Apple Brined Turkey Food

GRILLED APPLE-BRINED TURKEY

Steps:

• To make the brine, in a large kettle, combine the first 7 ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in oranges. Remove from the heat. Add cold water to cool the brine to room temperature., Remove giblets from turkey (discard or save for another use). Place a turkey-sized oven roasting bag inside a second roasting bag; add turkey. Carefully pour cooled brine into bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible; seal bags and turn to coat. Place in a roasting pan or other large container. Refrigerate for 18-24 hours, turning occasionally., Prepare grill for indirect heat. Drain turkey, discarding brine. Rinse turkey under cold water; pat dry. Rub oil over skin. Skewer turkey openings; tie drumsticks together., Place breast side up on a rack in a disposable foil roasting pan. Grill, covered, over indirect medium heat for 30-40 minutes. Tent turkey with foil; grill, covered, until a thermometer reads 165°, 2-1/2 to 3 hours longer. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

APPLE BRINE FOR TURKEY THE NIGHT BEFORE COOKING

Steps:

• Line a cooler with a large food safe bag. Combine the apple juice, water, and salt in the bag; stir until the salt is dissolved; add the garlic.
• To use: Lie your turkey into the brine with the breast-side down; add more water to submerge turkey completely if needed. Pour the ice over the turkey. Seal the bag and close the cooler; allow to sit overnight.

APPLE BRINED TURKEY

Steps:

• To prepare brine, combine apple juice, brown sugar, salt, garlic, bay leaves, cloves and ginger in a large non-reactive saucepan. Bring to boil and cook, stirring frequently, until sugar and salt are dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cool completely.
• Combine apple juice mixture and water in a 5 gallon (20 L) food-safe non-reactive container, such as an unchipped enamel canner.
• Remove neck and giblets from turkey cavities and reserve for another use. Submerge turkey in brine. As turkey will float, weigh it down using a plate with a jar of water on it. Keep turkey submerged completely. Cover container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, but no longer than 16 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Remove turkey from brine; discard brine. Rinse turkey under cold running water; pat dry. Secure wings with metal skewers and tie legs together using butcher's twine.
• Place turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan. Brush with melted butter.
• Roast for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325°F and continue roasting, basting occasionally, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 175°F, about 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
• Transfer turkey to a platter and tent loosely with foil. Let stand for 30 minutes before carving. The internal temperature of turkey will continue to rise several degrees during standing. The final reading should be 180 - 185°F in the thigh and 170 - 175°F in the breast.

BRINED HERB-CRUSTED TURKEY WITH APPLE CIDER GRAVY

Steps:

• To brine the turkey: Combine all of the ingredients for the brine in a large container. Add the turkey and let it brine in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
• To prepare the turkey for cooking: Remove the turkey from the brine the night before roasting and pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels. Combine the rosemary, sage, and butter for the herb crust in a small bowl. Season, to taste, with kosher salt. Work the butter under the skin of the turkey and massage it into the breasts and the legs. Massage the butter on the outside of the skin as well. Tie the legs together over the breast so they will protect it during cooking and help keep it moist and juicy.
• Gravy preparation: Put the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, apples, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and thyme in a roasting pan and season with salt. Arrange the turkey on top of the veggies and refrigerate overnight UNCOVERED! Yes, that's right, uncovered. This will help the skin dry out and become really brown and crispy. Make sure that there is no raw food near the turkey in the refrigerator. After refrigerating overnight, the turkey is ready to go in the oven.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Put 2 cups chicken stock and 1 cup apple cider in the bottom of the roasting pan. Roast the turkey in the preheated oven until the skin gets really nice and brown, about 40 minutes. Lower the oven heat to 350 degrees F for the remainder of the cooking time. Baste the turkey every 30 minutes or so and add more stock to the roasting pan, if needed. Cook about 17 minutes per pound. Once it gets to the proper color, tent the turkey with aluminum foil to prevent it from getting too dark.
• Remove the turkey from the oven when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the turkey registers 160 degrees F. Make sure that the thermometer is not touching a bone when doing the reading. When the turkey has reached the proper temperature, remove it from the roasting pan to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
• Strain all the veggies over a bowl to separate them from the stock/mixture. Discard the veggies. Skim off the fat and add it to the roasting pan. This is the fat for the roux. Put the roasting pan over 2 burners and over a low heat and whisk in the flour. Cook until the mixture looks like wet sand, about 4 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the remaining 1 cup apple cider, remaining chicken stock and the stock/cider mixture. Cook until the mixture has thickened and reached a gravy consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour into a serving pitcher or bowl.
• Carve the turkey, transfer to a serving platter and serve with the gravy.
• Give thanks for such a great turkey!!!

PETE'S "CUT-UP" BEER BRINED APPLE SMOKED TURKEY

Steps:

• Rinse the turkey pieces off and towel dry. In a large saucepan over a medium-high flame heat the ale to a simmer. In a mortar and pestle bruise the peppercorns and allspice and add to simmering ale. Add the salt and stir to dissolve, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the bay leaves and simmer some more. Shut off heat and continue to stir, adding the water to cool slightly. Arrange the turkey pieces in a large plastic or glass, (non-reactive), bowl and pour the cooled brine over the meat. Turn the meat once to completely coat with brine, cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. Turn the meat over once after 6 hours in the brine.
• I use a large converted oil drum BBQ with a chimney vent. For a kettle BBQ you should use a smaller turkey. Make a pile of charcoal on the left side of the BBQ, nearest the bottom vent and arrange the grill racks on the opposite side. Insert the metal probe for the digital thermometer so that it is suspended over the area where the meat will be smoking. Place a large heavy-duty aluminum hotel pan filled with water directly under the grill racks. Light the coals and get them plenty hot. Meantime, put the wood chunks on to soak, along with the rosemary sprigs.
• When the coals are good and white spread them out flat, rearranging any black coals on top of the white ones. Add about 1/2 of the wood chunks to the coals being careful not to put the fire out! Place the rosemary sprigs on top of the wood chunks. Blow on the coals to get the smoke going, close the lid and open up the flue and chimney vent. When the temperature inside of the BBQ reaches 200 degrees F, open the top and arrange the turkey pieces on the grill rack. Close the top and start the smoking process. Do not open the top unless absolutely necessary for at least 45 minutes. Add more fresh coals and the other half of the wood after 45 minutes of smoking.
• Turn the turkey pieces over to get smoked on both sides. You should only have to smoke the turkey about 45 to 55 minutes more. Use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness. About 155 to 160 degrees F for the breasts, and 145 to 150 degrees F for all the other pieces should do the trick. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and tent with heavy duty foil for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with a homemade cranberry sauce.

WET TURKEY APPLE BRINE

Steps:

• Combine water, apple juice, brown sugar, kosher salt, orange peel, rosemary, peppercorns, garlic, allspice, ginger, and bay leaves in a stock pot; bring to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

BEST APPLE CIDER BRINED TURKEY

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine cider, vinegar, salt, and sugar; stir to dissolve salt and sugar.
• Bring to a low boil over medium heat; Add in peppercorns, sage, garlic, thyme and shallots.
• On low heat simmer for 5 minutes; remove from heat, add ice to brine mixture and set aside to cool.
• Remove the turkey from the wrapping, remove neck and giblets (set aside for giblet gravy), rinse and prepare bird by patting down with paper towels.
• Make a collar of the top of cooking bags (helps keep bags open), and slip bird inside, stand it upright (legs pointing up), and unfold the top of the bag.
• Once the brine is cooled to room temperature or less, pour the cooled brine over the bird, and add an additional cold water until bird is submerged in liquid.
• Squeeze out as much air as possible and secure with a twist-tie.
• Place the turkey, breast side down, in a roasting pan and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning over every 6-8 hours.
• Just prior to roasting, remove the turkey from the brine; discard the bags, brine, and all cured herbs, spices, and oranges remaining in the bird.
• Rinse the turkey under cold water and pat dry with paper toweling.
• The turkey is now ready to be roasted. See cooking times for Brined turkey as it will be less than typical cooking time.
• Before cooking the bird, I typically use a rub with olive oil or melted butter/margarine. I quarter an apple and stuff inside the cavity for cooking, tenting the bird until the last hour. This will be the BEST roasted turkey you've had, hands down! I even prefer this over deep fried turkey as it is about as moist and has much more flavor to it. I compliment this turkey by serving giblet gravy, sautéed herbed mushrooms and Apple Wine Stuffing.

APPLE-SPICE BRINE FOR TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• In saucpan stir together, apple cider, brown sugar, salt, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary and pepper.
• Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved.
• Remove from heat and add water and allow to cool.
• Place poultry in a container large enough to hold the poultry (I used plastic container for a turkey breast).
• Pour cooled brine over poultry and seal. (If using a ziplock bag, squeeze out as much as possible before sealing).
• Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
• PREPARE STOVE-TOP SMOKER:.
• Add 2 tablespoon Alder wood to bottom of stove-top smoker.
• Line drip tray with foil and spray.
• Remove turkey from brine and place on rack.
• Use closing lid if possible, otherwise fashion an aluminum tent for the cover.
• Follow stove-smokers manufacture instructions for smoking poultry.