What do you think is the best way to prepare a turkey? Brining? Smoking? Frying?

I'm thinking about using this recipe this year: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cider-Brined-and-Glazed-Turkey-233148

I have to make enough turkey for 40 people this year and my biggest concern is keeping the meat moist, so I'm thinking brining might be the way to go.

11/16/2008 5:54:14 AM

smoking, imo.

11/16/2008 7:08:37 AM

fried!

11/16/2008 7:50:22 AM

brine brine brine!
and you shall not have dry turkey

11/16/2008 8:13:43 AM

If you're doing anything besides frying you are both working too hard and cheating yourself out of much deliciousness.

11/16/2008 8:16:27 AM

we did a brine last year when we had my family in town for thanksgiving - you'll be happy with an apple cider brine - won't be dry - i was very impressed with it

the second best turkeys i've had are done in a turkey fryer in peanut oil

haven't done yet but i've had a few friends that have - turducken comes highly recommended

11/16/2008 9:24:46 AM

fried or the infrared Way

11/16/2008 10:37:20 AM

fried!

11/16/2008 10:42:25 AM

fried

11/16/2008 12:41:27 PM

fried

11/16/2008 12:47:35 PM

cajun injector and fried is awesome, but there's this one my dad does on the grill inside a browning bag. he fills the turkey with all kinds of stuff (throws a whole onion, celery, etc. in there) and just leaves it on a gas grill for a while. delicious.

11/16/2008 1:23:38 PM

http://beta.tidaltv.com/?msrc=rss_truveo#34405

11/16/2008 2:48:59 PM

Back Yard Nuclear Reactor FTMFW fully cooked in 500uS

If you do it in the oven 350(best I can remember):

Coat outside with a stick of butter and wrap in Aluminum foil for the first 3 hours of cooking, baste the butter over the turkey every hour or so and then pull off the foil for the last hour of cooking to brown the outside.

Works really well for producing a juicy bird.

11/16/2008 2:55:01 PM

my gf doesn't cook a lot. last year she decided to cook her family's turkey. she cooked it upside down. it was juicier than normal because it kept more of the breast meat that usually dries out down in the juice. A++ would cook upside down again.

11/16/2008 3:47:05 PM

Brine it DEFINITELY.

if you can, try it in advance with a chicken.


one problem with brining is that the skin gets too moist to brown the same way as an unbrined bird. I've found that if you brine the chicken for 12-24 hours, and then let it air dry in the fridge for ~8-12 hours, the skin will still brown up right.

11/16/2008 4:30:24 PM

fried



i cant have it any other way now

11/16/2008 4:38:22 PM

If you fry a turkey for Thanksgiving, you won't want to do it any other way ever again.

11/16/2008 5:13:16 PM

deep fry

I'm Big Business and i approved this message.

11/16/2008 5:17:47 PM

with a pork loin and chicken stuffed inside.... mmmm turporken

11/16/2008 5:42:42 PM

also forget the whole store bought turkey......try a wild turkey and you will never want to go back to store bought......mmmmmm

11/16/2008 5:58:57 PM

11/16/2008 6:03:13 PM

inject it full of marinate and then bake it in an oven bag.

11/16/2008 7:46:43 PM

Quote :

"one problem with brining is that the skin gets too moist to brown the same way as an unbrined bird. I've found that if you brine the chicken for 12-24 hours, and then let it air dry in the fridge for ~8-12 hours, the skin will still brown up right."

Good to know!

One of my friends was telling me to do beer butt turkey

11/16/2008 8:31:37 PM

fried.

11/16/2008 8:37:08 PM

sit the turkey down. offer it a drink or a hit off of a joint.
then give it the bad news.

11/17/2008 12:07:41 AM

lol

11/17/2008 8:14:42 AM

I massage it with bacon grease and cook it upside down covered in foil, then flip it and take the foil off for the last hour. I stuff it with apples and onions and other assorted veggies, too.

11/17/2008 8:47:14 AM

Has anybody ever had a bojangles fried turkey? My mother-in-law is wanting to get one and I was wondering if they are good.

11/17/2008 9:19:34 AM

fried...

for instructions, go here --> http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/deep-fried-turkey-recipe/index.html

11/17/2008 9:38:35 AM

1. Brine overnight
2. Cajun rub
3. Fry in peanut oil

11/17/2008 5:32:18 PM

^win

11/17/2008 6:07:07 PM

1. Remove turkey from freezer.
2. Immediately drop into deep fryer to seal in that turkey goodness.
3. ....
4. Profit!




(please no)

11/17/2008 6:10:59 PM

lol make sure you have the oil turned up to maximum... and have the fryer on the deck or in the kitchen for maximum effect

11/18/2008 12:40:12 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-hMx4NrxT8

11/18/2008 12:51:05 AM

Quote :

"brine brine brine! and you shall not have dry turkey"

agreed.

11/18/2008 5:24:16 PM

I admit that I have never heard of bringing a turkey. My mom always roasts it in the oven. I've also had it deep fried, and while delicious it's still not as good as a moist, roasted turkey. Smoked is pretty awesome too, but not for Thanksgiving. Grandpa used to have a smoke house so that was pretty awesome, fresh smoked turkey, yum!

11/18/2008 7:29:38 PM

I had a fried turkey at a relative's two years ago. It was good, quite good, but not so much better than a good roasted turkey. On the other hand it cost them like $40 in oil and involved a lot more mess and danger.

11/18/2008 7:38:11 PM

^^ I tried it for the first time two years ago. I was pretty skeptical but it was as moist as they claim it will be. The only thing I didn't like is the brining solution I used made the turkey too salty for my tastes. Everyone else said it was good but I'm really sensitive to salty foods. The one I plan on using this year has a lot less salt than what I used last time so we'll see how it goes!

11/18/2008 7:58:11 PM

deep fried is the only way to go

11/18/2008 8:10:27 PM

TURDENGUIN!!!!

Turkey + Donkey + Penguin

11/20/2008 10:33:37 AM

My mom did this thing one year where you basically pull the skin off the turkey, put bacon, butter, and maple syrup under the skin, and bake it. It's like it fries from the inside and it's fucking delicious. We never did it again, though, because it made our arteries hurt.

11/20/2008 12:59:54 PM

Holy shit that sounds all kinds of good. Just don't eat for a week on either end and you'll be fine

11/20/2008 1:15:30 PM

Take a turkey, smother it with an entire jar of MAYONAISSE, then bake it in the oven upside down in a PAPER SHOPPING BAG (stapled shut). Moistest turkey I've ever had.

11/20/2008 2:43:31 PM

11/20/2008 2:57:15 PM

Somehow my mom bakes a stuffed turkey in the oven and I swear she gets it moister and juicier than most of the fried turkey I've eaten.

She puts it in some sort of baking bag.

You're welcome for the help!

11/20/2008 5:47:08 PM

You should deep fry it like Alton Brown.

11/20/2008 5:50:46 PM

As also suggested above, I always brine and roast it upside-down. All the juices collect at the breast and keep it moist.

Gobble Gobble!

[Edited on November 20, 2008 at 5:53 PM. Reason : ^]

11/20/2008 5:51:23 PM

MAKE SURE TO FILL YOUR TURKEY FRYER ALL THE WAY UP BEFORE YOU DROP THE TURKEY IN!

11/20/2008 7:01:59 PM

^ always make sure you leave it unattended too

11/20/2008 8:20:12 PM

set 'em up

11/20/2008 9:37:35 PM