Holiday Season Tips
Carl Behnke

Talking Turkey

Use a fresh turkey and brine it – 2 gallons of brine should be sufficient for the average 15-18# turkey. Ideally, start at least 24 hours prior to roasting to allow enough time for air drying.

2 gallons water
3 cups Morton Kosher Salt (or 4 cups Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt)
4 cups Sugar

Combine all of the ingredients and stir until fully dissolved. It may be necessary to heat up the brine a little to speed up the dissolving process. Just be sure to cool the brine down to 40 degrees prior to adding the thawed turkey.

Line a large cooler or bucket with a turkey roasting bag. Place the cooled brine in the bag and add the turkey and 4-5 clean, frozen ice gel packs (assuming there isn’t enough room in the refrigerator). Tie off the bag so that the turkey is fully covered by the brine. Soak the turkey for 8 hours at the most.

After brining, rinse the turkey well both inside and out for at least 3-5 minutes to remove any excess brine. Place the turkey on a rack in the refrigerator uncovered so that the skin can dry out. This will let the skin crisp up better during the roasting process.

Source: Collin, Julia. The Basics of Brining. Cook’s Illustrated. Nov-Dec 2001, Pg 16-17

Chef’s Note – for extra flavor, when heating the brine, add bay leafs, orange and lemon zest, and peppercorns. Leave them in the brine throughout the soaking process, and just rinse them off when you rinse the turkey.

For all roasting, use a calibrated meat thermometer for precision.
Cook to 170°F as measured in the thickest part of the thigh, then tent in foil and hold in a warm area for 30 minutes (while you make your gravy. Carry-over cooking will allow the temperature to continue to rise another 10 degrees or so.

Cook your stuffing separately. It acts as a sponge inside the cavity, absorbing uncooked juices and taking the longest amount of cooking time before it reaches a safe serving temperature. Plus, there just isn’t enough room in the cavity to make enough stuffing for everyone!

Perfect Pies

Do not overmix your pie doughs – this is the #1 cause of tough and doughy crusts. Mix them just long enough to form a shaggy mass that holds together when compacted.

Custard pies – again, use a thermometer and do not exceed 185 degrees or else the custard will weep and toughen.

Fluffy Potatoes

Keep all ingredients hot (potatoes, butter, cream/milk)
Use a food mill, potato masher or grinder to break the potatoes down prior to whipping. Then, when whipping, do not mix for more than 60-90 seconds (using a mixer). Over whipping potatoes causes them to become dense and gluey.
For extra storage space, hold your finished whipped potatoes in a buttered crock pot set to low.

Easy Vegetables

To save some cooking time and space on the stove, when using fresh vegetables, blanch them the day prior. Blanching is the process of par cooking vegetables, typically in boiling water, to a slightly crisp state known as “al dente,” then shocking them in ice water to halt the cooking process, resulting in a bright color and par-cooked texture. Later on, a simple sautéing, quick simmering or even microwaving will finish the job.

Convenient Cranberry Sauce with an Orange Twist

Use whole berry cranberry sauce. Zest and juice 2 oranges. Combine and bring to a boil. Simmer until half gone, then add the cranberry sauce. Stir to combine. For added orange flavor, finish off with a little Grand Marnier to taste!