More turkey analysis -- "Pros offer tips for a moist bird" (from Houston Chronicle).
Nov. 19, 2001, 12:38PM
FOOD
Pros offer tips for a moist bird
By JUDITH WEINRAUB
Copyright 2001 Washington Post
Consider how a handful of respected chefs and food scientists use
very different approaches to produce succulent, safe birds. (We told
you there were more ways than one to get that turkey properly
cooked.)
Galileo chef-owner Roberto Donna of Washington solves the problem
of white meat cooking faster than dark meat by removing the breast
from the turkey carcass once the breast is cooked, and returning the
rest of the turkey to the oven. (He checks that with a two-pronged
fork in the breast near where it joins the wing. If the fork is hot, and
the turkey juice is clear, the breast meat is cooked.) "By the time you
let the breast sit, and then slice it," he says, "the legs are almost
done."
At Washington's The Oval Room, chef Frank Morales reverses that
process. To avoid overcooking the breast, he removes the turkey legs
and part of the back, roasts them separately from the rest of the bird,
but then serves the white and dark meat together on the plate. Before
roasting, Morales brines the turkey twice, first overnight, "to draw
out the blood," he says. "The salt extracts some of the blood and
injects more flavor and moisture." Then he throws out that brine, and
submerges the turkey in a second, shorter apple-cider brine, "to inject
a flavorful liquid in place of the blood."
Cookwise (William Morrow, $30) author Shirley Corriher brines her
turkey, then braises and roasts it. This braising technique, invented by
Atlanta food writer and cooking teacher Ursula Knaesel, involves
creating a heavy aluminum foil container inside a roasting pan. The
turkey, boiling liquid and flavorings are first braised at a high
temperature inside the foil package for an hour and 10 minutes plus
an additional 5 minutes for each pound over 12. Then the top layer of
foil is carefully removed so that the turkey can roast in a
medium-high oven for the same amount of time as it was braised.
Chef, cooking teacher and cookbook author James Peterson starts his
turkeys at 375 degrees, covering the breast meat with buttered
aluminum foil to insulate it from the heat. After an hour or two,
"when the bird is perfectly browned," he turns the oven down to 325.
About an hour before the turkey is done, he removes the foil "so that
the turkey browns but doesn't overcook." His turkey never does: He
takes it out of the oven when the area where the thigh joins the back
reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees. "Turkeys are always
overcooked," he says.
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle |
