Turkey Dinner for Two

Yes, we had the turkey dinner and there was only two of us there. There was probably enough food for eight, though.

The turkey was kept cool enough in the garage. There was still ice in the brine the next day. Here is a picture of the turkey in it's brine.

Doesn't look like much bit is s few hours it will be good eats. To get the best results avoid stuffing the bird. In order to cook a stuffed bird until the stuffing reaches the safe temperature of 160F the meat will have reached well beyond this temperature. As a result, dry meat.

Prepare some aromatics such as onion, apple, cinnamon stick, sage and rosemary in a microwave safe container with about 1 cup of water. Cook for 5 minutes in the microwave.

Take the bird out of the brine, rinse and pat dry. Rub the skin with oil and season with salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Put the aromatics in the cavity of the bird.

Now the fun part. Blast the turkey in the oven at 450F for 30 minutes. Then cover the breast, put in the temperature probe and cook until it reaches 175F. This is a little higher than recommended but I figure this compensates for sub-optimal placement of the probe.

This year we went with 4 vegetables - maple glazed carrots, roasted beets with balsamic & thyme, steamed broccoli, butternut squash with maple syrup.

We also had the usual mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy.

The carcass of the beast has already been made into a soup stock. Awaiting the creation of another soup!

Merry Christmas