Asian Infused Turkey Brine

Click on above photo for short video tutorial

Who knew passing the refrigerator case with fresh turkey’s during my routine Sunday morning shopping trip to Market Basket yesterday would be the cure to my sadness of not hosting this year’s Thanksgiving Holiday!  

Just Back from vacation, with a desperate need of groceries, and the realization of the holiday season  fast approaching,  Sunday morning, I took a quick scan of the frig and pantry before heading out to shop. Made mental note of a few key ingredients on hand like, hot peppers from the garden still fresh and firm in the crisper drawer, and a half  filled bottle of soy sauce on the door shelf. With Lone Gull Tea in hand I entered Market Basket, and immediately noticed holiday packaging, and speciality items strategically placed  throughout the store.

Their strategic placement of holiday product, caught my attention and literally flipped my mood from sad to happy! Thanks to creative holiday packaging and product placement, my creative juices started flowing, and I found myself walking through the store thinking of past holidays shopping experiences with my mother for key ingredients in the aisles of my grandfather’s Italian Variety store. Pat’s Center Grocery.” Before I knew it I found myself  tossing a fresh turkey into my shopping cart. At the same moment, my Grandpa Joe’s famous saying came to mind, “ When life gives you lemons make lemonade!”  

Right then I knew I had to go with the flow of life, and not let my disappointment of not hosting this year’s traditional feast day on the 28th, stop me from creating a special Thanksgiving feast for my family. Since tradition was already set to be broken I decided to embrace our  non-traditional year with a non traditional feast with all the fixing! Over the years I have read numerous articles about the the likes and dislikes of roasting a turkey using traditional roasting methods verse roasting birds that have been prepared in a brine.  In keeping with non-tradition I decided to go out of the box and prepare a brined turkey for the first time! Inspired by the ingredients I made mental note of before heading out to shop on Sunday  I began creating this new “Asian Infused Turkey Brine” for this week’s scheduled  family dinner! Stayed tuned for the final out come and reviews Thursday here on GMG Sista Dish!

 

Asian Infused Turkey Brine

Click Read more for Recipe Details

 

Asian Infused Turkey Brine

Ingredients

16 cups cold water

1 1/2 cups Kosher salt

1 cup soy sauce

2 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

1/3 cup fresh ginger; thinly sliced

1 cup Fresh cilantro; roughly chopped

4 limes cut into quarters & their juices

1 large head garlic cut in half

4 small red chili peppers; cut down the middle

3 tablespoon Chili Garlic Sauce

1 1/2 cups Rice Wine Vinegar

1 cup pure Sesame Oil

1/4 cup Chili Oil

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

14-20 lb Fresh Turkey; properly cleaned and prepared for cooking

Step-by-Step

1 combine all ingredients in large plastic or glass container; mix well

Note~ A Turkey Brining Bag can be used

2 add turkey; make sure turkey is completely submerged in brine

3 cover with foil; refrigerate 24-48 hours before removing from brine;

4 remove Turkey from brine, pat dry with paper towels; discard brine

5 baste all outside surfaces of dried turkey with melted butter, season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and fill cavities with slices of fresh lime and orange

Note~  see Sista Felicia Cookbook “Gifts Of Gold”  for Step-by-Step recipe details for roasting the perfect Turkey!  Page 218 in her Cookbook, “Gifts Of Gold In A Sicilian Kitchen With Sista Felicia;Harvest” highlights her Recipe for Traditional “Roasted Turkey with Gravy”

Sista Felicia’s cookbook  “Gifts Of Gold In A Sicilian Kitchen With Sista Felicia;Harvest”  highlights several Thanksgiving Recipes! To Purchase a copy, visit The Cave Cheese Shop Located On Main Street, Gloucester Ma 01930