Don't brine. Presalting is easier.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Pre-Salting
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Judy Rogers' Zuni Cafe
Method

Servings: 11 to 15

Note: This is more a technique than a recipe. It makes a bird that has concentrated turkey flavor and fine, firm flesh and that is delicious as it is. But you can add other flavors as you wish. Minced rosemary would be a nice finishing addition. Or brush the bird lightly with butter before roasting.

1 (12- to 16-pound) turkey

Kosher salt

1 Wash the turkey inside and out, pat it dry and weigh it. Measure 1 tablespoon of salt into a bowl for every 5 pounds the turkey weighs (for a 15-pound turkey, you'd have 3 tablespoons).

2 Sprinkle the inside of the turkey lightly with salt. Place the turkey on its back and salt the breasts, concentrating the salt in the center, where the meat is thickest. You'll probably use a little more than a tablespoon. It should look liberally seasoned, but not over-salted.

3 Turn the turkey on one side and sprinkle the entire side with salt, concentrating on the thigh. You should use a little less than a tablespoon. Flip the turkey over and do the same with the opposite side.

4 Place the turkey in a 2 1/2 -gallon sealable plastic bag, press out the air and seal tightly. Place the turkey breast-side up in the refrigerator. Chill for 3 days, turning it onto its breast for the last day.

5 Remove the turkey from the bag. There should be no salt visible on the surface and the skin should be moist but not wet. Place the turkey breast-side up on a plate and refrigerate uncovered for at least 8 hours.

6 On the day it is to be cooked, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

7 Place the turkey breast-side down on a roasting rack in a roasting pan; put it in the oven. After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn the turkey over so the breast is facing up (it's easiest to do this by hand, using kitchen towels or oven mitts).

8 Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees, return the turkey to the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the thigh, but not touching the bone, reads 165 degrees, about 2 3/4 hours total roasting.

9 Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer it to a warm platter or carving board; tent loosely with foil. Let stand at least 30 minutes to let the juices redistribute through the meat. Carve and serve.

Notes:

This same method can be used for chicken, chicken pieces, pork roasts,
ribs, chops, etc..

With the smaller cuts just pre-salt 4 or five hours in advance. Even
this short period of presalting makes an amazing difference.

Don't cover, just refrigerate and then remove from the fridge in time
for the meat to come to room temperature before cooking.

Be very careful either brining or presalting many of the turkeys on the market today.

They're treated wtih a "flavor enhancer" which is just another name for sodium filled water so we can charge more per pound.

For 30 people I think you need two "small large", meaning 18-20. I believe that's what we get, and we're a slightly smaller crowd. Usually each family ends up with a bit of leftovers, but not much. So it probably evens out to about the same.

Good point Kframe. I usually buy a fresh local turkey so I forget that some of the grocery store turkeys are enhanced.

Ann

For 30 people, I would buy 3 smallish ( 14 to 16 pounds) turkeys.
In my experience they are more plentiful and cook faster....IF you have oven space to give 3 turkeys.
Last year my son did 3 turkeys 15 pounds each...one in the fryer one on the grill and one in the oven. We were 24...but3 were toddlers and there was not a lot leftover.
However you do get more meat per pound with a larger turkey ( less bone to meat)...but smaller turkeys are easier to wrestle around, to stuff and get into the oven and out of the pan.

Being mostly vegetarian I am turkey challenged as well. But I am a firm believer in natural turkeys, meaning ones coming fresh from a farm that you know how they were raised and organic in a pinch. These turkeys are WAY smaller than those huge, Butterball type ones you get in the store, and are really quite easy to prepare. No more difficult than roasting a chicken for Sunday dinner. I'm not sure about doing 3 at a time though. I'm not really sure about doing two at a time. I just did one 12lb. one for my small family and that was plenty. Honestly, I would do one the day before and put it in a roasting pan with some dressing and freshen it with broth the next day and cover with foil and have it ready to go. You're supposed to be giving thanks on Thanksgiving and enjoying time with friends and family, not running a restaurant. And if you could do one on the grill, that might be fun. My aunt was famous for her barbecued turkey, which she did at summer picnics instead of chicken. They had one of those electric rotisserie grills.

But honestly, you can't go wrong with the smaller turkeys. I was so worried my first time, but now I think roasting birds is the easiest thing. It's really up to you how you want to do them, all methods are good. I just roast because that's the easiest for me.

The times when I've had bad birds was due to the breeding and bird itself, the quality of the meat, not the preparation. That's really the key, get a good bird to start with and you really can't go wrong. The only other thing that is death to a roasted bird is having it sit in the oven or over the heat however you are preparing it, long after it is done. So invest in a good, reliable meat thermometer. Both times I've had dry turkey it was due to the turkey being held and "warmed" for WAY too long.

Here's some turkey math that may be helpful.

-Whole turkey under 12-pounds - figure 1-pound per serving (there is less breast meat than on a larger bird)

-Whole turkey over 12 pounds - figure 3/4-pound per serving

-Bone-in Turkey Breast - 4-8-pounds - figure 1/2-pound per serving (more meat per serving and less bone)

Personally, I won't brine because it dilutes the meat's own flavorful juices; and it adds salt when so many people seem to avoid it in their diets these days. It's also one more lengthy step on an already busy day.

As another option to consider... I prefer using Reynolds Oven Bags. They are a very forgiving way to cook turkey for beginners or anyone for that matter. After I shake a tablespoon of flour in the oven bag, I'll add some coarsely-chopped onion, celery and carrot, along with dried or fresh sage, or poultry spice, salt and pepper, to flavor the broth retained in the bag. You don't have to baste when you bake in an oven bag because they are self-basting. Turkey or turkey breast usually takes less time to bake in oven bags, but are pretty forgiving if you have to delay the meal.

Have a thermometer to test for doneness, whatever you do.

I'd also suggest you might make one or two turkey breasts, instead of all whole birds. White meat seems to be the favorite, at least in our family. You can also make the breasts ahead of time. Slice and freeze the meat in portions in foil. Thaw in the refrigerator ahead of time, and re-heat.

-Grainlady

We did what Grainlady suggested when we had our Thanksgiving last month. 14 adults.
Mom cooked a good-sized turkey, about 13 lb in the oven.
She also cooked a turkey breast wrapped in foil on the barbecue.
There was lots left over, but she's always afraid of running out of food, and white meat is the favourite with most of the family.

Eileen:
Turkey is one of the easiest things to Cook. Guess I like tradition.
I put it in a large, oiled, Enameled Roasting Pan, rub on some Oil,

sprinkle with Onion and Garlic Powder and add
the Stuffing
Put in a cup of water and all the vegetables.
Cover it with Alluminum Foil and Bake.
Two 20 lb ers would be enough. If you have other food,
Plus dessert.

I make a Turkey, Lasagne, and a Ham when there is a large group. Plus the Chicken Wedding Soup, before.

Here is last years.

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Grainlady, I have used Oven Bags but I can regulate how the bird is cooking, this way.
If the Breast is not browning enough, I'll take the Foil off for a while.
The Oven Bag works great.

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LOU

Single turkeys I now spatchcock, which is a Martian word for split it and flatten it. Cooks way easier in 2D rather than 3D.

for multiple turkeys I'd be inclined to separate them into hips and breasts.

When I began helping out at a local thing that feeds those Christmas dinners they were doing large numbers of whole turkeys and it was a gong show, lots of fretting and running around accompanied by stewed leg and thigh meat with overcooked breast meat.

Now we pan up or rack up pans of only legs/thigh/hip and rack up pans of only breast/wing. Everything cooks faster and better.

They are easy enough to take part at home or your butcher can do it for you. around here its called a Hotel Cut turkey. Its not like taking a chicken into pieces, you get two pieces that have bones, etc. to lay on racks or in pans.

I would get 2 or 3 smaller ones. I haven't tried AnnT's salted turkey. Everything she makes is good.

I have brined a turkey and it was by far the best turkey I've ever cooked. Gone was the dryness. It was very moist and that's the way to go for me. Even my DD liked it and she doesn't like turkey.