Thursday - Roast Turkey

I decided it was time to roast one of the turkey breasts in my freezer (.89/lb Harris Teeter) before it got any closer to Thanksgiving.

Growing up, and well into my adult years, I didn't much care for turkey. I thought it was dry and tasteless and I certainly didn't want it more than once a year. But a few years ago, I started reading articles and watching cooking shows that employed the brining method. I was interested but unconvinced; I just didn't believe it could make all that much of a difference in taste and texture. Then, 2 years ago, I decided to try it for myself at Thanksgiving. The proof was in the pudding. I became a fan of turkey overnight. I've made at least 6 brined turkeys (or turkey breasts) since that first one, and now I'd never consider cooking turkey without it.

Basically, a brine is just a salty liquid. Alton Brown of Good Eats gave a great explanation for the science behind what brining does and why it works, but I confess I don't remember much of it. Something about the cells of the turkey needing to equalize their salt content with that of water surrounding them. So they suck the salty water in, which then plumps up the cells with moisture. And if you season the salty liquid, that seasoning goes into the turkey at the cellular level, too. (Yeah, science was never my best subject, but that's the jist of it.)

Anyway, you can find lots of brining recipes online. Here's mine (based on one I saw on Good Eats):

2/3 cup Kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
3 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon black peppercorns
1 Tablespoon Allspice berries
1/2 gallon water

Combine everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes.

Strain into the vessel you're going to brine in. For a turkey breast, a large stock (soup) pot will probably work. For a whole turkey, you'll probably have to use a 5-gallon bucket (with lid) or some other large Rubbermaid-type container. Now add water, ice, and your turkey. The amount of water and ice is going to depend on your turkey and the vessel. There's no real measurement here, you'll just have to play it by ear and use common sense. Basically, you want enough ice and water to keep the whole thing very cold and to cover the bird completely. If I'm brining a turkey breast in a large stockpot, I probably use a little less than a gallon of water, and the entire contents of my freezer's ice bin.

Cover your turkey and keep it in a cool place to brine for 8 - 12 hours before roasting.

Rinse the turkey thoroughly to get rid of the excess salt - at least 4 - 5 changes of fresh water. Pat it dry, rub the skin with about 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil, and roast as you normally would. For me, that means I cover the bird with slices of bacon and roast at 350 until a thermometer in the thickest part of the breast reads 161. Then I let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.

At Thanksgiving I cook a whole turkey - the rest of the year, it's usually a turkey breast. Cooked this way, a 5 lb. breast will feed my family of 3 for at least 2 - 3 meals, plus a few turkey sandwiches. (I could squeeze even more out of it if I made soup with the carcass.)

Dinner last night was obviously turkey. I made homemade gravy using the pan drippings, a little Wondra flour, and chicken broth (using my Mom's method, who makes the best darn gravy in the free world). We just had turkey and gravy on toast, with cranberry sauce and green beans, and man was it good.

Totals:

$1.66 - turkey (about 1/3 of the cooked meat)
.30 - bread (just a guess)
$1 - can of cranberry sauce
.33 - can of green beans (3/$1 sale at HT)

$3.29 for dinner for 3

Wednesday Dinner

Tonight's dinner was also about using up leftovers - in this case, the rest of the Tequila-Lime turkey tenderloin that I cooked last week. I didn't want it again "plain," so I knew I'd have to find a way to use it as an ingredient in something else. I fiddled around in the kitchen and came up with a soup recipe so good I'd make it on its own merits, leftovers or no. It was rich and spicy and tasted like it had simmered all day - but it took me less than 30 minutes to put on the table.

I topped each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of Texas Toast Southwest Tortilla Strips - these are sold next to the croutons and I bought them because they were only about .40 after tripled coupon. (I would have preferred them if they'd been made from flour tortillas. Since they were made from corn tortillas, they were really just Doritos in thin strips. I wouldn't buy again unless they were free or almost free after coupon.) I also made cheese quesadillas (just cheddar/jack blend grilled between flour tortillas) to round out the meal.

Southwest Turkey-Corn Chowder

3 T. butter or margarine
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
3 T. flour
32 oz. chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained (Ro-Tel)
1 14 oz. can corn, drained
leftover diced, cooked turkey tenderloin (about 1 cup meat)

In large saucepan or soup pot, saute onions in butter over medium-high heat until soft and lightly browned. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add flour and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for 3 - 4 minutes. Add chicken broth and stir with a wisk to break up lumps. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, add tomatoes, corn and turkey and heat through. Serve in bowls topped with sour cream and crushed tortilla chips (optional).

Totals:

free - turkey tenderloin (accounted for the first night it was cooked)
$1.33 - 32 oz. carton chicken broth
.33 - corn (HT 3/$1 the other week)
.50 - Ro-tel tomatoes w/ green chiles (purchased on sale + coupon)
$1.50 - cheese & tortillas for quesadillas

$3.66 for dinner for 3 (with more soup leftover for lunches)

Saturday Dinner

I'm still sick (head cold) and still not up for cooking, but I really wanted something warm and rich and comforting for dinner tonight, so I solicited some help from my family to make Mexican Rice. Mainly I sat at the kitchen table and "directed traffic" - chop that, add this, stir, etc.

Mexican Rice

1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
3 slices bacon, diced
1.5 cups uncooked rice
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 packet taco seasoning mix
2 cups chicken broth or water (I used chicken broth)
shredded cheese (I used cheddar/jack blend)

Brown ground turkey in large nonstick skillet; remove and drain. In same skillet, saute diced bacon with onion until bacon is cooked. Add turkey back to the pan along with remaining ingredients except cheese. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 - 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Add a little more chicken broth or water if it starts to get too dry. Top with shredded cheese and replace cover for a minute or two until cheese melts. This dish feeds 6 - 8 generously.

Options: I had both leftover corn and leftover black beans in the fridge -about 1 cup of each - so I threw them in.

My head is too fuzzy to do all the calculations, but I estimate this dish cost about $4 based on $1.29 chub of turkey, bacon & cheese bought on sale, taco seasoning free after triple coupons, etc. But even if you paid full price for every ingredient, this would still be a pretty economical dish to make given how many people it feeds.

Sunday Dinner

Last week I picked up a package of turkey breast cutlets on markdown for $3.75 (down from $5-something a pound). Tonight I turned them into Turkey Piccata, which I served with thin spaghetti and (frozen, packaged) creamed spinach.

To make the Piccata, first I pounded the turkey cutlets thin with the back of a heavy skillet. I seasoned with salt and pepper, then dipped in flour. I dunked them in a mixture of beaten egg and little milk, then back into the flour to coat well. I sauteed them over medium-high heat in a mixture of butter and oil (about 1 Tablespoon of each) until browned and crispy (about 2 minutes per side). Then I removed them from the pan and made the sauce. To the hot pan I added about 1 cup chicken broth and the juice of 1 lemon, then let that boil down for about 3 minutes, scraping up all the little browned bits. When it was reduced by about 1/2, I swirled in a pat of butter and added about 1 teaspoon capers and salt and pepper to taste. To serve, I topped individual servings of pasta with a turkey cutlet, then poured the sauce over.

Totals:

$3.75 - turkey
.50 - pasta
.66 - creamed spinach (BOGO + coupon)

$4.91 for dinner for 3 (with leftovers for 1 more serving)