Sweet DoAheads do I have a treat for you! We have culinary treasure in our tribe and He’s my BIL! Not every family is lucky enough to have there very own Emeril but we do! I asked my sister-in-law if he might be willing to share just a couple of tips for cooking a terrific Tom Turkey. Well, he didn’t just share tips…we got the whole nine yards girls! Without further delay here’s few words on how to make the juiciest, tastiest Turkey to have ever graced your holiday table!

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I love turkey, and I make it many more times a year than just Thanksgiving. My favorite way to make a moist turkey, either in the oven or on the grill in the summer, is by using a brine. Here is my recipe for the oven version-

Turkey Brine

Ingredients:

1 cup Kosher Salt

½ cup light brown sugar

1 gallon of Vegtable Stock (I make my own, but the grocery version works fine)

1 tablespoon of black peppercorns

4-Beers

½ Onion Sliced

4 Sprigs of Rosemary

6 leaves of Sage

Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot, bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids then remove from heat, cool to room temperature then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

I keep the turkey in the brine for 3-days. Remove the bird, pat dry and place in the roaster. Bake the bird (uncovered) at 450-500 degrees for 30 minutes or until the bird is brown. Take it out, cover with foil and bake at 275 until the internal temperature of the bird is 180-then you know it is completely cooked.  After removing the bird, let it rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.  Carve and serve, or put the meat on a cookie sheet with a light gravy and leave it in the oven on warm to serve later. (Check out this post for tips on DoAhead Turkey Carving!)

Coming from a household of German descent every meal had sauerkraut with it. Thanksgiving was no exception. For something fabulous with your mashed potatoes add a side of sauerkraut.  You can purchase canned sauerkraut, or go to the deli and get the jarred kraut. Yo’ll need to drain and sweeten with 1-tablespoon of sugar and a little bacon grease. It’s fantastic, and I promise you will never eat Thanksgiving without sauerkraut again!

It’s official DoAheads, you are now members of the secret sauce society. Guard this recipe with your life.

On second thought, share it or give it your own twist. Above all ENJOY it. Nothing would give my BIL greater pleasure than knowing he contributed, in albeit a small way , to connecting folks around the family table.

Your (I can’t wait for Turkey) DoAhead Friend,