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How we discovered the be-all, end-all turkey recipe
Four birds, four different ways to roast: With that, the Great Turkey Smackdown began. The winner? A new method that's rocked our world.
By Russ Parsons
LA Times Staff Writer
November 15, 2006
Is there a bird that's better than brined?
For the last decade or so, many of us have adopted as part of our Thanksgiving ritual soaking our turkeys in salt water for several days before roasting them. This isn't weird; it really works. Birds that have been brined stay much moister than turkeys that have not.
Still, there's no arguing with the fact that there are drawbacks to the technique. You've got to find a bucket big enough to hold a turkey, to start with -- and a clean one. And then you've got to find room in your refrigerator to store it for the better part of a week.
Is there a better way?
Last Thanksgiving, we at the Food Section introduced readers to a steam-roasting technique. Turkey baked in a covered roaster pan -- you know, the kind your grandma used -- stays moist in a different way. During normal uncovered roasting, any juices that leak out of the bird are converted to steam by the hot pan and evaporate. Covering the pan reduces the amount of steam that gets away. A moist turkey with no advance preparation -- we really liked that idea.
And then there are those who swear by high-heat roasting for turkeys -- they claim quick cooking keeps the meat moist and improves the flavor because of the improved browning.
For the last year, I've been on a dry-salting craze. Almost every piece of protein that comes into my kitchen sits under a light sprinkling of salt for anywhere from an hour to several days before I cook it (as you can imagine, my wife and daughter have been hiding in other parts of the house). Meat that has been left to sit under salt has a deeper, more concentrated flavor and the texture is moist, but firm and more meaty.
(More here.)
Four birds, four different ways to roast: With that, the Great Turkey Smackdown began. The winner? A new method that's rocked our world.
By Russ Parsons
LA Times Staff Writer
November 15, 2006
Is there a bird that's better than brined?
For the last decade or so, many of us have adopted as part of our Thanksgiving ritual soaking our turkeys in salt water for several days before roasting them. This isn't weird; it really works. Birds that have been brined stay much moister than turkeys that have not.
Still, there's no arguing with the fact that there are drawbacks to the technique. You've got to find a bucket big enough to hold a turkey, to start with -- and a clean one. And then you've got to find room in your refrigerator to store it for the better part of a week.
Is there a better way?
Last Thanksgiving, we at the Food Section introduced readers to a steam-roasting technique. Turkey baked in a covered roaster pan -- you know, the kind your grandma used -- stays moist in a different way. During normal uncovered roasting, any juices that leak out of the bird are converted to steam by the hot pan and evaporate. Covering the pan reduces the amount of steam that gets away. A moist turkey with no advance preparation -- we really liked that idea.
And then there are those who swear by high-heat roasting for turkeys -- they claim quick cooking keeps the meat moist and improves the flavor because of the improved browning.
For the last year, I've been on a dry-salting craze. Almost every piece of protein that comes into my kitchen sits under a light sprinkling of salt for anywhere from an hour to several days before I cook it (as you can imagine, my wife and daughter have been hiding in other parts of the house). Meat that has been left to sit under salt has a deeper, more concentrated flavor and the texture is moist, but firm and more meaty.
(More here.)
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