Q: What’s the foolproof way to cook your Thanksgiving Turkey?
A: “There are two things to do that will ensure a delicious turkey and a relatively stress-free Thanksgiving,” says Epicurious.com Editor-in-Chief Tanya Wenman Steel, a Westchester resident. “First, buy a good bird. You don’t need to buy a heritage breed—although those have the richest flavor—but organic or free-range are better than, say, a frozen self-basting bird. Generally, avoid any bird that has been injected with saline or any other additive.”
Second, she advises, “brine your quality bird. Brining is the easiest thing in the world and really adds moisture and wonderful texture to the bird. Brining is simply submerging the bird in a saltwater bath for several hours or overnight. I brine my turkey overnight, placing it in a turkey bag and adding two gallons of water/no-sodium chicken broth with two cups of kosher salt, and throwing in some fresh rosemary or thyme. I tie up the bag and leave it in a cooler packed with ice on my porch. The next morning, I just rinse it out and pat it down.”
For more Turkey 101, Wenman Steel suggests visiting epicurious.com/articlesguides/howtocook/primers/turkey