into the turkey. The turducken must then be trussed up so it does not fall apart during cooking.

The turducken can be baked, barbecued, or grilled. Regardless of how you cook your turducken, it needs to cook low and slow. You will need to cook your turducken for 8 – 9 hours at 225°F, until an internal temperature of 165°F is reached. Cooking times will very depending upon methods and setup.

Turduckens take a lot of work, but the rewards are worth it. If you are unwilling to go through all of the prep work involved with preparing a turducken, they can be purchased at many specialty stores or online locations.

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How to Brine a Turkey

Tom — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:32:44 +0000

Image by scottfeldstein

Are you looking to cook a turkey that is more tender, moist, and juicy? Well, brining a turkey may be the answer for you. So what is a turkey brine, and how do I brine a turkey?

In its simplest form a brine is nothing more than a solution of salt that has been dissolved in water. And to “brine” we are soaking the whole turkey in this brining solution. We are focusing today on brining a turkey, but brining a chicken is also very popular. The methods that I will explain can also be used when brining a chicken.

There are several explanations on how the science behind brining actually works and each side has very good arguments. I’m not a food scientist, and I also don’t want to bore you with the different theories; what I’m going to cover is what you came here for; how to brine a turkey. Just understand regardless of the science behind brining the end result of soaking in this salt water solution is a meat that is more flavorful and moist in comparison to unbrined meat.

How to brine a whole turkey

First thing you will need is a fresh turkey, or a frozen turkey that has been thawed. If your turkey is still frozen, read up on how to thaw a turkey. If you purchased a kosher turkey, or a self basting turkey there is no need to brine, they have already been brined. Brining a turkey will take time. You will probably want to brine your turkey the day prior to cooking. On average you will want to brine your turkey for 1 hour per pound of turkey. If you bought a large turkey this will take some time.

The turkey needs to stay cold during the brining process to inhibit bacterial growth. It is best to brine your turkey in the refrigerator. Yes, it requires a lot of space, but if you can make it work, do it. If you just can’t make the space in your refrigerator, a 5 gallon bucket, or better yet a cooler will work. You need to keep this brining solution at 40°F or below at all times, so you will need to add ice and keep a watch on the temperature during this brining process. The ice you add to the brine should be in sealed storage bags in order for it not to dilute the brining solution.

Turkey bags used for roasting turkeys can be used for brining, or your extra large storage bags will also work. I do believe you can even find places that specifically sell brine bags. Using a bag for brining is helpful if you are brining in your refrigerator because let’s face it, not many of use have room in our frig for a 5 gallon bucket or other large containers.

You will need 1 cup of salt per gallon of water. You may use table salt, kosher salt, or sea salt to brine your turkey. You will want to use up to 1 ½ cups if using sea salt, or kosher salt. This is because sea salt and kosher salt weigh less per cup than table salt. Make sure the salt is dissolved in the water prior to adding to the turkey.

Completely submerge the turkey in the brine, so add enough gallons of water and the appropriate amounts of salt to do so. The turkey will probably want to float, so you’ll need to weight it down with a heavy bowl or other container. Again you will want to soak the turkey in the brine for about 1 hour per pound of turkey.

After the turkey has finished brining you will want to give it a good rinse in cold water. Make sure to throw out the turkey brine solution, it cannot be reused.

The turkey brine used in this example is a basic brine solution, so feel free to add additional spices. Other ingredients you can add are sugars, honey, beer, juices, and other herbs and spices. There are several brine recipes that use these and other spices. An excellent brine recipe is Alton Brown’s brine recipe from Good Eats.

How to Brine a Turkey Summary

1 cup of salt per gallon of water. Go with a weaker solution if you plan on brining your turkey for an extended period of time.
Brining time should be around 1 hour per pound of turkey depending on your solution strength. If you went with a weaker solution the brining time can be longer.
Keep the brining solution at 40°F or lower no matter what type of container you brine in.
If you are afraid that your turkey will be too salty cut back the amount of salt to ¾ cup.
Experiment with sugars and spices.

If you’ve never brined a turkey before, or didn’t know how to brine, it may be time to give it a try. Get creative and try adding different spices to your turkey brine. Who knows, you may end up making the best turkey you’ve ever had.

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How to Thaw a Turkey

Tom — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:48:13 +0000

Image by flawedartist

You’ve decided to purchase a frozen turkey for your Thanksgiving Day dinner, now it is time to think about thawing that turkey so it is ready to be prepared. Thawing a turkey is not a difficult task, but it is something that needs to be thought about because it takes time.

So, how do I thaw a turkey? Well, first we want to think safety. We don’t want our Thanksgiving Day turkey to be the host for bacterial growth. Thawing a turkey must be done cold to prevent bacterial growth.

The two safe methods for thawing a turkey are either in the refrigerator, or a cold water bath. The preferred method for thawing a turkey is in the refrigerator. And yes, thawing a turkey in the refrigerator will take more time than a cold water bath.

You can expect it to take approximately 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey. So if you picked up yourself a big old 20 pound turkey, it is going to take 4 days to thaw in the refrigerator. Make sure you leave the turkey in its packaging while you thaw it in the refrigerator.

For your quick thawing of a turkey you can use a cold water bath. Cold Water. Never use warm or hot water when thawing your turkey. The turkey will thaw at an approximate rate of 1 pound per 1/2 hour. You need to constantly change the water however. Every 30 minutes drain and add fresh cold water. The cold water bath cuts the thaw time down significantly, but at the cost of constant supervision. Make sure you leave the turkey in its packaging when thawing.

Here are a few other points on thawing a turkey

Never thaw your turkey on the counter at room temperature. This promotes bacterial growth.
Microwave thawing is not recommended. Microwaves heat and thaw unevenly. You’re better off doing the refrigerator thaw or cold water bath.
Frozen, pre-stuffed turkeys should not be thawed before cooking. Follow the directions on the packaging.

Time is probably going to be the biggest factor in determining the method you use to thaw your turkey. Do it safely and thaw your turkey in the refrigerator or in a cold water bath.

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Getting Ready for Thanksgiving Day

Tom — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:32:10 +0000

Image by xybermatthew

It is that time of year again; the holiday season is upon us. The holiday season is a wondrous time for us food and drink lovers. And one of my favorite holidays for cooking and eating is Thanksgiving; good old “Turkey Day.”

For most of us that celebrate Thanksgiving, the focal point of the Thanksgiving Day dinner is the turkey. That is not the case for everyone however; some prepare duck, goose, prime rib, or maybe even a Turducken. The focus here however is going to be on the turkey, and we’ll touch on the turducken as well.

Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful day to spend with friends and family, enjoying good food and drink, football, and of course some couch time after the turkey induced coma. There is a lot involved in getting that Thanksgiving turkey ready for the big day. In my next series of posts, we are going to go over everything you need to know to get that bird ready for the table.

Some of the topics I will cover will be the different types of turkeys; you have to know what you’re getting. What to look for when buying a turkey, whether fresh or frozen. I’ll also show you how to prepare the turkey prior to roasting, grilling, or deep frying. Find out what a Turducken is, and how to make it. And many other points will be covered from brining your turkey, to carving your turkey.

Thanksgiving Day is coming up fast, so you’ll want to follow these next series of posts. A great way to do that is to subscribe to the Mastering the Flame Feed, so you’ll never miss a thing.

Mastering the Flame » In the Kitchen

How to Carve a Turkey

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