Hi, Harold! Nice to have the opportunity to learn even more from you.
Okay, we've discussed this before, but let's have another whack at it. I was told by several people at my other food forum (MouthfulsFood.com) that I must have done something wrong if I didn't like brined turkey. You know there is a huge brining bandwagon, and one year, to see what all the fuss was about, I jumped on. I used the recipe that the San Francisco Chronicle swears up and down is perfection itself.
This recipe: Best Way Brined Turkey.
Well, I hated it. The drippings were useless: nothing in the world could correct their oversaltiness.
Now in my Bouchon cookbook, I see that Thomas Keller himself brines.
I've heard you say that you are not a brining fan: that you're replacing the bird's natural flavor and juices with salty water.
What do you think now? I took a lot of flak for being so outspoken against brining, and I wonder if you have any new ammunition for me in my battle.
(For the record, for everyone else who doesn't know me, I've made this recipe for turkey with an herb rub and shiitake-sherry gravy every year but one since it came out in Bon Appetit in 1994. I have never once had a single bit of meat turn out overcooked or dried out. It's just a failproof recipe, and delicious.)
Thanks, Harold, and I hope to see you soon...so you can sign your book for my girl's Christmas present!
Okay, we've discussed this before, but let's have another whack at it. I was told by several people at my other food forum (MouthfulsFood.com) that I must have done something wrong if I didn't like brined turkey. You know there is a huge brining bandwagon, and one year, to see what all the fuss was about, I jumped on. I used the recipe that the San Francisco Chronicle swears up and down is perfection itself.
This recipe: Best Way Brined Turkey.
Well, I hated it. The drippings were useless: nothing in the world could correct their oversaltiness.
Now in my Bouchon cookbook, I see that Thomas Keller himself brines.
I've heard you say that you are not a brining fan: that you're replacing the bird's natural flavor and juices with salty water.
What do you think now? I took a lot of flak for being so outspoken against brining, and I wonder if you have any new ammunition for me in my battle.
(For the record, for everyone else who doesn't know me, I've made this recipe for turkey with an herb rub and shiitake-sherry gravy every year but one since it came out in Bon Appetit in 1994. I have never once had a single bit of meat turn out overcooked or dried out. It's just a failproof recipe, and delicious.)
Thanks, Harold, and I hope to see you soon...so you can sign your book for my girl's Christmas present!