- SPINE
- BRINE
- BROWN
- BACON
SPINE:
After completely thawing the turkey, I remove the entire spine, from neck to tail. The spine absorbs heat and also keeps it from getting inside the turkey, which greatly increases cooking time. I've discovered that I save at least one entire hour by simply removing the spine. Don't throw it away, though: keep it to boil with other scraps to make stock for turkey soup, later.
BRINE:
Brining the turkey before cooking it is the key to moist white meat. It also allows you to introduce subtle hints of flavor that make for a more interesting tasting turkey. Brining a turkey is pretty easy, so I won't write up a step-by-step guide here: details can be found easily with Google. I'll just give you my highlights:
- I use white wine for the acidic element, instead of vinegar. You've heard the adage, "don't cook with any wine you won't drink". Well, this case is the exception to that rule. The wine you use in the brine can be cheap, because you're going to end up dumping it out when you're done, anyway. I use at least one bottle per turkey, so using the good stuff would be an expensive waste.
- Don't forget the pumpkin pie! "Say what?" For the sweetness in the brine, I use lots of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. That's basically pumpkin pie without the pumpkin or the pie. But it really makes your turkey taste like Thanksgiving.
- "Are you going to Scarborough Fair?" Skip the parsley -- but sage, rosemary, and thyme are essential to a good turkey brine.
- Brine overnight: I put my spineless turkey in the brine on Wednesday, and let it soak for at least 8-12 hours.
BROWN:
I learned this trick from Alton Brown, so I name this phase after him. And also because "brown" is the main objective here. We all want our turkeys to have that nice, crispy, golden brown and delcious skin, but all too often we wind up drying out the meat along the way. This phase solves that problem by browning the skin, but not roasting the meat -- that happens later in the last phase.
But first, we have to make the bed -- for the turkey. In a large, wide, roasting pan, we're going to make what I call a "mirepoix rack". We'll use about 6-10 peeled carrots and 6-10 celery stalks. Trim their tips and tails, and then alternate them across the bottom of the pan: carrot, celery, carrot, celery, etc. Slice 2-4 onions horizontally into thick, whole rings, and spread those out as another layer on top of the carrots/celery. Finally, peel and bruise (make 'em weep) at least 6-12 whole garlic cloves (1-2 bulbs) and toss those far and wide all over the bed, too.
Put the brined turkey to bed, breast-side up. Splay the bird as wide as it will fit across the pan. Even if it's not that much, we still want a wide surface area for browning and roasting. Daub the skin with a paper towel to remove excess brine water, but you don't have to dry it off completely. Brush the skin thoroughly with olive oil, or smear it with butter (whichever you prefer). I usually sprinkle on some Old Bay for good measure.
Place your top rack in the middle slot of the oven, and pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees (F), a.k.a., "broil". When the oven is good and hot, put the panned turkey in it. Toast it until the skin is golden brown, usually about 30 minutes. I usually spin the pan around after the first 15 minutes, to make sure it browns evenly all over. Remove the well-tanned bird from the oven, and lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees (F) for the baking phase, described below.
BACON
This is where the magic happens, the final stage of Thanksgiving turkey perfection. While we wait for the oven to cool down to 350, and we let the turkey rest for a few minutes, cover the entire breast with whole strips of bacon. You'll want to either weave or criss-cross at least 2 layers of bacon across the breast. 3 layers are better, if the bacon is thin, but 2 is enough if the bacon is thick. You can even get fancy by using peppered or maple bacon, but plain ol' bacon is just fine, too.
Once the breast is well-covered with bacon, the turkey is ready to go back into the cooler oven for the final roasting. It's at this point that I usually place my temperature probe in the thickest, deepest meat of one of the thighs, so that I can monitor the internal temperature remotely. The turkey is done at 165 degrees (F): that usually takes about two hours for a 16 pounder (your mileage will vary).
The bacon will cook through, shielding the breast from the worst of the heat. It will become crispy and turn dark brown/black -- don't worry: it's supposed to do that. In the worst case, burnt bacon is better than burnt breast. Not only does the bacon protect the breast from overcooking and drying out, but the rendered bacon fat also self-bastes the turkey -- it's a win-win proposition!
I haven't tried using "turkey bacon" as a kosher substitute. As far as I can tell, it doesn't have enough fat to render as a baste, and isn't flexible enough or sticky enough to wrap the breast closely. While I suspect it will work well as a shield, I don't think it would add any additional flavors, either (turkey + turkey = turkey). But turkey bacon is better than no bacon. And turkey bacon is definitely better than using aluminum foil to shield the breast, which is an excellent shield but does nothing for flavor, and can also make the skin breast skin soggy if too much moisture condenses underneath it with no means to vent properly.
When the turkey is done, remove it from the oven and the roasting pan, and put it on a cooling rack with a cookie sheet underneath to catch any drippings. Remove the bacon shield, and then cover the turkey loosely with aluminum foil. Let it rest there for at least 10 minutes before carving.
Done!
The bacon and mirepoix rack can be used for side dishes. One idea is to simply rough cut the bacon and veggies, and mix them together into a tasty side dish. Another is to chop them up into smaller bits for use in stuffing, along with your favorite croutons, bread, and/or corn bread. Or you can set them aside for later use in your turkey soup. No matter what, you'll be able to use every part of this recipe in something else, and some point.
And that's all there is to it. I hope you enjoy a happy Thanksgiving! :-)
