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Thanksgiving may be behind us, but the holiday feasting has just begun! The Christmas Table serves up comfort and joy with helpful hints and recipes to plan an unforgettable holiday meal. Award-winning author Diane Morgan fills the book with festive recipes and decorating ideas that are sure to become favorites. On Christmas morning, opening presents will be even sweeter with a breakfast of Cinnamon-Scented Bread Custard, and delightful recipes like Whipped Yams topped with a Crunchy Praline Crust will be instant yuletide classics.
Plus, this comprehensive holiday guide also includes recipes for Christmas cookies, candied nuts, and other giftable goodies. With simple, beautiful crafts and delicious, easy-to-follow recipes, The Christmas Table ensures a very merry Christmas for everyone.
Print out this delicious excerpt to prep for your holiday feast, click here for more great recipes from the book, and don't forget to visit our blog each Wednesday for another new post from the Chronicle Kitchen!
Juniper-Brined Roast Turkey
Serves 12 to 20, depending on the size of the turkey
This picture-perfect turkey will make a beautiful centerpiece for your Christmas table. The skin will be crisp and golden, the meat will be succulent (yes, even the breast meat), and the flavor will be knockout delicious because you took care every step of the way. Brining is the answer to a moist turkey, and basting and turning it ensures a fully browned bird. Giving the turkey time to rest after roasting (not you, just the bird) sets and seals in the juices. Your guests will be impressed.
If you take the easy first step of brining your turkey, you will never again complain, nor hear complaints, about the dry breast meat of your holiday bird. After nearly twenty years of cooking a holiday turkey, I am convinced that brining produces the moistest, most flavorful turkey I have ever tasted. Brining requires nothing more than boiling water with salt, sugar, and spices; cooling the mixture; and then soaking the bird in the brine for 12 to 24 hours.
2 turkey-sized plastic oven bags (see Cook's Notes below)
1 fresh or thawed, frozen turkey (12 to 25 pounds)
Juniper Brine
2/3 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt (see Cook's Notes)
2/3 cup sugar
5 fresh sage leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
2 teaspoons allspice berries, crushed (see Cook's Notes)
1 teaspoon juniper berries, crushed (see Cook's Notes)
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns, crushed (see Cook's Notes)
10 cups cool water
4 cups ice water
Turkey
2 large yellow onions (about 12 ounces each), diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 large ribs celery, trimmed and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
7 fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 cups cool water
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Gravy
Turkey neck, tail, and giblets (gizzard and heart only)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
4 sprigs fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, if needed
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
You need to prepare the juniper brine and start brining the turkey 12 to 24 hours before you plan to put it in the oven. Have ready a heavy roasting pan large enough to hold the turkey. Place 1 plastic oven bag inside the second bag to create a double thickness; then place these bags, open wide, in the roasting pan. Remove the turkey from its wrapping. Remove the neck and bag of giblets from the chest and neck cavities and store them in the refrigerator for making gravy. Fold back the top one-third of the bags, making a collar (this helps to keep the bags open). Place the turkey inside the double-thick bags, breast side down, and unfold the collar.
To make the brine, combine the salt, sugar, sage, thyme, bay leaves, cloves, allspice and juniper berries, peppercorns, and 8 cups of the cool water in a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the 4 cups ice water, stir, and set aside to cool completely.
Pour the cooled brine over the bird. Add the remaining 2 cups cool water. Draw up the top of the inner bag, squeezing out as much air as possible, and secure it closed with a twist tie. Do the same for the outer bag. Place the turkey, breast side down, in the roasting pan and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. Turn the turkey 3 or 4 times while it is brining.
To roast the turkey, remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 1/2 hours before you plan to roast it. Set the roasting pan aside and place the brined turkey, still in its bags, in the sink. Open and discard the bags, brine, and any herbs or spices remaining on the bird. Rinse the turkey under cold water and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
Combine the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, sage, thyme, salt, and a few grinds of pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Position a rack on the second-lowest level in the oven. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Wash the roasting pan, if necessary, and place a roasting rack, preferably V shaped, in the pan.
Put 1/2 cup of the vegetable mixture inside the neck cavity, and then put 1 1/2 cups of it inside the chest cavity. Scatter the remainder on the bottom of the roasting pan and add the 2 cups water to the pan.
To truss the turkey, have ready a 4-foot length of kitchen twine. Place the turkey on a work surface with the legs facing you. Center the twine across the back (under the shoulders) of the bird. Make sure the flap of neck skin covers the neck cavity and is secured by the twine. With an end in each hand, pull the twine up and over the top of the breast, tightening it so the wings are drawn in close to the body, then cross over the two ends and tie. Now bring the twine down to the legs, bring the legs together, wrap the twine around the ends (knobs) of the legs, and tie a knot. Trim any extra length of twine.
Use a pastry brush to brush the turkey with half of the butter. Place the turkey, breast side down, on the rack in the pan. Roast for 30 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Baste the turkey with the pan juices, and roast an additional 30 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven. Wearing washable silicone oven mitts, or using wads of paper towels in each hand, turn the turkey breast side up. Baste with the pan juices, and then return the turkey to the oven.
Continue to roast, basting with the pan juices after 45 minutes. After another 45 minutes, baste with the remaining butter. Check the temperature of the turkey. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh not touching bone registers 165°F. When the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 125°F, the turkey is about 1 hour away from being done. (Roasting times will vary, depending on the size of the bird, its temperature when it went into the oven, and your particular oven and the accuracy of the thermostat.) Typically, a brined 14- to 16-pound turkey will take about 2 to 2 1/2 hours to reach an internal temperature of 165°F. Plan on approximately 3 1/2 hours for a 25-pound bird.
While the turkey is roasting, begin the gravy by first making a turkey stock. Put the giblets in a medium saucepan. Add the thyme, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, and water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and then turn the heat to low. Skim off any brown foam that rises to the top. Simmer the stock, partially covered, for 1 hour. Pour the stock through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl or 4-cup glass measure. Discard the solids. Set the stock aside, and when the fat rises to the top, skim it off with a large spoon.
When the turkey is done, transfer it to a carving board or serving platter, and cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. Allow the turkey to rest for 25 to 45 minutes before carving to let the juices set.
While the turkey rests, make the gravy: Pour the vegetables and pan drippings through a sieve set over a medium saucepan. Scoop the vegetables from the cavities of the turkey and place in the sieve. Use the back of a spoon to press down on the softened vegetables, extracting as much liquid as possible, and pressing the solids through the sieve. Bring the strained mixture to a boil, skimming any fat that comes to the surface. Add enough reserved turkey stock to make about 2 cups gravy. Boil until reduced slightly. If the gravy needs to be thickened, put the flour in a 1-cup measure, add a small amount of the simmering gravy, and blend until smooth. Slowly pour this mixture into the gravy in the saucepan and whisk until thickened, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a warmed small bowl or sauceboat and keep warm.
To carve the turkey, place the turkey on a carving board, ideally one that has a moat and well to catch the delicious poultry juices. Untie the bird. Using a sharp carving knife and a meat fork, cut down between the thigh and body until you reach bone. Twist the leg and thigh a little until you see the thigh joint. Now cut through the joint to separate the thigh from the body. Cut the joint where the leg meets the thigh. Repeat on the other side. Now you have legs and thighs ready for a warmed platter.
To carve breast meat, start at the keel bone that runs along the top of the breast. Angle the knife and cut thin slices of breast meat from one side of the bird. Continue until you reach the rib cage; then carve the other breast. At this point you should have plenty of meat for serving. Lay slices of breast meat in an overlapping fashion down the center of the platter. Place the legs and thighs along the side. If a guest wants to have a wing, pull back the wing until you see the joint between the wing and the body, cut through that joint, and add the wing to the platter. Cover the rest of the turkey loosely with aluminum foil, and remove the remainder of the meat from the carcass later for some fine leftovers. Serve, accompanied by the gravy, and enjoy the results of your hard work!
Cook's Notes:
Plastic oven bags made by Reynolds are found with other food storage bags at supermarkets. Buy the turkey-sized bags. They are food-safe, plus they are big, strong, tear-resistant, and come with twist ties. I do not recommend using plastic garbage bags because they are not intended for food storage. I slip one bag inside the other to guard against leakage. For the same reason, I place the bagged turkey in a roasting pan. Brining the turkey by this method requires only one refrigerator shelf, while brining in a large stockpot means taking out at least one refrigerator shelf, if not two shelves, to make room for the pot.
I prefer Diamond brand kosher salt. It has a pleasant taste and is free of chemicals.
The easiest way to crush whole spices is to use a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. If you have neither of these kitchen tools, place the whole spices in a heavy lock-top plastic bag, seal the bag, pressing out all the air, and pound the spices with the bottom of a small, heavy saucepan.
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