First of all, let me start by saying that I am sorry for the long hiatus from Ask Culinarian? I've been busy with life, and this part has fallen by the wayside. I will try to do better, so keep the questions coming! But, since we just had Thanksgiving, I thought I'd post these turkey related questions:The Question: I'm trying to pick a turkey recipe for Thanksgiving. Because we keep kosher, I've always steered away from recipes involving slathering the bird in butter, but I came across a recipe on Epicurious that has gotten such rave reviews that I am included to try it...even though it calls for making an herb butter and rubbing it all over the turkey pre roasting. My inclination is just to go with the herbs (without the butter) or try the herbs in olive oil. I can't imagine using a butter substitute...Thoughts?
The Answer: I certainly agree with you: avoid a butter substitute at all costs, and avoid using the dry herb rub as well. You can definitely do the herbs in olive oil, but beware that when cooking the bird you may have some smoking oil problems. To avoid setting off your smoke detector and smoking the bird, baste with either veggie, chicken broth, or orange juice.
Some other essentials for turkey roasting...make sure that you stuff the cavity of the bird with copious amounts of lemons and oranges (sliced). In addition, stuff the cavity with fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, and stick peeled garlic cloves under the skin of the bird.
If you do not keep kosher, and thus are not buying a kosher turkey, home brining is always a surefire way to get a moist and very tasty bird. You can buy brining kits at most supermarkets, but essentially it consists of some herbs, followed by a long salt water soak! Some people like to use a citrus brine to make for an even more flavor-packed turkey!
And of course, all of these tips can be used with chicken or any other type of poultry! Happy Thanksgiving, a few days late:)
