the 941

Sorry about the pic — we’re 12, couldn’t help ourselves. Anyway, we waded into uncharted waters for the latest W941 episode: cooking technique. Next week, we’ll be making our first-ever turkey, and we asked Brian to give us some helpful pointers on the art of the bird. Listen to the words of wisdom: .

Not an auditory learner? Read Brian’s recipe after the jump.

There are only two important things that go into making a great turkey — the brine and the temperature.

The Turkey:

• If you buy a Kosher bird, skip the brine. The process involves salting, which serves generally the same purpose as the brine.
• If you buy a frozen turkey, stick it in the fridge immediately. It can take days for one of those big ol’ meatsicles to thaw out. If it’s still a little frozen when it’s time for the brine, the liquid should help thaw it the rest of the way.
• Ignore the pop-up temperature gauges that some manufacturers stick into their birds. They are completely unreliable. Instead, go out and buy a digital instant-read meat thermometer. When you want to check the temp, just stick it into the deepest part of the breast (but don’t hit the bone) and thigh.
• Make sure to pull out all the extra bits from inside the turkey cavity — heart, giblets and neck, usually. Save them for your gravy recipe.
• Buy a V-shaped roasting rack (and make sure you have a roasting pan that will fit it). They’re cheap and plentiful at all major mass-market stores like Target and Wal-Mart.

The Brine:

• 1 cup of salt (2 cups if you use Kosher)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cinammon stick, 1/2 tbs cloves, 1/2 tbs allspice, 1 tbs peppercorns
• 2 gallons of water

Why brine? Your turkey is going to suck up all that salty liquid and aromatic flavors like a dried up sponge, seasoning the meat from skin to bone and making it damn tasty.

Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water, add the other aromatics, insert turkey and let it sit in the brine (refrigerated, or in an iced cooler) overnight. Remove the turkey Thanksgiving morning, rinse thoroughly to remove the brine, dry thoroughly with paper towels and let the turkey sit uncovered in the refrigerator until you are ready to roast. That extra step will let the skin dry out so it can get nice and crisp in the oven.

If you’re in a hurry, or forget to brine the night before, just double the amount of salt and brine the bird for a few hours. It’ll be just about as tasty.

The Roast:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove turkey from fridge 15 minutes before you want to roast and rub the skin with canola oil. Place turkey breast side down on roasting rack (the white meat cooks faster than the dark meat, so this will give the legs and thighs a headstart). Put it in the oven and roast for 45 minutes. Pull it from the oven and flip it over (don’t hurt yourself here — use plenty of kitchen towels). Continue to roast for approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours. It will be done when the thickest part of the breast (don’t hit the bone) registers 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh registers 175 or so. Pull the turkey from the oven, cover it loosely with foil and let it sit unmolested for at least 1/2 hour (an hour would be better). Carve. Serve.

Then bask in the glory.

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