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Originally Posted by GUINNESS
Times like this I wish I had a wet stone to sharpen and knew how to use it. Our knives are in dire need of a good sharpening... so not looking forward to cutting tomorrow.
One thing I want to know... you hear so many times don't stuff the bird. Then you hear people say it's ok to stuff the bird. If I remember correctly, Nicole's mom stuffs it, everyone eats it and loves it, and no one gets sick. Nicole's mom had her own restaurant for some time and is a good cook. So what's the deal with stuffing and not stuffing????
Anyway, I just want to throw my turkey day special in there too  Think we got about a 10 - 12 pounder and it's been sitting in a Willam-Sonoma turkey brine since yesterday. I don't know how to make my own brine or where else to buy it... so I went with their mix. Ice, water, the mix, and the turkey. Comes out tonight around 8:30 tonight, gets stuffed with onion, garlic, lemon, apple (decided on apple instead of orange this year), and other herbs, set in a pan and off to the smoker. I use hickory and apple wood to smoke... check the fire every 2 hours. Turkey will be ready shortly after 9 or 10 Thursday morning Smoked turkey is goooooooooooood. Also, it's bad to smoke anything over 12 - 15 lbs. Since it cooks at such a low temp, anything too big and you risk not fully cooking the bird. |
This soubda be good. mmmmmm
The deal with stuffing has 2 angles that tie together. BTW putting Loose Aromatics in a birds cavity is a good thing. Apples, onions, garlic, olives, herbs etc... give flavor and do not impeed with the cookin'. Such as mentioned by yourself and B.
If the stuffing is handled well and cleanly, then cooked to a safe temp in the bird, there should not be any issue. Personally, it is the only way to go when done correctly. Most average people don't understand the parameters. The chances of making somebody ill are SLIM, but if it happens it is a brutal sickness.
The common issue is cooking properly. Either the bird is completely overcooked or the flesh is cooked well but the stuffing is left cold and is a potential hazard. One needs to more Bake the boid than Roast. A lower temp is needed to allow for even cooking to the center without destroying the outer flesh. I cannot think of a better way than a slow 250 smoke mmmmm tasty!!!
The dangerous problem that could arise is food safety. The time and temperature the stuffing spends warm specifically. If the stuffing is made and not cooled properly before hand, it can be in the 'danger zone' too long (45-145 for over 4 hours) and any bacteria (from the counter, cutting boards etc.) that might be in it will flourish.
Imagine, making the stuffing, setting it aside on the counter, prepping the bird, stuffing it then starting to cook combined withthe fact it is going to take 3 hours at least to hit temp in the bird while cooking. This could potentially cause an illness. Also, if the stuffing is made, quickly put in the boid but the center of the stuffin' it is not brought to a safe temp, you could have the same issue.
The dirty turkey secret is: turkeys do not have salmonella. You can safley eat it raw. Morimoto even served a turkey carpaccio on Iron Chef. You need to be concerned about the introduction of bacteria through cross contamination. The average home cook does not sanitize his utensils as thorough as one should.
Brine is simply a saline solution. The addition of flavors is prefered. Roughly one cup salt per gallon of water. Sugar or a sweeter is often added along with the reduction of salt. I prefer 2/3 c salt 1/3 c sugar. Bring 1 qt water to a boil, add flavorings, salt and sugar. Then add to 3qt. cold water. You can add ice to quicken the cooling, just keep it at 3qt. If you do not have room in your fridge, wash a cooler and use it as the vessel. Keeping in mind, to use ice as the coolant and including into the ratio for the brine.