TURKEY!!!

Just writing TURKEY makes me think of Adam Sandler.....I don't know why. Probably because I'm such a nerd! So in honor of goofy Thanksgiving songs, here are a few of the lyrics! HA!

Turkey for the girls and
Turkey for the boys
My favorite kind of pants
Are corduroys
Gobble gobble goo and
Gobble gobble gickel
I wish turkey
Only cost a nickel
Oh I love turkey on Thanksgiving

Makes me laugh EVERY time!! OK, lets get down to business. I have been making the turkey for Thanksgiving for the last few years. Even though my mom and dad are some serious gourmet foodies, they REALLY love this turkey!! I do a 24 hour brine, which is basically soaking your meat in a highly seasoned broth to get all the juices incorporated into the meat. Then I rub sage butter under the skin and bake it in a brown paper bag! Just don't forget to spray your bag with Pam so it doesn't catch on fire :)

Turkey Brine

1 gallon vegetable broth (16 cups)
1 cup sea salt
1 Tbsp crushed dried rosemary
1 Tbsp dried sage
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp dried summer savory
1 gallon ice water

In a large stock pot, combine the vegetable broth, sea salt, rosemary, sage, thyme, and savory. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to be sure salt is dissolved. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature.

When the broth mixture is cool, pour it into a clean 5 gallon bucket. Stir in the ice water.

Rinse and dry your turkey. Make sure you have removed the innards. Place the turkey, breast down, into the brine. Make sure that the cavity gets filled. Place the bucket in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove the turkey carefully draining off the excess brine and pat dry. Discard excess brine.

Cook the turkey as desired reserving the drippings for gravy. Keep in mind that brined turkeys cook 20 to 30 minutes faster so watch the temperature gauge.

**You might not have Summer Savory in your pantry but it is well worth it to grab some at the store!! You might also see Winter Savory, but use Summer if you can find it!!


Sage Butter

2 sticks butter (1 cup)
1/4 cup chopped, fresh sage
salt and pepper

Make sure your butter has been sitting out and is very soft. Combine with sage and a pinch of salt and pepper.

To prepare your turkey:

Make sure you pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. Truss the turkey (instructions below). Rub the sage butter under the skin of the turkey carefully! You don't want to pierce the skin if you can help it! Then rub olive oil on skin and liberally salt and pepper! Place the turkey inside of a brown paper bag sprayed with Pam. Secure the ends of the bag with staples to keep closed and place in your roasting pan.

Bake your turkey about 15 minutes per pound. The meaty part of the thigh should be at 170 degrees. I use a 325 degree oven. Pull your turkey out of the oven when it is done. Keeping it in a warm oven will dry it out! NO DRY TURKEY!!!

How to truss a turkey:

Use kitchen string to tie the turkey's legs together, pressing the legs close to the turkey body.
Turn the turkey over and fold its wings back behind it.
Tie another piece of string around the turkey's neck skin, leaving two long ends hanging.
Pass each string end through a wing.
Tie the string ends together, pinning the turkey wings horizontally.

Good luck and I hope everyone has a TRULY WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!!!