(no subject)

[ragdoll13]

I just watched my favorite holiday special ever. Alton Brown's one hour Good Eats Special: Romancing the Bird. Years ago, it seems, I watched it with wide-eyed amazement. It forced me to rethink the way I approach a turkey on Thanksgiving... and each revelation made sense. Now I watch it every year if possible, with the same relish that some take in watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer claymations. And every turkey I've cooked since has come out beautifully... with the exception of the one dry bird I ever brought to table, when my mother was three hours late for Thanksgiving dinner. Hell, a sponge would've dried out by then... I'm a cook, not superman. Oh, sure, I've played around with the recipe, messed with procedure a little, but a brined bird is almost fail-proof.

I love turkey, and I love Thanksgiving. I love the way a turkey looks, the way it smells, the way it feels when you're giving it that pre-oven rub down. Most of all, I love the way it tastes. And with the way turkey tastes when it's done right, it just doesn't make sense to ever eat any other bird.

You know, even if my family does decide to go out for Thanksgiving, I'm making a turkey anyway.

Comments

[jilliana.livejournal.com]

Isn't brined turkey the most heavenly thing ever? My mom's been doing it that way since she read about it in Cook's Illustrated about five years ago.

[thesnark.livejournal.com]

I also brine my turkey. I will never ever ever go back.

I love roasted turkey so much that, most years, I usually will cook a mid-year Thanksgiving dinner so I can have it again. I didn't do that this year, so I am really looking forward to the big night this year!