Kitchen Skills

The Cure

Try this dry-brining method for a moist and evenly cooked turkey

BY JASON ROSS

The classic turkey roasting dilemma: How do you get the legs and thighs done without drying out the breast? It’s not easy. The legs take longer to cook and the large, lean breast tends to overcook and lose moisture. A liquid salt brine can work well, but takes a tremendous amount of refrigerator space—and that’s assuming you even have a container large enough to hold a turkey in a salt brine.

The solution? You can get a similar effect by lightly curing, or “dry brining” while saving space and reducing mess. A little salting of the exterior penetrates into the turkey, seasoning the meat throughout and lessening the chance it dries out. As a bonus, the skin will crisp better since the salt dries it and makes it more flexible.

PHOTOGRAPHY TERRY BRENNAN FOOD STYLING LARA MIKLASEVICS

Dry Brined Roast Turkey with Giblet Gravy

MAKES 10 TO 15 SERVINGS

This recipe takes a day, or up to 2 days, to salt and cure the turkey. Store uncovered so the skin will dry a little. If you are worried the raw turkey will touch something while curing in the refrigerator, cover with plastic film, and pat the skin dry with a paper towel before cooking. Remember to not re-season before cooking. The curing adds all the salt needed.

For the Turkey

1 (12 to 15 pound) fresh or defrosted turkey with giblets removed 2 to 2½ tablespoons kosher salt (unless using a turkey injected with seasoning brine) ½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter 1 teaspoon ground pepper 1 tablespoon minced thyme 1 tablespoon minced sage 1 tablespoon minced parsley 1 teaspoon paprika 1 garlic clove, finely minced

For the Giblet Gravy

MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART (ABOUT 10 TO 15 SERVINGS)

2 quarts water 1 turkey neck 1 turkey gizzard ¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter 1 turkey liver, minced 1 turkey heart, minced 1½ teaspoons salt ½ teaspoon ground black pepper ½ teaspoon granulated garlic 1 shallot finely minced (about 3 tablespoons) 1 carrot, minced (about ½ cup) 1 rib celery, minced (about ½ cup) ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 cup white wine (whatever you are drinking with dinner, or you could use water or low sodium broth)

1. Plan on using ½ teaspoon of salt per pound of turkey, making it 2 to 2½ tablespoons for the 12- to 15-pound bird used here. In a large mixing bowl, season the turkey by sprinkling it all over with salt, including inside the cavity, and under and around the wings, legs and thighs. Make some room in the refrigerator, place the turkey on a rack on top of a sheet tray, and refrigerate uncovered overnight, or up to 48 hours. The turkey will first release moisture with wet skin, and then the skin will dry and start to become flexible and stretchy. 2. After curing, heat the oven to 425°F, and remove the turkey from the refrigerator. Pour out any moisture collected in the sheet tray. In a small sauce pan on medium low heat melt the butter with the pepper, thyme, sage, parsley, paprika and garlic. Brush the turkey skin with the seasoned melted butter, and place turkey onto rack and pan. You can use a roasting pan with a V-style rack or a sheet tray and flat rack. 3. Cook the turkey at 425°F for 45 minutes or until the skin just starts to brown, then lower the heat to 325°F. Plan on cooking it for 20 minutes per pound, brushing the turkey with the butter and herbs every 30 to 40 minutes until the butter is gone. After that, baste with the drippings. For a 12- to 15-pound turkey, it should take 4 or 5 hours to cook, respectively. 4. While the turkey is cooking, start the gravy. In a medium sized pot, make light turkey broth by simmering the neck and gizzard in 2 quarts of water for 2½ to 3 hours, or until the turkey neck is fully cooked, with meat easily pulling away from the bone when jabbed with a fork. You should end up with about 1½ quarts of broth. 5. After it is cooked, remove the gizzard and neck to a plate, and allow to cool for about 15 minutes or until it’s cool enough to handle. Then, pull any meat from the neck and mince along with the gizzard. Discard the neck bone. If the turkey is still cooking in the oven, store the minced turkey neck and gizzard covered on a plate, and the broth in a covered container until the turkey comes out of the oven. 6. Check the turkey by inserting a thermometer into the thickest part of the leg and thigh joint. This is the critical part. The dark meat needs to come to 165°F on the thermometer, but not any higher. Think of every degree higher as moisture being removed from the breast. There are other things you can look for—browned skin, juices run clear from the thigh, leg joint feeling loose—but by far the most accurate is to check for 165°F at the thickest part of the thigh joint. 7. When the turkey is done, pull the pan from the oven. Use a pair of tongs and a 2-pronged fork to carefully move the turkey to a large plate or pan to rest, loosely covered with aluminum foil for about 30 minutes. 8. In a medium-sized sauce pot, melt the ¾ stick butter on medium heat. Add the minced liver and heart. Season with salt, pepper and garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes until lightly browned. Add the shallot, carrot and celery, and sauté for another 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until softened. Add the flour and quickly stir to distribute it and soak up moisture or butter. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Switch to a whisk and slowly add about 1 quart of the reserved turkey broth, whisking to avoid lumps. You should have a little broth left over to help deglaze the turkey roasting pan. Add the minced neck and gizzard to the gravy and simmer on low for 5 to 10 minutes. 9. While the gravy simmers, put the pan used to cook the turkey on the stovetop on medium. When the pan is hot, and turkey drippings start to deepen in color, pour in the white wine. It should sizzle. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up bits of browning from the pan, and when the wine has nearly evaporated and the smell of raw alcohol has dissipated, pour in the remaining 2 cups broth (or if you have run out, substitute water or low sodium broth) to loosen the reduced wine. Strain this liquid into gravy, simmering on the stove. 10. Adjust gravy by adding water if it is too thick, or by simmering a little longer if it is thin. Taste the gravy, add salt and pepper if needed, and pour into a serving vessel. 11. Put the turkey on a platter, and if you are feeling like putting on a show, carve it tableside, spooning gravy over each plate.

Turkey Tips • You could rest the turkey for longer than 30 minutes after cooking, depending on timing of your holiday meal. The turkey will stay warm for over an hour. • Estimate ½ teaspoon salt per pound of turkey for curing and at least a day in the refrigerator. • It takes a long time to defrost a turkey. Plan on 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator for a 12- to 15-pound turkey. • If you’re crazy for crispy skin, clarify the basting butter. This removes water from the butter and allows the butter fats to brown more easily. To clarify butter, melt it in a small pan and skim off the solids on top with a spoon. Continue simmering for 30 minutes on low, then strain the butter through cheese cloth. • If you do not have a roasting pan and V-rack, a sheet tray and flat cooling rack work well, plus the low sided pan lets more heat reach the sides and under the turkey, increasing browning and speeding up cooking time. • Stay involved as the turkey inches toward being done, checking temperature more frequently. You are trying to get right at the 165°F reading at the leg and thigh joint, but not over. The leg and thigh will taste fine at higher temperatures, but the breast will dry more with every extra degree of temperature. • Jacques Pépin, the famous television chef, recommends slitting the skin at the joint where the thigh meets the carcass. This allows a little more heat into the thigh, so that it will cook more evenly with the breast. It mars the turkey slightly, but this part of the turkey will mostly be hidden underneath. n If you’re squeamish about eating giblets in gravy, you can still get the flavor, and then strain gravy before serving. But give it a try. Gravy is the best part and giblets make it even better.