Scott Hutcheson

Turkey Talk: Recipe for Cranberry Brine

Primum non nocere. First, do no harm. This Latin phrase, or something close to it, shows up in both the Hippocratic Oath and Star Trek’s Prime Directive. The same principle holds in the kitchen as well. Start with quality ingredients, and then don’t mess with them...too much. As we enter the holiday cooking season this is especially sound advice.   

In full disclosure, when it comes to both my Thanksgiving and Christmas meals turkeys are my go-to main course and I’ve “messed” with them a lot. I’ve salted them, wrapped them up in a lattice of bacon, shrouded them with cheesecloth, buttered them under the skin, over the skin, and used all sorts of herb and spice combinations.

The bottom line is that a turkey doesn’t need much help to be a star attraction. The one intervention I keep coming back to, however, is brining. The reason these other techniques don’t add much to the bird is that the flavoring and other benefits that occur when you treat the surface of the turkey remains, pretty much, on the surface of that turkey. Brining, on the other hand, can spread flavor throughout the meat.

When brining, you soak the turkey in a salty liquid solution that pulls the natural juices out of the meat where it mixes with the liquid you’ve added. Then, the now-dry bird acts as a sponge and pulls moisture back in, carrying with it the flavors you’ve added. Honestly, a simple solution of salt and sugar does an amazing job of enhancing the flavor and resulting in a juicier turkey.  A few extras are just icing on the cake…or bird…or…never mind, you get the idea.

If you are a fan of the having a bite of cranberry relish with your turkey you may want to consider this recipe for cranberry brine. I recommend 100% pure cranberry juice rather than the “juice cocktail” you might be used to. You can usually find the 100% version in the natural foods section of your grocery store. Also, no need to worry about this turning your turkey pink. It may look a little tinted when you pull it out of the brine but you won’t notice it once it is cooked.

The following is my recipe for cranberry brine and some instructions on technique. Note that if you are using a frozen turkey, be sure the bird is completely thawed.

Cranberry Brine

• 1 gallons of cranberry juice
• 2-1/2 cups kosher salt

• 1-1/2 cups sugar

• ½ cup of candied ginger

• 4 tablespoon black peppercorns, coarsely crushed

• 4 tablespoon whole allspice, coarsely crushed

• 12 whole cloves

• 6 bay leaves
• 1 gallon water

• Bag of ice

To prepare the brine, combine in a stockpot 1 gallon of cranberry juice with the next seven ingredients (through bay leaves), bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes until the sugar and salt dissolve. Let this cool.

Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey. Rinse the turkey and pat it dry with paper towels. Place the turkey in a large plastic cooler. Add the juice mixture and enough ice to raise the level of liquid so that it covers the turkey. Close the cooler and let sit for 12-24 hours. Put cooler outside if cool and check a couple of times to see if additional ice is needed. The cooler should remain cold enough so that ice does not melt. If the outside temperature is below freezing, move the cooler where it will not freeze.

After the brining, remove the turkey, discard the brine liquid, and rinse the turkey in cold water, and pat it dry with paper towels. After brining, the cooler should be cleaned with boiling water and bleach. You would not want salmonella to grow all winter and spoil your next tailgate. You are not ready to cook the turkey as you normally would. 

Orignially published in the Winter 2014 issue of B Magazine

Brand New Byline

The current issue of Indianapolis Monthly features a small piece, written by Yours Truly, on places in Indianapolis that offer free WiFi Internet access and also have some great food on their menus. This piece is my first byline with IM. It provides round-the-clock WiFi/Food options starting with a Lox and Bagel breakfast at Shapiros, The Mighty Vegimetiferous vegetarian sandwich for lunch at Cafe at Ray, dinner (Blue Cheese Pasta with Grilled Chicken) at Urban Element, and then a late-night Chili Omelet at the Red Eye Cafe (open 24 hours). You can see a copy of the article here. I'm sure sales of this issue will be due entirely to this article instead of Danica Patrick's neckline.    

Chicken Francese

I'm sure many people assume that a married man who cooks probably has a wife that does not or at least does not cook very well. Nothing could be farther from the truth in my home. My wife is a great cook. This week for instance, she made a wonderful Chicken Francese while my sister and her husband were visiting us.

She adapted a recipe from David Rosengarten's cookbook, Taste. First a word about Rosengarten. He had a program on the Food Network called Taste that was on in the 90s. For my money, it was the best program that network has ever had. Anyway, his cookbook offers some great recipes as well as detailed information about the background of each dish. Here is what Rosengarten says about francese dishes, "I think alla francese got invented (by Italian-Americans) at a time when Italian restaurants were feeling distinctly inferior to French Restaurants....Chicken Francese is...lovely slices of meat, sauteed to light golden brown in a delicate batter served with a wisp of winy sauce sometimes accented with lemon -- at their best...offering a startling harmony of subtle flavors. A good francese is one of the world's best-balanced main courses."

Lisa's version departed somewhat from Rosengarten's most significantly in the substitution of sherry for white wine (because it is what was on-hand) and the addition of juniper berries (because we've got a large tin of them from Dean & Deluca's and can't seem to use them up). Here is her recipe.

Chicken Francese with Lemon and Pecorino

• 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 heaping tablespoons finely grated pecorino cheese
• 4 tablespoons very finely chopped parsley leaves
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• Flour for dredging
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 6 thin slices of lemon, seeds removed
• 6 dried juniper berries
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

Place the chicken breasts between sheets of wax paper and pound with a mallet until they are very thin. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cheese and two tablespoons of parsley in a wide, shallow bowl (we used a pie plate) Slowly add the beaten eggs, whisking until all of the ingredients are incorporated. Place the flour in another wide bowl (or another pie plate). Dip the chicken in the egg mixture. Remove them, making sure the excess egg drips off. Place each piece of chicken in the flour and coat lightly. Remove the chicken form the flour and place them, in a single layer, on a platter.

Add the olive oil to a saute pan and heat to medium-high. When the oil is hot, add the chicken in a single layer. Saute, turning once, until the chicken is golden brown. Use a instant-read probe thermometer, if needed, to be sure the internal temperature is 170 degrees. This should take about two minutes per side.

Set the cooked chicken aside and drain the oil form the pan. Return the pan to high heat and add the sherry, scraping the pan, and reducing the sherry by half. Add the chicken stock and lemon slices and boil for five minutes, then remove the lemon slices. Keep the sauce simmering another couple of minutes then reduce the heat to low. Add the butter, swirling it in and whisking until the sauce is thick. Return the chicken to the pan, and turn to coat both sides with the sauce. Plate the chi ken and pour any remaining sauce on the chicken.Garnish with the remaining parsley ans serve immediately.   

Chicken Soup for the Soul = Coin in the Food Writer's Pocket?

I've submitted two chapters for an upcoming title from the folks at Chicken Soup for the Soul. This one is called "Cooking with Kids." I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Aunt Bea's Mealtime in Mayberry

I was a little saddened at the death of Don Knott's this week. Like many people, I am quite fond of The Andy Griffith Show. I ran across this book that lists in chronological order 72 episodes in which food plays an important part. Aunt Bea's Mealtime in Mayberry would be the perfect gift for the classic-television loving gourmand. The following is the book description - The authors have carefully chosen more than seventy-five scenes from the show in which eating plays a big part. Each scene comes alive with eye-popping black-and-white or color photographs accompanied by corresponding dialogue and recipes for the food from the show.

Included are everything from a casual lunch with Andy and Barney at the courthouse to a sit-down dinner with the Darlings at Andy's house. Aunt Bee's Mealtime in Mayberry is a tasty way to remember one of the most popular television shows of all time. With more than 100 photographs, most of which have never been published, and 150 recipes, this full-color, hardcover gift book makes a wonderful remembrance of America's friendliest town.

Wookie Cookies and other Star Wars Treats

Every other blog seems to be commenting on some aspect of Star Wars so I thought I would look for a food tie-in. Apparently there are a couple of Star Wars cookbooks on the market. The first was published in 1998 and features "Wookie Cookies and Other Galactic Recipes." The next one came out in 2000. These didn't win a James Beard award but might be good resources for a Star Wars-themed birthday party.

A History of the World in Six Glasses

I heard about this new book on NPR yesterday afternoon. It sounds fascinating. Here is what Publisher's Weekly has to say:

Tom Standage starts with a bold hypothesis—that each epoch, from the Stone Age to the present, has had its signature beverage—and takes readers on an extraordinary trip through world history. The Economist's technology editor has the ability to connect the smallest detail to the big picture and a knack for summarizing vast concepts in a few sentences. He explains how, when humans shifted from hunting and gathering to farming, they saved surplus grain, which sometimes fermented into beer. The Greeks took grapes and made wine, later borrowed by the Romans and the Christians. Arabic scientists experimented with distillation and produced spirits, the ideal drink for long voyages of exploration. Coffee also spread quickly from Arabia to Europe, becoming the "intellectual counterpoint to the geographical expansion of the Age of Exploration." European coffee-houses, which functioned as "the Internet of the Age of Reason," facilitated scientific, financial and industrial cross-fertilization. In the British industrial revolution that followed, tea "was the lubricant that kept the factories running smoothly." Finally, the rise of American capitalism is mirrored in the history of Coca-Cola, which started as a more or less handmade medicinal drink but morphed into a mass-produced global commodity over the course of the 20th century. In and around these grand ideas, Standage tucks some wonderful tidbits—on the antibacterial qualities of tea, Mecca's coffee trials in 1511, Visigoth penalties for destroying vineyards—ending with a delightful appendix suggesting ways readers can sample ancient beverages.

It is not available yet, but can be preordered here.

The New Food Lover's Companion

Last weekend I picked up a copy of The New Food Lover's Companion. I don't know how I ever existed without this book. How did I cook a single dish without knowing about Crescenza - a rich, creamy fresh cheese that is widely made in Italy's regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, and Veneto (page 179)? This volume is seriously comprehensive with over 6,000 entries. Check it out and you too can learn what a plett pan is for (see page 474).

Comfort Food

Over the last few days as we dealt with the news and then logistics related to the death of and funeral arrangements for Lisa's dad, food was an immediate and constant expression of support from friends and family. I got the news while at work and headed home immediately to be with my wife. One of my friends and coworkers arranged to have dinner delivered to our house that evening. We were in decision-mode - making plans for our own travel, who needed to call which friends, where to have the funeral, etc. It was so nice to have one less decision to make that evening- what do we eat for dinner.

By the time we arrived in Akron, friends and family overwhelmed us with food. It came in handy as lots of people came and went over the next couple of days.

It seems that this tradition of feeding people in times of mourning is somewhat universal. These traditions are the subject of a Death Warmed Over: Funeral Food, Rituals, and Customs from Around the World by Lisa Rogak. The book looks at 100 different cultures and the role food plays in thier death rituals.     

Saveur

I just received my first issue of Saveur. The subscription was a gift from my good friend Steve. The following description is from their website:

Saveur is for people who experience the world food first. It was created to satisfy the hunger for genuine information about food in all its contexts. With its emphasis on heritage and tradition, home cooking, and real food, the magazine evokes the flavors of food from around the world (including forgotten pockets of culinary excellence in the United States). It celebrates the culture and environment in which dishes are created and the people who create them. It serves up rich, satisfying stories that are complex, defining, and memorable. Saveur is the definitive culinary and culinary-travel magazine of its generation.