Turkey Breast for 8-9 people??

[Smillow]

I read in some comments that though baking powder was too much and they tasted it. Wencit , have you found that to be the case? I think I’ll brush some of it off before cooking just in case so not too salty - my family are usually fine but the people we’re hosting may not like that.

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I use low sodium baking powder when I dry brine chicken wings. I am dry brining our spatchcocked turkey (minus drumsticks and wings - I have a 20” oven) and used about a teaspoon of the low sodium baking powder. I spatchcocked last year and grilled it - it was delicious!

[wencit]

Update on the gravy: oh my goodness, that is the best gravy ever! The stock from the backbone and neck (I didn’t use the giblets) is very flavorful, I could smell the turkey in the stock. The recipe only made 3.5 cups so I topped it up with store bought stock.

I strained the gravy and the onion/garlic solids are yummy on toast! You could leave the onion in the gravy, but our friends don’t eat onion so I strained the gravy as per the recipe

Yay, so glad you like the gravy! I'm happy I saw your post before throwing away the onions, because you're right, they are yummy. It never occurred to me to taste them, I always just tossed in the garbage.

[bcafe]

Did you roast the neck with the turkey? That's my plan and I hope to flavor both the stuffing and gravy with it.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Thank you!! I have done Alton Brown's brined turkey for years to rave reviews. I am so worried that I didn't do dry brining correctly and it will be terrible.

Also, yes I think a chicken will be easy peasy after this!

I hope you like it. Last year I went for the dry brine based on reviews here but it really didn't even compare to the Alton Brown method. Like not even close. AB has all the extra flavors beyond salt and it just makes the best gravy and overall flavor. Not to be a downer!! It was certainly better than some turkeys but I will go back to AB or the Fire and Flavor brine kits in the future (inlaws are on turkey duty now). Obviously lots and lots of people like the dry brine method and it sure is easy! Good luck!!

[niccig]

Did you roast the neck with the turkey? That's my plan and I hope to flavor both the stuffing and gravy with it.

I followed the recipe in the serious eats article for spatchcocking the turkey - you chop the backbone and neck, brown then add vegetables, herbs and stock to make the liquid for the gravy. I used that liquid for the Ina Garten make ahead turkey gravy. So the gravy is done, and I’ll add some pan drippings to it tomorrow


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[jent]

I hope you like it. Last year I went for the dry brine based on reviews here but it really didn't even compare to the Alton Brown method. Like not even close. AB has all the extra flavors beyond salt and it just makes the best gravy and overall flavor. Not to be a downer!! It was certainly better than some turkeys but I will go back to AB or the Fire and Flavor brine kits in the future (inlaws are on turkey duty now). Obviously lots and lots of people like the dry brine method and it sure is easy! Good luck!!

Funny you posted this and I'm reading it now. I might go back to the Alton Brown method next year. The dry brined turkey was good but not great. It may have been my fault. My turkey was fairly big (15.5 lbs) and it wasn't until AFTER I'd spatchcocked it that I realized Serious Eats recommends keeping turkey size to 14 lbs or less. It was a bear to spatchcock it at home. It overhung the baking sheet a bit, so I put two baking sheets on the lower rack to catch drips. Unfortunately the drips started smoking up the whole house. I realized my mistake and put water in the bottom sheet but I was stressed getting the smoke out of the house before guests came.

I also forgot to rub oil on the skin before baking. Totally my fault, but I partly blame the Serious Eats recipe spatchcock recipe, which assumes you're NOT dry brining, so there is a salt step, with a note to skip the step if you've already dry brined. So in skipping this step I skipped the oil step too.

Then, it cooked unevenly anyway (unless my thermometer isn't working anymore... a possibility). I had a seemingly cold spot that seemed to take forever to come to temp on the breast while the thighs and drumstick got way hotter.

The gravy was good though... also I made Serious Eats' vegan stuffing and it was excellent IMO.

[wencit]

Funny you posted this and I'm reading it now. I might go back to the Alton Brown method next year. The dry brined turkey was good but not great. It may have been my fault. My turkey was fairly big (15.5 lbs) and it wasn't until AFTER I'd spatchcocked it that I realized Serious Eats recommends keeping turkey size to 14 lbs or less. It was a bear to spatchcock it at home. It overhung the baking sheet a bit, so I put two baking sheets on the lower rack to catch drips. Unfortunately the drips started smoking up the whole house. I realized my mistake and put water in the bottom sheet but I was stressed getting the smoke out of the house before guests came.

I also forgot to rub oil on the skin before baking. Totally my fault, but I partly blame the Serious Eats recipe spatchcock recipe, which assumes you're NOT dry brining, so there is a salt step, with a note to skip the step if you've already dry brined. So in skipping this step I skipped the oil step too.

Then, it cooked unevenly anyway (unless my thermometer isn't working anymore... a possibility). I had a seemingly cold spot that seemed to take forever to come to temp on the breast while the thighs and drumstick got way hotter.

The gravy was good though... also I made Serious Eats' vegan stuffing and it was excellent IMO.

What a bummer, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the dry brined turkey as much. Totally disappointing on such a big occasion dinner.

[niccig]

We liked the turkey. I cooked it to the temp they said, but after testing for 30-40 mins the juices were a little pink so I put the turkey back in for a little longer. Next time I’ll cook it a little longer and let it rest longer. Everyone enjoyed it. I much preferred the faster cooking time. I’ll do this again next year. Wencit, thanks for all your help


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[mom2binsd]

I did a dry brine (just kosher salt and put it in a bag for 2 days in the fridge) and then did the Spatchcock yesterday. The poultry shears worked great (once I realized I had them upside down) and my 16 lb turkey cooked in about 1.5 hrs at 425. The greater amount of crispy skin was so good and the rest so easy. Now that I have the large baking sheet/rack and shears I'm all set for next year.

[wencit]

We liked the turkey. I cooked it to the temp they said, but after testing for 30-40 mins the juices were a little pink so I put the turkey back in for a little longer. Next time I’ll cook it a little longer and let it rest longer. Everyone enjoyed it. I much preferred the faster cooking time. I’ll do this again next year. Wencit, thanks for all your help

You're welcome, Nicci! Glad everything worked out for you!