Today I’m excited to host talented new Carina UK author Gina Henning as part of her fabulous “How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie” Blog Tour. She’s even agreed to share a recipe for brined turkey with us. My mouth is watering already…
The How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie Blog Tour runs from November 7th until November 18th, each day of the tour a different character will share their favorite recipe for Thanksgiving. Stop by and see what’s cooking in the Hauser kitchen and be sure and enter the giveaway for a $50 Williams-Sonoma Gift Card, just in time for Thanksgiving!
Leia Hauser’s Favorite Thanksgiving Recipe
The back office at the Hauser home has been converted into a mini-video recording studio for each member of the Hauser family along with two special guests to share one of their favorite Thanksgiving recipes other than the pecan pie.
Hauser Family File: Leia Hauser is the wife of Martin and the mother of Luke, Megan, and Lauren Hauser. Her hobbies include Suduko puzzles and scouring the internet in search of the most outlandish décor for her home.
“Roll the tape.”
Leia shuffles into the room wearing her favorite Thanksgiving dress. The top of the dress is made of brown satin and smack dab in the middle is an orange oval. A red flimsy collar rests around her neck. The skirt is seven colorful layers of red, yellow, and orange netted tulle that sticks out almost like a petticoat. Her skirt crunches against the leather as she sits down on the couch.
“Oh dear, this is awkward.” She combs her wavy hair with her fingers. “Okay, here it goes. I brine the turkey every year.” Leia throws her hands in the air. “There I said it.” She sighs.
“It’s kind of a big deal and I didn’t want to admit to Megan that I took her suggestion, because she thinks my way of doing things isn’t great. Well, maybe she is right, but anyways, I’ve been brining our turkey for the past five years, in secret.” She stands up and waves a piece of paper in her left hand and places her right index finger over her mouth.
Brined Turkey (Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse)
1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8ths 1 large orange, cut into 8ths
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 bay leaves 2 sprigs thyme
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or turkey stock, for basting
Turkey Broth:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil Reserved turkey neck and giblets
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped 1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped 1 small bay leaf
3 cups turkey stock, chicken stock 3 cups water
Gravy:
4 cups turkey broth 1 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Brine:
1 cup salt 1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, quartered 2 lemons, quartered
6 sprigs thyme 4 sprigs rosemary
Directions
Gravy:
Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for the gravy. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.
Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place breast side down in a large, heavy roasting pan, and rub on all sides with the butter. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and thyme. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.
For the turkey broth: Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Add the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard to the pan and saute until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour the stock and 3 cups of water into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour, adding the chopped liver to the pan during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Strain the stock into a clean pot or large measuring cup. Pull the meat off the neck, chop the neck meat and giblets, and set aside.
Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.
Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
For the pan gravy: Pour the reserved turkey pan juices into a glass-measuring cup and skim off the fat. Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat add the pan juice and 1 cup turkey broth and the white wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 3 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, then transfer to a measuring cup.
In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux. Add the hot stock, whisking constantly, then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the reserved neck meat and giblets to the pan and adjust seasoning, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour into a gravy boat and serve.
Brine:
To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary.
Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.
Here’s the “How to Bake the Perfect Pecan Pie” book blurb:
A warm pie. A tasty guy. Happy Thanksgiving indeed.
Lauren Hauser is home for the holidays, and she’s been given a challenge: preparing her grandmother’s pecan pie. The problem? Lauren’s not famed for her baking skills. In fact, while her sister would win Star Baker every week, and her mom at least knows a sieve from a spatula, Lauren’s bakes have always been more dangerous than delicious!
Still, no Thanksgiving would be complete without dessert…which is why Lauren finds herself searching for pecans on Thanksgiving Eve. Stumbling into a gorgeous stranger laden down with bags of pecans seems like a holiday miracle…but despite Jack’s kissable lips he’s frostier than a snow cone…and out of sight before she can say ‘Macy’s Parade’!
As the clock counts down to Thanksgiving dinner, Lauren is running out of time. And without her grandmother’s perfect pecan pie it won’t be a very Happy Thanksgiving! What Lauren needs is a knight in shining armour. And it might just be that the magic of Thanksgiving will find her one after all…
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*Be sure to stop by these blogs for sneak peeks and secrets from the Hauser Family!
7th November – Candy’s Raves http://candysraves.com/2014/11/how-to-bake-the-perfect-pecan-pie-blog-tour-2014/
8th November – Avid Book Hoarder
9th November – Krysten Lindsay
10th November – Aurelia Rowl
11th November – Rosie Amber
12th November – Holly Martin
13th November – Karen Aldous
14th November – Rebecca Raisin
15th November – eBook Review Gal
16th November – Mika Jolie
17th November – Katie Oliver
18th November – Gina Henning
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