Pumpkin and Spice

I was fully intending to post my turkey recipe prior to Thanksgiving, you know, when it might have done some good. But I was a little busier than I anticipated- I worked every day for eight days before Thanksgiving, so there was a lot of pre-holiday prep work that occupied my evenings (when I might have had time to blog), plus with family coming into town there was a lot of cleaning to do. I kinda overestimated my free time, I'll be honest.
Well, there's always the Christmas turkey.

(Also, before we go any further, my "h" key is sticking, sooo... if any words are missing "h's", that's why.)

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I know I did- I was so terrified of ruining Thanksgiving, but everything turned out great. The turkey was juicy and moist, the potatoes were creamy, the gravy was tasty and lump-free, and the pies were... well, pretty righteous, if I do say so myself. Everyone got along, and really, the whole thing went very smoothly. Smoothly enough that Kyle and I are seriously considering offering to host Thanksgiving next year. I know!

I brined my turkey this year. If you've never brined a turkey, you absolutely have to try it! With a nice brine, and a meat thermometer, I promise you'll never suffer through a dry turkey ever again! (And if you've never cooked a turkey before, give my recipe a shot. It's easy and yummy! Oh, and there's two baggies of gizzards and bits inside a turkey- one in the body cavity and one in the neck cavity. The very first turkey I ever made, I took out the one in the body, but didn't know about the neck one. Halfway through cooking I saw it, and had to wrestle a hot, steamy, partially cooked baggie of turkey bits out of my hot, partially cooked turkey's neck. Not my most glorious moment. It's a mistake you only make once.)

 A brine is basically what it sounds like- a salty liquid. However, you can add a myriad of spices, herbs and flavors to marinate your turkey with deliciousness. To add a festive pop of autumnal flavor, I used apple cider as the base of my brine, and flavored it with spices that recall hot mulled cider- cinnamon sticks, orange peel, and cloves, plus a dose of savory spices, like pepper and garlic.

You'll want to start brining your turkey the night before, so I made my brine two nights before the big day. After the brine was made, I let it cool to room temperature, then poured it back into the cider bottle and chilled it in the fridge until I needed it. You really want your brine as cold as possible, because you're going to have a giant bird soaking in two gallons of liquid, and unless you have a waaaay bigger fridge than me, it's going to have to go in a cooler. The brine is essentially a concentrate, so it gets poured into your cooler. Plonk your thawed turkey, breast side down in the brine, and add a gallon of ice water. Close up the cooler and let it be for 10+ hours (overnight). If you live somewhere that it gets cold, you could stick it in the garage. Me, I live in Florida, and it's about 78F... so outside? Not a great option. Before you put your bird in the oven, be sure to dump the brine out of the cavity, and pat the skin dry.

Start the turkey at 400F for 30min, then drop it to 35oF, and roast it until the temperature of the breast meat reaches 150F. Your turkey will probably have a chart with approximate cooking times. Start checking about an hour or so before the chart says it should be done. Pull it at 150F, cover it with a double layer of foil, and just let it sit on the counter. The turkey will continue to cook, and the breast meat will come up to 165F. (If you pull it at 165F, which is the "safe" temperature for poultry, the meat will still keep cooking. Not a tragedy, but your meat will be so freaking juicy if you do it my way. Trust me, within 20min, you'll hit 165. It'll be okay.)

Okay, so I know you already did your Thanksgiving turkey, but like I said, maybe you want to have turkey for Christmas. Or maybe you want to make a really great roast chicken for Sunday dinner- just halve the brine, and you're all set for chicken! Hooray!

Apple Cider Brined Turkey with Homemade Gravy
Enough brine for a 12-25lb turkey

Apple Cider Brine

• 1 gallon apple cider
• 1 1/2c salt
• 1c brown sugar, packed
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• 2T whole cloves
• 2T whole peppercorns
• One whole orange, quartered
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 3 bay leaves

Combine all the brine ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil until the salt and sugar dissolve. Remove from heat, and allow to come down to room temp. Remove the oranges and pour back into the cider jug. Chill.

The night before your turkey dinner, pour the brine into a cooler. Place your turkey, breast side down in the brine. Add one gallon of ice water (the ice counts as part of the gallon.) Allow to marinate overnight.

Remove turkey from the brine, pat dry and place on rack in a roasting pan. Bake at 400F for 30min. Drop temperature to 350F and bake until the internal temperature of the breast meat reaches 150F. Remove and cover in foil. Allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Roasted Turkey Gravy

For however many cups of gravy you want to wind up with, you will need a cup of liquid, a tablespoon of fat and a tablespoon of flour. Personally, I like to use as much turkey fat as possible for the fat portion. If I need more fat to make up the quantity, I use melted butter. For the liquid, I use the drippings, and make up the liquid difference with chicken broth. It's not low fat, or low cholestrol or healthy at all, but it's the holidays, and it's deeeelicious. Go with it.

Pour the pan drippings into a measuing cup. Allow drippings to settle. Skim the fat. Measure out your fat (1T per cup of liquid) and heat in a sauce pan. Add the same amount of flour to the pan and whisk until a smooth paste forms. Add the broth/dripping liquid a little bit at a time, whisking  after each addition, until gravy reaches desired thickness. (Keep in mind that the gravy with thicken a bit when it cools, so make it just a smidge thinner than you think you want it.)