How to make a brine for a turkey (or any other meat)
How to make a brine for a turkey (or any other meat)
The next time you roast a turkey, try brining it. The brine lends flavor as well as moistness to your bird, and though it means starting the process a few days early, it only adds a few minutes of extra work.
Bring a gallon of water to a simmer and then 1 cup kosher salt and 1/4 cup sugar, plus a few aromatic additions: 10 or so each of green, white and black peppercorns; 2 bay leaves; 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1 teaspoon garam masala; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 2 star anise and 2 tablespoons honey.
Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes, then let it cool and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors mingle. In a large container (5-gallon food grade tubs work well, and so does a clean cooler), submerge the turkey and let it soak for at least 6 hours in the refrigerator. Pull the container out of the fridge a couple of hours before roasting the turkey and be sure to pat the bird dry before putting it in the oven.
In the 1500s, Europeans found turkeys in Mexico, domesticated them back at home and then repatriated them to the United States when they settled in the new world.
America's big, bland national bird was prized by Pilgrims and it's still the main event at our annual feast of shared blessings and family feuds.
Ben Franklin's suggestion that the national bird be changed from the eagle to the turkey was largely ignored, as was his cooking advice. For an "uncommonly tender" turkey, he unkindly recommended electrocution.
Farm-raised turkeys may be too fat to fly, but lithe wild turkeys do just fine in the air.
Sauerkraut is easy to make at home; it mostly requires cabbage, salt and time.
First, clean and core the cabbage.
Next, finely shred the cabbage to about the thickness of a nickel.
The key to good sauerkraut is controlled fermentation; this is acheived by cool temperatures and lactic acid-loving bacteria. Your hands and the container need to be immaculately clean so that the cabbage does not pick up bacteria that may rot it instead of fermenting.
A large, enameled stockpot is a good place to make sauerkraut should you lack a wooden barrel or a piece of glazed crockery. The heavy metal will help to keep the temperature steady and the enamel will prevent the salt and lactic-acid brine from reacting with the metal. Under no circumstances should you use a bare metal pot to make sauerkraut, as the acidic brine would leach metals out into the cabbage.
After thoroughly coating the shredded cabbage with salt and layering it into the crock of your choice, make sure that there is enough brine covering the cabbage. (This may take an hour or so for the liquid to leach out of the leaves and cover the future sauerkraut.) A little extra brine may be made from boiling water and salt, cooled and then added to the shredded cabbage before covering the whole assembly with plastic wrap and a heavy plate. The plate will serve to keep the mixture submerged so that fermentation is undisturbed.
After a few weeks of fermenting at 50F, the finished sauerkraut is a pale, creamy color and full of rich, briny flavor. It is recommended that sauerkraut is rinsed and drained before use to control the salt levels in the dish.
Sauerkraut is a classic fermented dish popular in Germany, France and all over northern and central Europe that was invented as a way to preserve cabbage over the winter.
Fresh sauerkraut is high in vitamin C and was frequently taken on long sea voyages by European explorers to help prevent scurvy.
The version that is most popular in the U.S. involves very thinly shredded cabbage. It is salted to draw out its juices and then sits in the resulting brine for 4 to 6 weeks as it cures and ferments. The bacteria that ferment the cabbage help to turn the sugars in the leaves to lactic acid, which imparts the distinctive taste.
There are many variations on the sauerkraut theme, including using red cabbage for a bright pink result and adding various spices to the brew. Caraway seeds and juniper berries are traditional additions; black peppercorns and slices of apple are also found in many recipes.
Reference: How to make sauerkraut
Fermentation is a process where certain so-called "good" or "preferable" microbes living on the surface of plants flourish and feed on those plants, supressing the growth of "bad" bacteria. These microbes also produce substances like lactic acid and alcohol, preserving food's texture and nutrients and enhancing its taste and flavor.
Commonly fermented foods and drinks include wine and bread, where yeast is encouraged to consume sugar. To make olives, preserved lemons, sauerkraut and pickles, vegetables are submerged in brine to create the proper oxygen-free atmosphere for good bacteria to flourish, extending their shelf-life.
Ham is a cut of meat taken from the hind leg of a hog.
Ham can be bought fresh, but most host ham is sold already processed in some way. The salting, smoking and aging of pork was an invention of the Gauls and was an ancient European method of preserving backyard pigs that were slaughtered in the autumn and preserved for winter.
Ham can be dry-cured by coating it with salt -- as in the case of Italian prosciutto -- and may also be smoked like Spanish Serrano ham or Bayonne ham from France. It can be brined in a process called sweet-pickle curing (when sugar is added it's called sweet-cured) or injected with brine like the majority of mass-produced hams. So-called country-cured hams from the American south include Virginia's famous Smithfield ham.
Cornichons are adorable little French pickles made from miniature gherkin cucumbers.
The crunchy pickles have a dry, sharp taste, and are often served alongside fatty meats such as pork rillettes or with traditional French pot-au-feu, in order to perk up and cut through the richness of a meaty dish. They are also used in tartare and other sauces.
A staple condiment, cornichons are often the last thing standing in a French refrigerator.
