The Best Laid Plans...

For a number of years, I have always brined my turkey.  It produces such a moist, delicious turkey even with a *frozen turkey. Even if I bought a fresh turkey (which sadly isn't in the budget), I would still brine it. Yes, brining is that fabulous. When working with a frozen turkey, the easiest way to brine it is to combine the brining and the thawing.  Break out a cooler that is big enough to contain the turkey, put the turkey in it,  mix up the brine, cover the turkey in the brine, and add ice. The idea is to keep the brine at a fridge temperature. That way you are essentially thawing the turkey in the fridge and brining it at the same time. The turkey needs to be taken out of the freezer and put in the cooler either Sunday or by Monday morning at the latest so it will thaw all the way.

I followed all these rules.  The only thing I did differently this year was adding a turkey breast to the cooler.  You can never have enough turkey cooked. Soooooo, last night I figured I'd do a quick check on the turkey. I opened the cooler and saw no ice cubes but the water was still pretty cold so I thought "Excellent, the turkey should be well on its way to being thawed." I was so wrong.  I looked a little closer and realized that while the ice cubes had melted, they had reformed into a solid block of ice around both the turkey and the turkey breast.  I had to drag the cooler to the sink, put my hands into the "OMG that's fucking cold" water, haul that big ass block of ice (22 lbs of turkey + a large butterball turkey breast + ice) out of the cooler and chip it away.  Thank God I checked on it last night or I would have been totally screwed when it came to preparing dinner.

Speaking of turkeys, I got a great turkey recipe in my email yesterday.  Take a look and tell me what you think...

 Ingredients:
1 whole turkey
1 large lemon, cut into halves
salt and pepper to taste
butter or olive oil, whichever you prefer

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Rub butter or oil over the skin of the turkey until it is completely coated. 

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and any other seasonings you prefer.

Take a knife and gently separate the skin from the breast meat;  

 Slide  lemon  halves  under  the  skin  with  the  peel  side  up, one on

each side.  This way the  juice from the lemon will release into the breasts.

Cover and bake for 30-45 minutes.   Remove cover and continue

to roast until juices run clear, basting every 15-20 minutes.

If you've followed these steps correctly, your turkey should  

look like the one in the picture.

Bon Appetit!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!