How To Brine A Turkey

So, I’m brining my turkey this year for the first time. I have no idea how it will turn out. I read a lot online about how to do this properly, what not to do, etc. I hope I don’t screw this up!


Plan on “brining” the turkey for about 1 hr per pound of bird. So, since I have a 12lb turkey, I will brine mine for about 12 hrs. It’s much better to brine for too little time than too much! Too long of a brine will make for far too salty of a bird (or so I’m told). Make sure to start with a fully thawed turkey. I thaw mine in the fridge for a few days beforehand so it will be ready when it’s time to brine. I get a CLEAN, unused bucket that will hold the turkey completely and allow it to be completely submerged. The ratio is (or so I’m told) about 1 Cup of Kosher Salt and 1 Cup of Sugar for every 1 gallon of water used. The salt breaks down the connective tissues inside the turkey and helps hold in juices, making it tender and juicy, whereas the sugar helps to counteract the salt, making it not be too salty.

• 1 Turkey (about 12lbs)
• 1 Big Bucket (about 5 gallons, or whatever is big enough to hold the turkey)
• 2 Gallons of Water
• 2 Cups KOSHER Salt (don’t use table salt)
• 2 Cups White Sugar
• 1 Head of Garlic, cut in half
• 1 heaping TBSP Peppercorns
• 1 TBSP Allspice Berries
• 1 tsp Whole Cloves
• 2 Sprigs of Rosemary Leaves
• 2 Sprigs of Thyme
• 2 Bay Leaves


1. Start with a fully thawed turkey. Rinse it and take the giblets and whatnot out of the inside. Also, cut the string that holds the legs together and throw away. Set turkey aside.

2. Dissolve salt and sugar in some of the water, then throw it all and the rest of the water in the bucket. (If you have to dissolve it over the stove, don’t let it come to a boil and make sure it is completely cooled before the turkey touches it.)

3. Add the rest of ingredients to the bucket. (garlic, peppercorns, allspice, cloves, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves) Give it a big stir.

4. Carefully lower the turkey into the bucket, breast side down. Make sure there is enough water to cover the turkey – if not, simply add a little more. Cover bucket and set in fridge for about 12hrs. If possible, turn one time about halfway through.

5. After the 12hrs is up, take the turkey out of the brine. Rinse it in the sink to get all of the salt water off. Make sure to pat the bird dry with paper towels, especially if you are planning to fry it. (A wet turkey going into a hot fryer is a recipe for a giant fire!) Throw out the brine mixture. It has been contaminated with raw poultry and cannot be used again. Thoroughly clean and disinfect the bucket – set aside if you are planning to use it again next year, and never use it for storing chemicals or anything other than food.


*Remember poultry safety. Don’t touch a surface that has been touched with poultry unless it has been cleaned. When you touch raw poultry, make sure to thoroughly wash your hands afterwards and before touching anything else. And always disinfect the area and the area around where raw poultry has been.

Apple Beef Stew

Ok, so here I am again. Aren't you glad to see me? This time it's with my (probably very unhealthy obsession with) slow cooker stew - yes, another stew! I discovered this the other day. It has a bit of a tang to it and tastes a little sweet, which is very different from my other Beef Stew recipe.





*Apple Beef Stew*

1 lb. Stew Meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
½ tsp. Ground Thyme
2 - 3 heaping TBSP. Flour
4 medium Potatoes, diced
2 small Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Small Bag of Baby Carrots
¼ Cup Onion, minced
3 Stalks Celery, diced
2 Medium "cooking" Apples (McIntosh or Golden Delicious is good), sliced
2 TBSP. Apple Cider Vinegar
3 - 3½ Cups Apple Juice

1. Put meat in medium mixing bowl. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and thyme on top of meat and stir. Cover and set in fridge for 30 minutes.
2. After meat has set, put in a 5 - 6qt slow cooker. Sprinkle with flour.
3. Layer as follows: Potatoes, Garlic, Carrots, Onion, Celery, Apples. Then pour vinegar and apple juice over all.
4. Cover and cook on low for 10 - 12 hrs, or high for 5 - 6 hrs.

Notes:
The apples tend to get a little mushy and you hardly know they are there. Due to them cooking for so long, there is probably no way to keep them from being that way, other than to maybe cut them into bigger chunks. "Stew Meat" is usually a tougher (and generally cheaper) cut of meat and can be bought already cut into bite sized chunks. Also, chuck meat works well; the slow cooking tenderizes it and really helps bring out the flavor. I use venison in a lot of my recipes, but beef works just as well. If 2lbs of meat is desired, simply double the amount of pepper and thyme. In step 1, it is not necessary to let meat set for 30 minutes, it just helps to draw out the flavor of the meat. The flour is there to help thicken the sauce. I like to serve my stew with biscuits.

Venison (or beef) and Pumpkin Curry (Field and Stream Magazine)

Here is a recipe that I tried over the weekend for my husband's birthday. It actually turned out very well, I was impressed. It did, however, take an enormous time to make, taking into account me having to use fresh pumpkin and never having used it before. So, thanks Field and Stream Magazine, for sharing your wonderful recipe with me. Due to possible copyright infringments (and me not wanting to infringe or appear as though I am stealing recipes), I have just posted the link to the website where the recipe is found.

Notes:
Here's the original recipe, from Field and Stream 

I would like to find out if this would make a good recipe in the slow cooker. I have a feeling that it will, so if I try it out, I will let you know. I believe the cilantro REALLY made a big impact on it. It made the flavor burst. But, if you don't like cilantro, I suppose you can go without it. I used beef because I didn't feel like thawing out venison. I also used a jalapeno, because the grocery store was out of habanero.

Pumpkin Dump

So, I tried experimenting with pumpkin this week. One of the recipes (which wasn't mine) was pretty fantastic, and the other two (which were mine) didn't turn out so well.Who knew that, in order to dry pumpkin seeds, you can't lay them out on a paper towel or else they will dry TO the paper towel, making them impossible to get off without pieces of the paper towel sticking to them? Not me! And are you supposed to eat the whole pumpkin seed, or just the seed part inside? (I'm asking a question here..because I quite honestly don't know the answer.) Either way, the way I roasted them just did not do them justice. I tried one batch with some butter, sugar, cinnamon, all spice, and cloves - that turned out a little bit greasy and chewy, and not exactly too tasty. I tried another batch with olive oil, salt (and way too much of it, might I add!), paprika, and cayenne pepper - and it still didn't turn out well, either, like I had hoped. I had high hopes for the pumpkin seeds...and you know what? They let me down.

Cutting a pumpkin takes time...and a lot of muscle. I'm probably lucky I didn't slice my fingers off. I know I'm not the only one who has done this: tried to cut a pumpkin and gotten the knife stuck halfway through, so I  banged the pumpkin/knife on the cutting board and voila, it splits apart! Not the greatest method...not even a good method...and especially not a safe method...but it worked, and I still have all of my digits to show for it. It took forever to cut it up into pieces that I could use. And what I didn't use, (which was about 3/4ths of the pumpkin) I cut up and boiled, thinking that the skin would "fall off" (like I had read), making it easier to work with. Such was not the case. Or maybe it was just a user error. I don't know. Either way, hopefully I'll have better luck next year!

Dump Cake

Ok, I had to do it. Thanks to Sarah and Jen for turning me on to this recipe. You can find different variations of this recipe all over the internet, but here is the one we use (the one they taught me, actually).

*Dump Cake*

1 Can Crushed Pineapple, Undrained
1 Can Cherry Pie Filling
1 Box Yellow Cake Mix
1 Stick Butter


1. Put pineapple evenly in bottom of 13x9in baking dish, then put cherry pie filling on top of that. (Spread evenly.)
2. Dump cake mix evenly on top of fruit.
3. Thinly slice butter, then place it on top of cake mix.
4. Let sit at room temperature for 30 min - 1 hr.
5. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 - 40 minutes, until golden brown.

This is what it looks like before it goes into the oven:

And this is how scrumpdiddleumptious it looks right before it is to be devoured:

Notes: I will be honest with you...I have no idea how to make this without the boxed cake mix, so if you're the type of person who makes food only from complete scratch, you're on your own there (mainly because I'm just not smart enough). Also, make sure to NOT drain the pineapple! It makes for an extremely dry cake if the pineapple juice is not there. You also don't have to let it sit for an hour, it just seems to brighten up the flavor when done so. My husband calls this cobbler. I suppose it tastes a little like a cobbler, only I think it's better! Oh, and sorry about the non-elegant instructions (I never claimed to be an English major), and sorry about the crappy cell phone photo. Hope you enjoy the cake! It goes great with ice cream.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Prep Time: 30 - 45 min
Serves: 6 - 8
Cook Time High: 4 - 6 hrs
Cook Time Low: 8 - 10 hrs


2 lbs. Beef Chuck, Cubed
½ Cup Flour
2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
1 tsp. Paprika
3 Cups Beef Broth
2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 Garlic Clove, Minced
2 Bay Leaves
3 Potatoes, Diced
4 Carrots, Sliced
1 Large Onion, Chopped
1 Rib Celery, Sliced
1 Can Diced or Stewed Tomatoes


1. Place meat in crock pot.
2. In a small bowl (or measuring cup), combine flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Pour mixture onto meat and stir until thoroughly coated.
3. In medium mixing bowl (or large measuring cup), combine broth and Worcestershire sauce. Pour half of this mixture into crock pot and stir.
4. Add garlic and bay leaves to crock pot.
5. Layer on Potatoes, Carrots, Onion, and tomatoes in crock pot. Pour on remaining half of broth mixture.
6. Cover. Cook on low for 10 - 12 hrs or high for 4 - 6 hrs.


*Tips: This works best in a 5 - 6 qt crock pot. I have also used venison in place of the beef, and it's very hard to tell the difference between the two. Meat that is a little more fatty (and cheaper) works great in this dish because the length of the cooking time tenderizes it. The meat is much easier to cube when it has been placed in the freezer for 15 minutes or so prior to cutting. There are usually tons of leftovers and we will eat on it for days.