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Episode 61

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Published on:

18th Nov 2024

WELCOME TO OUR KITCHEN: We're talking about how to cook a turkey!

It's that time of year: turkey time! Or at least in the U. S. But really anywhere, given that a roasted turkey is such a treat, summer or winter. Great for sandwiches, great for hot meals on cold nights.

We're here to help. We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, the authors of more than three dozen cookbooks (not counting the ones ghost-written for celebrities). We've been talking Thanksgiving for a long time in our career. We've got some tips and tricks to make that turkey the best it can be.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[01:07] Our one-minute cooking tip: Keep the gravy warm in a thermos. (Seriously?)

[03:54] How to cook a turkey: with a brine, from frozen, in a deep-fryer. Plus, alternatives to turkey for Thanksgiving.

[27:47] What’s making us happy in food this week: turkey-rice soup and pear jam with almond butter.

Transcript
Bruce:

Hey, I'm Bruce Weinstein, and this is the podcast

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cooking with Bruce and Mark,

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Mark: and I'm Mark Scarborough.

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And together with Bruce, we

have written 36 cookbooks are

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now finishing up the 37th.

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We'll be telling you about that in 2025.

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It's going to be

published in July of:

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We'll be telling you about that later.

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It's a very exciting book for us, a book

that we have so badly wanted to write

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the sort of book even that we have so

badly wanted to write for a long time.

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But more on that later.

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This is our.

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podcast about food and cooking.

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Our passions for 25 years now

through tens of thousands of

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copywritten and original recipes.

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In this episode, we're going to be

talking about Thanksgiving again.

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We started, um, a couple

episodes ago, right?

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Wasn't that right?

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We taught

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Bruce: with drinks.

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What a serve.

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Yeah.

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Mark: So.

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That's right.

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And now we're going to talk about

the main event, the bird itself, and

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what to do about that bird leading

up to the big holidays ahead of us.

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So let's get started.

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Bruce: Our one minute cooking tip.

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Keep your gravy warm without taking

up valuable burner space on your stove

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during the holidays by using a thermos.

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Mark (2): What?

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Oh.

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So you,

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Bruce: you take your hot gravy.

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off of the stove and

pour it into a thermos.

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That way,

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Mark: do I have, what if it's chunky?

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What if I use one of those

press down thermoses?

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Does it vomit?

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Bruce: Okay.

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Let me reiterate.

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Okay.

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Okay.

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Let me restate that.

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Mark: Yeah.

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The writer wants clarity.

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Bruce: You can't use a pump thermos.

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It has to be one of those old fashioned

thermoses where you unscrew the

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Mark: top.

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Bruce: Well, you.

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Then you have your choice.

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You could bring the thermos to

the table and let people pour

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the gravy from the thermos.

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Mark: Camping, then.

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Bruce: Or, at the last minute,

you could then pour it from

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the thermos into a gravy boat.

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But either way, you

have a free burner now.

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Rather than keeping a little pan on

warm, you probably need those burners.

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Mark: Okay, so how do you get the

gravy stink out of your thermos?

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Bruce: Oh, now you're asking

for lots of information.

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I do!

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I want to know more!

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Well, I would Probably try a little baking

soda and let it soak a little vinegar.

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Maybe that, okay, here's the thing

that becomes your gravy thermos.

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You can have a coffee thermos

and you have a gravy thermos.

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Mark: Are you from the South that

you would have a gravy thermos?

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Um, okay.

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Uh, that's, that's the wildest one

minute cooking tip I've ever heard.

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I don't write these.

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Bruce, the chef in our

duo writes them and he's

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Bruce: very clever.

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Mark: And.

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If he says so himself Yeah, so I don't

see these before we record these podcasts

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and they always take me by surprise But

this would particularly a gravy thermos.

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Okay, I'm just Seeing grandma plop

it out of the thermos under a plate.

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I've got a living vision of what this

looks like Okay, before we get on

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to the turkey tips for the holidays.

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I want to say that we have a

newsletter It comes out maybe two

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times a month sometimes once a month

two times a month You can Find it

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or subscribe to it by going to our

website, cooking with Bruce and mark.

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com or just simply Bruce and mark.

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com.

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There's a signup form toward the bottom

of the landing page for the website.

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Uh, you can sign up there.

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And again, I've, I say all the

time, I don't capture your email.

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I don't even see it.

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And I don't let the provider

MailChimp capture it.

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So your email cannot be captured

and sold to other lists.

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And you can always.

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unsubscribe at any time.

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That newsletter is sometimes

connected to this podcast.

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We did a newsletter recently about tree

syrups and where to get them because

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we talked about them on the podcast.

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And we'll have some coming

up for the holidays.

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So you can check that out

as well as this podcast.

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All right, let's get going

on our big turkey tips.

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for the holidays.

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Bruce: Making a turkey freaks a lot of

people out, and I don't really understand

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why people worry it's going to be too dry.

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People worry that it's not

going to come out right.

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People practice making Thanksgiving

dinners because they so,

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year after year after year.

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Isn't Thanksgiving itself

practice for the next year?

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Mark: Let me tell you

my best Thanksgiving.

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Tip, if you're worried about cooking

dinner for Thanksgiving, just make sure

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you have a dozen eggs in the house,

and if everything goes south, you can

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always make scrambled eggs, and okay, so

what, it's not traditional Thanksgiving,

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but you know what, you have a fallback

safety measure with a dozen eggs in

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the house, and you make scrambled eggs

or fried eggs, and everybody, I don't

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know, make sure you have some bacon too,

and okay, you got bacon and eggs, and

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there you go, there's your Thanksgiving.

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Okay,

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Bruce: Mark is telling you that because

we actually had to do that once and we'll

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get to that why that happened and it

actually has to do with our first question

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about turkeys should you brine a turkey.

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Now let me say Does everybody even

know what brining a turkey means, Mark?

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Mark: Well, no, maybe not.

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Brining is working with the meat such that

you induce osmosis with a salt solution.

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So why do you want to do this?

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Because by allowing salt to invade

the cellular structure of the meat,

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you're actually pushing moisture.

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The salt is carried in water.

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You're actually pushing moisture

into the meat itself, and you're

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making the meat more tasty because

the salt is burying into the cellular

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structure, but you're also trapping

moisture in there, and it helps not

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overcooking the bird you have brined it.

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Now, there are two, uh, two, uh, moments,

two exceptions to this rule about brining.

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Terry, yeah, thanks.

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The chef helps the writer find the word.

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Two exceptions for not brining.

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So what's one of those?

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Two exceptions.

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Bruce: Okay, the first one is near and

dear to my heart, it's what my grandmother

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always made, which is a kosher turkey.

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Mark: Okay, and why don't

you brine a kosher turkey?

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Bruce: To kosher a turkey is to salt it.

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That's part of it.

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And the way it's raised, the way

it's killed, and all of that.

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But a key, key ingredient to koshering

a turkey and making sure that it

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lives up to the laws of kashrut, it

must be salted after it's killed.

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That is brining.

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So it is already a salt filled

turkey, and if you add more salt,

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it is not going to be very good.

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Mark: No, you can't brine this thing

because, again, it is, as it were,

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pre salted from the kashrut process.

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And the other time you shouldn't

brine a turkey is If, and now you have

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to look at the package your turkey

comes in, if it says the turkey may

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contain up to a percent, sometimes

that's 15%, sometimes it's 10%, a

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percent of a broth or a solution.

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Just look at the packaging

and it'll tell you that.

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What that basically is, is a

broth or water brine that has

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been injected in the meat.

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And that turkey essentially is pre brined.

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And in fact, we might even

argue it's over brine.

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Bruce: Yeah, turkeys that are

labeled sometimes even self basting,

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that's what they mean, they're

self basting because the base has

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already been shoved into the meat.

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Right.

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Mark: So if you have any of those

kind of turkeys, either the ones

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that say contains up to X percent of

a broth or a solution, or a kosher

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turkey, you don't want to brine it.

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But otherwise, we would recommend highly

brining a turkey, particularly if you have

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bought an organic turkey, or if you are

lucky enough to be serving a wild turkey.

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at your Thanksgiving table.

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If you have either of those, an

organic or a wild turkey, or you find

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out your turkey wasn't injected with

a broth or a solution, as it says

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on the packaging, then you probably

should brine it for the best results.

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So how do you do that?

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Bruce: So the way you brine it

is by making a salt solution.

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The volumes are a gallon of water.

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Mark: Wait, let me just say, for

anyone listening not in the U.

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S., we're using only volumes right here.

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So just be careful.

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This is volume talk.

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Bruce: A gallon of water to a cup

of salt and a quarter cup of sugar.

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And you stir that up

until it is dissolved.

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If you want to add spices, which

some people do, they like to throw,

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you know, all spice and cloves,

bay leaves and Pickling spices.

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I've even seen

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Mark: people put a thinly

sliced lemon in there.

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Bruce: If you do that, you must bring

that mixture to a simmer, then let

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it cool back to room temperature.

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That way you're infusing all the

natural oils from those spices.

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Mark: Let me say one thing about this

before we get, because there's more to

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this than just a gallon of water, a cup

of salt, and a quarter cup of sugar.

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Let me say, uh, that salt should

preferably be kosher salt, not table salt.

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You can use table salt.

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Kosher salt is better.

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Bruce: So you have all of that salt

solution now and you might as well mix

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it right up in the largest stock pot

or soup pot you have in your house.

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But before you do that, make sure your

turkey is going to fit in that pot because

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there's nothing worse than doing the

brine and then putting your turkey in

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and realizing only half the turkey fits.

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If that's the problem, you

can go to the cooler method.

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And the cooler method is to

do this all in a big cooler.

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Problem there is you got to make

sure that cooler is meticulously

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clean and almost sterilized.

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It's going to have

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Mark: to stay cold.

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And this is part of the problem.

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You have to figure out how

to keep that cooler cold.

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Now, if you live as we do in New England,

it's less of a problem because you can

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keep the cooler So you can leave it

open for a long time outside and it

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gets cold and then you can basically

leave it out on your back porch.

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Although where we live, the bears would

be on it in about a half a second.

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But still, nonetheless, you

got to figure out where to put

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this thing to keep these cold.

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And the reason you don't want to

necessarily put ice water in the

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cooler is because the ice water will

impede the osmosis process of brining.

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Bruce: Okay, so now you've got

the turkey and you've got that

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brine solution in your giant pot.

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Mm hmm.

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What happens if your pot's so big now

that the turkey's not even submerged?

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Then add more fresh water, but

don't add more salt because it is

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better to be a little undersalted

than a little over salted.

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Right.

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And if you over salt it, you end up

with the problem that happened with us.

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Oh, I should say with me.

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Not with me.

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I didn't do anything.

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On that famed Thanksgiving

where we served omelets.

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Because my own recipe in our own book,

The Ultimate Cookbook, tells you how

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to do this, how to brine a turkey.

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And I follow my own recipe.

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I open the book and there's the

instructions on the bottom of the

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right hand page about doing that.

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And I saw that the liquid

didn't cover the turkey.

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So I made another brine

and I poured it over.

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And I made another brine.

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I kept doing that.

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Oh, gosh.

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Well, that turkey was.

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Inedible.

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Oh, it tasted like the

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Mark: Dead

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Bruce: Sea.

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And I said to him, It's our recipe!

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I had checked it.

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So he opened the book, and we get

to the bottom of that right hand

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page, and he turned the page.

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And what does it say on the

top of the left hand page?

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Add more water.

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Just fresh, plain water.

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Not more brine.

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even

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Mark: read his own recipe that he

himself had developed and that I had

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written for The Ultimate Cookbook.

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Hey, if you don't know The

Ultimate Cookbook, just to be, uh,

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egregiously simple, self promoting.

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The Ultimate Cookbook is this

book we wrote a while back.

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Oh, I don't even know how far back.

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It was

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Bruce: in 2006.

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Mark: Yeah.

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And it's 900 recipes.

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And I think still to this day, Bruce

claims it's the way he cooks for himself.

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It's this 900 page compendium.

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No photographs, I'll admit,

because back in the day, you didn't

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photograph cookbooks necessarily.

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Think about Julia Child and her books.

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So, um, anyway, he didn't read his recipe.

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Well,

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Bruce: wait, wait, Bette Midler gave us

a nice quote for the cover of that book.

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So let's, let's add that to that.

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They both gave us a lovely quote.

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So,

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Mark: so, um, that's just egregious

on the self promoting front, but okay.

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Anyway, um, you, so you get this

turkey in this pod and then what you

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want to do is you want to cover it

with water, fresh water from, uh, more

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than the brine as much as you need.

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And then you want to put it in the fridge

and you want to brine it for 12 hours.

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But no.

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More than 24 hours.

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Here's why.

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Because the longer you brine it,

the softer the meat will get.

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And you can reach this disgusting

stage of pudding turkey.

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So you do not want pudding

turkey under any circumstances.

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So my advice is 12 hours.

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You can do it up to 24.

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And let me just say what we're

sitting here on brining a turkey.

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You can imagine that this works

better with a smaller bird.

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And personally, in my personal opinion,

uh, birds that are 12 to 14 pounds are

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about as big as they should be, maybe 15.

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Once you get above 15 and you get up to

those 19 pound birds, 20 pound birds.

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Those birds to me don't cook evenly,

the meat tends to be very tendon filled,

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the legs have super giant tendons in

them, as do the thighs, they're just not

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to me as successful as smaller birds.

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If you need more turkey,

uh, Make two turkeys.

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Don't get just a bigger bird.

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I

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Bruce: agree with Mark.

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Two

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Mark: 12 pound turkeys are

better than one 20 pound

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Bruce: turkey.

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I would much rather have

a 12 pound turkey any day.

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And if you're going for just a turkey

breast, which in fact I roasted the

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other night because I wanted some

turkey and it was just the two of us.

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It's hard to find turkey breasts.

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that are not pre brined,

that was a problem.

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And in fact, it was funny because

I roasted this turkey breast

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and we ate it and Mark's like,

Wow, you really salted this.

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I said, I did nothing to it.

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I thawed it, I shoved it in a

roasting pan and I put it in the oven.

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And that's how salty pre brined

and injected turkeys can be.

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So really be careful about that.

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Mark: Okay, so next we want to move on to

talking about cooking turkey from frozen.

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I don't think a lot of people know this.

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that you can actually shove a frozen

turkey in your oven and it will get

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done the same as a thawed turkey.

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But before we get to that point, I

want to make a side point and take a

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little detour here and say that if for

any reason you are free on the evening

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before Thanksgiving in the United States,

so Wednesday evening, you should get

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yourself to the supermarket that evening.

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Because let me tell you, the

turkeys will be on absurd.

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sale.

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They're

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Bruce: almost free.

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We wandered

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Mark: into a large supermarket in a

town about 20 minutes away from us a

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few years ago because we went up for

pizza on the night before Thanksgiving.

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And so we wandered into the

supermarket and the turkeys were

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like 79 cents a pound on the

Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.

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So just go Go and grab yourself

turkeys, and if you have a chest

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freezer, as we do, stock up.

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I think we bought three,

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Bruce: because

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Mark: we threw them in the

chest freezer in the basement.

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We bought

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Bruce: three 12 pound

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Mark: turkeys.

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Yeah, exactly.

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It's a great way to save money.

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And

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Bruce: turkey is good

other times of the year.

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Mark: So let's talk about how

to cook a turkey from frozen.

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How about why?

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Well, why?

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Because you don't have the time to

thaw it, because you bought it on

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Tuesday and it won't thaw in time,

because you bought it on Wednesday

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and it won't thaw on time, because

you went for that sale on Wednesday

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night and it didn't thaw on time.

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There's no way.

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And don't you dare thaw it on the counter.

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You thaw it in the oven.

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And the fridge.

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And remember, it takes about, oh, this is

a rough, but about a day for every four

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pounds for the thing to thaw in a fridge.

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Bruce: Three days for

that twelve pound turkey.

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That's right.

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And you may not have

remembered in time, so.

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You have a frozen turkey.

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Yes, you can cook it frozen,

but you have to do a few things.

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And the first, it seems so obvious.

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Unwrap it, you'd be surprised.

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So, you'd have to peel that

plastic wrapper off the turkey.

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Mark: Yes, you do.

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And that's, uh, let me say that it's

frozen, so mostly what you have to do

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is chip and strip and chip and strip,

because it's not going to come off evenly.

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And also, you should remember that when

it's frozen, there are those giblets

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in that bag inside the turkey cavity.

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Remember this?

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And they could actually be

in both ends of the turkey.

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There could be some in one

end and some in the other.

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So they're still in there.

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Don't worry about it.

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Just leave them in there.

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And now stick it in the oven.

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And what temperature do

we want that oven to be?

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Bruce: You're going to do it

just the same way you normally

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would, which is either 325 or 350.

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Don't alter the temperature

of the recipe you're using or

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the recipe you usually use.

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If you don't have a recipe, I'm

going to tell you, put it at 325.

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Mark: Okay, and let me also say that

if you have followed one of those

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recipes that are popular about cooking

a turkey at a very high temperature,

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like 404, 425, this will not work.

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work with a frozen bird.

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It will burn on the surface

before the interior gets good.

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So, okay, you're going

to put it in the oven.

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Now, come back a couple hours later.

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In a couple hours, those giblets

will have loosened from the

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frozen material inside the turkey.

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Now, get yourself some long handled

tongs, some kitchen tongs and take out

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the jibblers and do check both ends.

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Now remember this thing is

hot so you can't just touch it

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even though it's been frozen.

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It's starting to get hot so you're going

to either want to wear silicon oven gloves

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and you're going to wash them later after

you touch the turkey or you somehow want

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to Stabilize the turkey, uh, even with

a clean kitchen towel, but then you've

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got to immediately throw it in the wash.

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Well, not immediately, but you've

got to throw it in the wash.

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You just can't use it anymore.

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So you stabilize the turkey and

use those tongs to probe around

394

:

and pull out those giblet packets.

395

:

Bruce: If the giblet packets are in a

paper package, even pulling them out

396

:

then might tear some of the paper.

397

:

And you know what?

398

:

In the end, the paper's not going

to damage or hurt the turkey

399

:

if it stays into the cooking.

400

:

If those giblets are in a plastic

container, you have to get it out.

401

:

You do not want the

plastic sitting in there.

402

:

If you leave the

403

:

Mark: giblets in the whole

cooking, it leaves that red,

404

:

disgusting muck everywhere.

405

:

And you also get a little

liver flavor in the turkey.

406

:

Well, I like that.

407

:

Most people don't like that.

408

:

Now, here's the other

thing you should know.

409

:

If you're going to shove a frozen

turkey in the oven, of course you

410

:

can't get a marinade to adhere to it.

411

:

You can't really get

a rub to adhere to it.

412

:

So you're going to have to forego all of

that and go with the cranberry sauce or

413

:

chutney or something else at the table.

414

:

And, A frozen turkey takes longer to cook.

415

:

Bruce: It takes about 50

percent longer to cook.

416

:

So let's say we had a 10 pound turkey,

and it took 3 12 to 4 hours to roast.

417

:

You're going up to 165 degrees.

418

:

Mark: Fahrenheit.

419

:

Bruce: Fahrenheit.

420

:

Fahrenheit.

421

:

So if it's been frozen, so now you're

talking almost six hours, right?

422

:

If you had a 20 pound turkey, oh

my goodness, it was already going

423

:

to take you six or seven hours.

424

:

Now it's going to take nine or ten hours.

425

:

So again, especially if you're

cooking it from frozen, go with

426

:

the smaller ones if possible.

427

:

Mark: And no matter how you cook

it, Cook a turkey, but particularly

428

:

if you cook it from frozen, just

remember that you've got to get it

429

:

to the right internal temperature.

430

:

You need an instant read meat thermometer.

431

:

Now is the time to order one.

432

:

If you don't have one, order

it now for same day delivery so

433

:

you have it for the holidays.

434

:

And what you want to make sure

is that the turkey is at, as

435

:

Bruce says, 165 Fahrenheit.

436

:

in both the breast and the thigh.

437

:

And how do you check that temperature?

438

:

Bruce: Insert the thermometer into the

thickest part of the meat down as far

439

:

as you can go without touching the bone.

440

:

So you're gonna go into the thickest part

of the thigh, the thickest part of the

441

:

leg, the densest, thickest part of the

breast meat without touching the bone.

442

:

And once it's at 165,

it is perfectly safe to

443

:

Mark: eat.

444

:

Let me just add one more thing before

we go on to stuffing said turkey.

445

:

Uh, I'll say two things.

446

:

Actually, two things.

447

:

One is, if you have one of those

fancy laser thermometers in the

448

:

kitchen, this does not work.

449

:

That's a

450

:

Bruce: surface temperature only.

451

:

That's

452

:

Mark: right, that's only going to

take the outside surface temperature.

453

:

And two, this cooking of a frozen turkey

works better with turkeys under 14 pounds,

454

:

14 pounds or under again, not so good for

the giant turkeys because they will start

455

:

to overcook, particularly in the breast.

456

:

So again, let's say I said 14, let's

even say 15, 15 pounds or fewer.

457

:

That's the absolute best

way to cook a turkey.

458

:

Okay.

459

:

Let's talk about stuffing a turkey.

460

:

And by the way, you cannot

stuff a frozen bird.

461

:

Bruce: And let me also suggest

that you don't ever stuff a bird.

462

:

And that's a personal.

463

:

Personal preference, I know.

464

:

In

465

:

Mark: any circumstance.

466

:

Bruce: Some people like to stuff a bird.

467

:

Here's the problem.

468

:

When you make a stuffing,

you're never going to fit it

469

:

all into the bird anyway, right?

470

:

There's always going to be extra

that has to go in a baking pan.

471

:

Everyone at your table only wants what

was in the baking pan because it's got

472

:

a crunchy top, because it puffs up.

473

:

more because it has

delicious, delicious flavor.

474

:

If you like it in the turkey because,

well, it soaks up more of those turkey

475

:

juices, you could drizzle those turkey

juices afterwards over the baked stuffing.

476

:

Mark: I'm gonna just tell you that I am

not a fan of stuffed turkeys because,

477

:

A, what I like is, um, the distinction

here is between stuffing and dressing,

478

:

and dressing is bad for your brain.

479

:

baked separately in a pan.

480

:

And the only part of the dressing

I really like are all the crunchy

481

:

bits at the corners and on top.

482

:

So, you never are going to get

crunchy bits when you stuff a turkey.

483

:

My ex, before I met Bruce, that

family always stuffed a turkey with

484

:

sausage and eggs, like a raw egg

mixed with sausage and breadcrumbs.

485

:

And I swear to gosh, what came out

of that turkey was meat pudding.

486

:

Ew, gross.

487

:

And I found it so disgusting.

488

:

I couldn't even get near it

because it was so gross to me.

489

:

It's, it's too wet and oily and I

don't ever get any of that crunch,

490

:

which is all the part I want.

491

:

I'd much rather bake dressing

in a pan on the side.

492

:

Bruce: And not only bacon

in a pan, here's a tip.

493

:

For people who enjoy the crunchy

bits, like Mark and I do, Don't use

494

:

a nine by 13 pan for that stuffing,

press it into a sheet pan, right?

495

:

Use a really big, like

a 13 by 18 sheet pan.

496

:

You're going to have so much

crunch and so much surface area

497

:

and it will take less time to bake.

498

:

So when the turkey comes out and

is going to rest for almost an

499

:

hour, which a 12 to 14 pound turkey

needs almost an hour to rest.

500

:

That's when you could put the

sheet pan of dressing in the oven.

501

:

It'll come out crunchy and remember

the one minute cooking tip.

502

:

You will have lots of gravy

in a thermos that you could

503

:

pour on top of that dressing.

504

:

If you like it a little softer.

505

:

Mark: Uh, for your grou why don't you

just get a fountain and have a gravy

506

:

fountain in the middle of the table.

507

:

Wait,

508

:

Bruce: now

509

:

Mark: that's an idea.

510

:

Oh God, help me.

511

:

Um, okay.

512

:

So.

513

:

Let's talk about one more thing

about turkeys and that is for the

514

:

people who want to deep fry them

515

:

Mark (2): This is of course

516

:

Mark: a thing of having the turkey to

be deep fried and as you well know you

517

:

must Not deep fry a turkey indoors.

518

:

You must take it outdoors Because

of the fire hazard involved.

519

:

I'm sure you've seen it Endless

Instagram reels and Tiktok videos

520

:

of people burning their houses

down when they deep fry a turkey.

521

:

So, let's just say that you need a

turkey deep fryer, which is a whole

522

:

propane driven gadget in and of itself.

523

:

Bruce: Make sure that

what you're using is good.

524

:

made for deep frying a turkey.

525

:

So rule one, as Mark said, outside.

526

:

Rule two, that turkey

must be completely thawed.

527

:

There cannot be any

frozen bits and no ice.

528

:

And you want it dry.

529

:

Mark: Why is that?

530

:

Because if you want to really

kill yourself, just throw an

531

:

ice cube in a pan of hot oil.

532

:

No, don't do that.

533

:

No, don't do that.

534

:

Bruce: And

535

:

Mark: it will explode

all over your kitchen.

536

:

Disclaimer, don't do that.

537

:

No, don't do that.

538

:

ever do.

539

:

So the

540

:

Bruce: same thing would happen if

your turkey had ice or had water.

541

:

You even want to pat it dry,

542

:

Mark: even on the inside.

543

:

Absolutely.

544

:

Get your hand in there

545

:

Bruce: now.

546

:

There is a problem that most people

run into when they deep fry turkeys,

547

:

and that's the oil overflowing.

548

:

And that is also endlessly online videos.

549

:

So, Mark, how do we avoid

the oil overflowing?

550

:

Okay, so

551

:

Mark: what you want to do is you

want to, um, you want to actually put

552

:

the turkey in the pot and then add

the oil that you're going to need.

553

:

Now, the turkey is now going to

be covered in oil, I realize.

554

:

Okay, great.

555

:

So, take it out, put it on,

like, an aluminum baking pan.

556

:

Okay, great.

557

:

Yes, it's now covered in oil, but just

consider this part of the problem.

558

:

And now you know how much oil can

go in that pod to fry that turkey.

559

:

And remember the oil that comes out

on the turkey, you know, when you pull

560

:

it back out, there's still oil in it.

561

:

Don't worry about it because actually,

because of the way the oil will

562

:

boil, you need slightly less oil

in the pot than even at this stage.

563

:

So now, you know.

564

:

How much oil to bring to

the proper temperature.

565

:

It

566

:

Bruce: always amazes me when I see

people deep fry a turkey and they

567

:

fill a giant cauldron to the top with

oil and then try and put a turkey in.

568

:

And they burn their whole house down.

569

:

And they're surprised by the displacement.

570

:

Come on, it's basic physics, right?

571

:

You put a boat in water

and the water is displaced.

572

:

That's how the boat floats.

573

:

Well, you put a, you put

yourself in a bathtub.

574

:

What happens to the water in the bathtub?

575

:

Mark: Don't fill a bathtub

to the rim and then get in

576

:

Bruce: it.

577

:

So do the same thing with the, think about

that cauldron of oil as a bath for the

578

:

turkey and you don't want to overflow.

579

:

And remember this, oil's

580

:

Mark: going to get up

to 325, 350 Fahrenheit.

581

:

Mm hmm.

582

:

And so it's super heated and trust

me, it will explode if you let it fall

583

:

down on the propane flame or if you

somehow have a wet, water wet bird

584

:

or an icy bird, it will explode and

you just don't want this to happen.

585

:

Let me say that if you're deep

frying a turkey for the holidays,

586

:

they sell turkey deep fryers.

587

:

Get one.

588

:

Don't eat it.

589

:

improvise on

590

:

Bruce: this.

591

:

I have one other tip before we leave

this section, what to do with turkey.

592

:

If you're still afraid of making a

turkey, or you're so nervous about it,

593

:

check your supermarket flyers every week.

594

:

I've talked about this so often

on this podcast about getting

595

:

deals and looking for coupons.

596

:

Our local supermarkets have

already started this week.

597

:

Ready.

598

:

Cooked turkey deals for the

holidays with like 20 off, 30 off.

599

:

If you buy the whole turkey with

the cranberry sauce, there's

600

:

nothing wrong with bringing it in.

601

:

If you don't want to make it.

602

:

Mark: And remember also too, if

you're afraid of roasting a whole

603

:

turkey, you can always roast parts.

604

:

You can always buy a package

of turkey legs, turkey thighs.

605

:

You can buy as Bruce did a

turkey breast and roasted.

606

:

You can even add.

607

:

air fried turkey tenderloins.

608

:

Remember, you don't have to make a

whole turkey for Thanksgiving to have

609

:

turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner.

610

:

You can actually buy parts.

611

:

In fact, I can tell you that

braised oven braised turkey thighs

612

:

are one of my favorite things.

613

:

You braise them in red wine with lots of

shallots and garlic like you're making a

614

:

Bruce: cocoa van with turkey.

615

:

Exactly.

616

:

And

617

:

Mark: I love it.

618

:

braised turkey thighs.

619

:

So and you brown them like crazy.

620

:

And then again, you build this sauce

with broth and red wine and lots

621

:

of herbs and garlic and shallots.

622

:

It's delicious.

623

:

It can't be better.

624

:

And you can get away from doing the

whole turkey if you don't want to.

625

:

Okay, that's our entire video.

626

:

turkey segment for this episode.

627

:

Thanks for being a part of this journey.

628

:

And let me say it would be great

if you could subscribe to this

629

:

podcast or if you could give it a

rating on any platform you're on,

630

:

you can give it a number of stars.

631

:

Can we ask for five?

632

:

Sure.

633

:

And if you're on, I

don't think they do that.

634

:

And if you're on Apple podcasts,

you can write a review.

635

:

Even a simple review like a great

podcast is a fine way to help

636

:

support this otherwise unsupported

and willfully unsupported podcast.

637

:

Okay.

638

:

Let's turn as is traditional

to our last segment.

639

:

What's making us happy in food this week.

640

:

And I'm going to start out.

641

:

Okay.

642

:

So my thing is that turkey rice soup,

because Bruce made this turkey breast.

643

:

And then, uh, I said, when he

roasted the turkey breast, I said,

644

:

Oh my gosh, this means the promise

of turkey rice soup, which is one

645

:

of my favorite things in life.

646

:

And you made this, uh, fresh tomato

soup with the turkey in it, right?

647

:

For the turkey meat.

648

:

And you cook the rice separately.

649

:

Bruce: I'm so crazy.

650

:

I cook the rice in the rice cooker.

651

:

And the reason you do that is

you don't want the rice absorbing

652

:

all that delicious broth, right?

653

:

From the soups.

654

:

You cook the rice separately.

655

:

It will still absorb more, but okay.

656

:

Then not only that, I had a pot on

the stove where I sautéed my onions

657

:

and my celery and then the fresh

tomatoes and I poured in turkey

658

:

stock which I found at Whole Foods

in a container and I let that go.

659

:

The turkey carcass, believe it or not, I

put in the instant pot with water to make

660

:

my own own fresh turkey stock and meat and

that all got dumped in minus the bones.

661

:

That whole thing went Not all the bones.

662

:

Not all the bones.

663

:

There were a few in my bowl.

664

:

I picked a couple out

665

:

Mark: of my mouth,

666

:

Bruce: but okay.

667

:

And boy, was that good.

668

:

Yes.

669

:

But yes, I did it in three

separate pots at once.

670

:

Mark: Uh, yeah, okay, that's insane.

671

:

I would never make turkey, uh,

soup, rice soup that way, but it did

672

:

make me very happy after this week.

673

:

Okay, your turn.

674

:

Bruce: What's making me happy is the

snack of choice that my sister has

675

:

introduced me to, which Pear jam, which

I make sometimes just for her with almond

676

:

butter and you know, I had never really

thought about it, but I sent Julie a box

677

:

of jars of pear jam that I made just for

her and she sends me back pictures of

678

:

the spoon going back and forth between

the almond butter and the pear jam.

679

:

And the pear jam.

680

:

I'm like, Oh, that looks good.

681

:

And that is making me happy.

682

:

Almond

683

:

Mark: butter is a really

amazingly good thing.

684

:

It's very good.

685

:

I don't know.

686

:

I listen, I am a peanut butter boy

from early childhood, but almond

687

:

butter is still a really nice thing.

688

:

It's soupier, stickier than peanut butter.

689

:

It's

690

:

Bruce: oilier.

691

:

I guess almonds are oilier?

692

:

I don't know.

693

:

I don't

694

:

Mark: know.

695

:

It's oilier and soupier and so it doesn't

sit on toast very well, in my opinion.

696

:

But, you know, I still dip the pieces of

bread in it because it's so tasty and,

697

:

uh, I don't really do it with the pear jam

as Bruce does, but hey, to each his own.

698

:

So that's it.

699

:

The podcast this week.

700

:

We hope this is to your own

too, or this is to your liking.

701

:

Thanks for being part

of this journey with us.

702

:

We appreciate your spending

time with us each week.

703

:

Bruce: Every week we tell you

what's making us happy in food.

704

:

So please go to our Facebook

group, also called Cooking with

705

:

Bruce and Mark, and tell us what's

making you happy in food this week.

706

:

We want to know what is going

on in your kitchen here at

707

:

Cooking with Bruce and Mark.

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About the Podcast

Cooking with Bruce and Mark
Fantastic recipes, culinary science, a little judgment, hysterical banter, love and laughs--you know, life.
Join us, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, for weekly episodes all about food, cooking, recipes, and maybe a little marital strife on air. After writing thirty-six cookbooks, we've got countless opinions and ideas on ingredients, recipes, the nature of the cookbook-writing business, and much more. If you've got a passion for food, we also hope to up your game once and a while and to make you laugh most of the time. Come along for the ride! There's plenty of room!

About your host

Profile picture for Mark Scarbrough

Mark Scarbrough

Former lit professor, current cookbook writer, creator of two podcasts, writer of thirty-five (and counting) cookbooks, author of one memoir (coming soon!), married to a chef (my cookbook co-writer, Bruce Weinstein), and with him, the owner of two collies, all in a very rural spot in New England. My life's full and I'm up for more challenges!