Thanksgiving is a time for family to get together and be thankful for all their blessings. It involves a lot of cooking, laughter, some stress, and a lot of eating. Oh, we can not forget FOOTBALL. This Thanksgiving we had a lot of firsts. It was our first Thanksgiving without our Momma. Our first Thanksgiving of cooking ALL the food on our own. Our first Thanksgiving together in a while and in our new house. We had a lot of laughter because we know our mom was looking down on us saying that we should of paid more attention to her cooking. Yes, we had all the recipes but our mom did not complete some of the important details to the recipes and there were multiple recipes with different ingredients. Let's just say this gave us a big laugh. It was my first time ever touching an uncooked TURKEY. lol. I remember telling my mom I would never be able to take the insides out of a turkey. She told me one day I would have to and this was that day. I never even knew there was a process called brining a turkey. Surprisingly, I figured to out. I will share my recipe I used below. Just remember to take out all the inside parts of the turkey before you brine it. I made the mistake of missing some of the parts and I cooked the turkey with the insides still in it. It gave us a good laugh but at least the turkey was delicious. We really enjoyed our time together and the best part was all the laughs we had together as a family. My mom would of been very proud of us. It is totally different being the one who cooks everything. My sis and I have so much more respect for ALL those holiday's my mom tackled by herself. Being in the kitchen and cooking for everyone was one of her passions. She did it so well. It will never be the same. Soak up the times you have left with your parents. Do not take those precious times for granted. One day they will be a distant memory. We will perfect her cooking but it will never be the same as having her here with us yelling at us to get out of the kitchen:)
How to BRINE a turkey (14lbs)
Ingredients: 32 ounces of vegetable broth
1/2 cup Salt or Seal Salt
2 tbl Thyme
2 tbl Oregano
2 tbl Basil
2 tbl Parsley
2 cups of water
Remove ALL the insides of the turkey. Make sure you pull out the bag that contains the liver, heart, lungs. If you miss it don't worry. It is still edible if cooked with it. lol. Wash the turkey. Mix the ingredients together in a pot and boil. Make sure you stir so the salt dissolves. Add more or less of each ingredient. You want to make sure you have enough liquid to cover the inside of turkey and some outside. Once it comes to a boil turn it off. Let it cool. I added ice to cool. Find a pot or pan big enough to hold the turkey and liquid. Once cool, pour liquid in the cavity and around the turkey. Put in the refrigerator overnight or for 5-8 hours. Discard liquid before you cook your turkey. Brining helps with the juiciness of the turkey. It is not something that you need to do but it does make it taste even better:)
How to BRINE a turkey (14lbs)
Ingredients: 32 ounces of vegetable broth
1/2 cup Salt or Seal Salt
2 tbl Thyme
2 tbl Oregano
2 tbl Basil
2 tbl Parsley
2 cups of water
Remove ALL the insides of the turkey. Make sure you pull out the bag that contains the liver, heart, lungs. If you miss it don't worry. It is still edible if cooked with it. lol. Wash the turkey. Mix the ingredients together in a pot and boil. Make sure you stir so the salt dissolves. Add more or less of each ingredient. You want to make sure you have enough liquid to cover the inside of turkey and some outside. Once it comes to a boil turn it off. Let it cool. I added ice to cool. Find a pot or pan big enough to hold the turkey and liquid. Once cool, pour liquid in the cavity and around the turkey. Put in the refrigerator overnight or for 5-8 hours. Discard liquid before you cook your turkey. Brining helps with the juiciness of the turkey. It is not something that you need to do but it does make it taste even better:)