WHOA…Thanksgiving really snuck up on me this year. October 7th and here we are. For us, Thanksgiving always includes turkey. When I make turkey, it’s usually flavourful and tender, never dry. Why? BRINE people, BRINE. If you can, get your bird soaking for about 1 hour per pound in a water-salt solution. This infuses extra water into the turkey and allow it to plump up. Exposure to many hours of cooking won’t dry it out this way. My simple, put-it-together in 2 minutes brine recipe is at the bottom of this post.
I wanted to share a round up of other Thanksgiving favourites of mine to build your own menu:
Grain Free Stuffing: You guys, this stuffing is the best thing on my table. It outshines the turkey year after year and I can’t make enough of it!
For dessert, this Grain Free Fruit Crumble is amazing. Personally I love pumpkin pie but it doesn’t suit everyone’s tastes so this is a great alternative. Make it in the oven the day before your feast and then just quickly reheat it before serving when you have more oven room. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream. So good.
And for an after dinner treat, try out this Pumpkin Spice Matcha Latte. It will give you that subtle caffeine boost you need to get you up off the couch and out for a post-dinner walk.
And for the morning after the Big Feast. Try this light, warming bowl of Spiced Apple Porridge. Also grain and dairy free.
And lastly, the turkey brine recipe…Cheers to plump turkey boobs everywhere!
| Easy Turkey Brine | Print |
- 1.5 cups coarse sea salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 4 bay leaves
- a handful of peppercorns
- 2 lemons, halved
- 1 orange, halved
- Boil 4 cups of water.
- Add salt, sugar, red onion, bay leaves and peppercorns. Stir until dissolved, Allow to cool.
- Place turkey breast side down in a large brining bag or a in a pot large enough to hold the turkey and water but that will still fit in your refrigerator.
- Pour the brining water over the turkey.
- Squeeze the juice of the lemons and orange over the turkey. Throw the halves of the lemons and orange into the bag or pot.
- Top with cold water until the turkey is totally submerged in water.
- Place the turkey in it's brine in the refrigerator.
- The next day, remove turkey from brine, rinse and pat dry.
- The turkey is now ready for roasting.
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