Thanksgiving... Turkey Tips

I am not cooking for anyone this year, but that doesn't mean I didn't buy a turkey (or two)!

Here is what I did.

First, I took off the breasts, then separated the flappers from the body.  Lastly I disjointed the birds hips and separated them from the body as well.

Then I made a simple brine and allowed the meat to brine for about a day. (brine recipe to follow).

I immediately roasted the turkey  bones and made a stock with them (see my roasted chicken stock for general guidelines).

I was planning to smoke my turkey, so I removed it from the brine and patted the meat dry, then allowed it to rest in the fridge for about 10-12 hours.  If you just want to roast the meat you can skip this step.

Then I liberally season the bird with Salt and Pepper and any other herbs or spices you desire.  I find it important to loosen the skin on the legs and breasts so that you can apply the seasoning directly to the meat, but also season the skin.

I smoked my turkey for about 4 hours with medium heat (150-225) and then I had to finish it in a 350 degree oven until done.

The meat was very moist from the brine and very rich with smoky flavor.  I plan to use the legs and flappers for soup, and I will freeze one of the breast for later sandwich making while I nibble and eat the rest of the remaining breast.

Brine: this was enough for my turkey after I too it off the carcass, you may want to make 1.5 this recipe for a whole turkey (25lbs average)

Heat in sauce pan
-2 qts water
-4 oz salt
-4 oz sugar (i used about 6 oz brown sugar this time)
Bring to low boil and turn off the heat.
Add 2 trays of ice cubes to the hot water and another 2 qts of cold water.
Once the brine is cooled completely, submerge the turkey and let it brine for about 24 hours.


Yields.

I started with a 25 lbs turkey.  It weighed about 10 lbs after all bones were removed and it was raw meat.
There was about 7 lbs of finished cooked turkey.  I paid $13 dollars for the bird so my cooked meat cost would be around $1.85 per pound