5 Unique Turkey Cooking Styles
Need to switch it up a little this Thanksgiving? If you are trying to reimagine the whole turkey-cooking thing and would like to go an alternative route to the traditional baking in the oven, we have a few ideas!
- Braised
Braised turkey doesn’t mesh well with Thanksgiving tradition, which states that the bird must be a stuffed, golden centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table. But some cooks argue that hacking apart the main dish and braising it does the most to ensure moisture is retained in the meat—a crucial quality that so many recipes fail to address, given the natural dryness of turkey.
This method is popular with foodies, and it really gets to the heart of why so many of them take issue with Thanksgiving: They just don’t like turkey, mostly because it’s too dry. I happen to like it in all forms, but if you side with the skeptics you might want to try braising your bird.
- Grilled
Braised turkey doesn’t mesh well with Thanksgiving tradition, which states that the bird must be a stuffed, golden centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table. But some cooks argue that hacking apart the main dish and braising it does the most to ensure moisture is retained in the meat—a crucial quality that so many recipes fail to address, given the natural dryness of turkey.
This method is popular with foodies, and it really gets to the heart of why so many of them take issue with Thanksgiving: They just don’t like turkey, mostly because it’s too dry. I happen to like it in all forms, but if you side with the skeptics you might want to try braising your bird.
- Smoked
Smokers allow you to be creative with some of the unique tastes that wood chips add, and you don’t even need to season the bird beforehand, although we highly recommend it. Some cooks like to brine the turkey beforehand with unusual ingredients, such as wine, bourbon, or apple cider. And different types of wood will impart different flavors to the bird.
Unless you fancy building your own smoker, you’ll need to purchase one (water smokers are most popular for turkeys). Check out our guide for turning your old charcoal grill into a fully functional smoker.
- Spatchcocked
As mentioned, there are a lot of challenges when it comes to cooking turkey. Uneven cooking temperatures and overly dry meat are the biggest among them. Spatchcocking solves both of these problems, as long as you do it correctly.
- Kenji López-Alt, the wizard-king of internet cooks, hasdeveloped an obsessionwith the technique, to the benefit of us all. We even posted a more in-depth look at why you should consider spatchcocking this year.
- Stewed
As we’ve mentioned, some folks don’t like how naturally dry turkey meat is. I happen to believe this is best countered by simply drowning the sucker in gravy, but it’s a legitimate complaint all the same. It can be difficult to get perfectly juicy meat without expensive, painstaking preparation.
If you’re a dry turkey hater and don’t mind a visual downgrade on your Thanksgiving table, consider making a turkey stew. It takes less time and is less perilous than oven-roasting, and the flavor possibilities are endless. Just make sure you back it up with the standard Thanksgiving side dishes.
Source: Reviewed.com