Maple-Brined, Wood Smoked Grilled Turkey Recipe

I heard about this recipe on NPR one day, it was written by Fine Cooking - Issue No. 24. They seemed a bit possessive of their secrets (subscription only), so I found it here Maple-Brined, Wood Smoked Grilled Turkey Recipes at Cooking.com. I found this to be the most delicious Turkey ever, we had a banner year this Thanksgiving between the Turkey and the Stuffing (also posted, and raved about on my own blog).

You should allow a few days for brining and ~4 hours to cook.

Large non-reactive container for brining (no aluminum or copper). Many people use a cooler or 5 gallon bucket, I used a giant (I mean enormous) stainless steel mixing bowl and plastic wrap. Some of my turkey was hanging out. If yours hangs out of your brining container, turn it 2X per day. It's recommended to brine a thawed turkey. I didn't have that luxury, and my bird still turned out fine, I started brining Tuesday afternoon, but I wished I'd had 1-2 days longer.

Please note, a grilled turkey doesn't make drippings for gravy, so you'll need to make other arrangements. It'll be worth it.

2 C brown sugar

1 C maple syrup (use the good stuff, Mrs Butterworth won't do it)

3/4 C coarse salt (I used a mix of kosher and sea salt)

3 whole heads garlic, cloves separated (but not peeled), bruised

6 large bay leaves

1 1/2 C coarsely chopped unpeeled fresh ginger (I was out, and had to shake in some dry, I didn't use that much)

2 t dried chili flakes

1 1/2 C soy sauce

3 quarts water

Handful fresh thyme sprigs

12-14 pounds fresh turkey (I used a free range turkey. The regular freezer turkeys are injected with a brining solution, so they are not ideal for at home brining)

Olive oil to baste the bird

Combine all of the brine ingredients in an enamel or stainless-steel pot, Bring to a simmer, remove from heat and let cool completely. (I skipped the cooling step, warm water helped thaw the bird, but it may pose a food safety hazard)

Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey (impossibly to get out of a frozen bird, woulda-shoulda), rinse the bird well, and add it to the brine (or bring the brine to the bird if you're using a plastic brining vessel). Add water to cover the bird if necessary. Refrigerate for 2-4 days, turning twice a day.

To cook the turkey, remove the bird from the brine, pat it dry, and brush with olive oil. Light the grill with about 30 pieces of charcoal (hardwood lump charcoal preferred). We have a smokey Joe Weber smoker, which worked smashingly. Use a foil drip pan to catch the drippings. When the coals are hot, add a few pieces of soaked wood to smoke. Center the turkey on the upper rack of the grill, breast side up. Cover the grill and damp the vents, add coals as necessary. Try to maintain a temperature between 275 and 325F. The bird will cook for ~3.5 hours. Cook to a thigh temperature of 155F. Allow to rest 20 minutes before carving.

Stuffing

The stuffing in in the upper right of the picture.

You'll probably need to zoom in to really see it since I used such dark bread.

I made this for the first time this year, adapting a recipe to make it my own. Instead of stuffing the bird, I put it in a cast iron pan and stove cooked it for a few minutes, then finished it in the oven. It was soo fantastic, seriously. Best stuffing I've ever eaten.

1 C butter

1-3 handful nuts (I used walnuts, but it was my 3rd choice after pecans and cashews)

3 celery stalks chopped (with leaves, feel free to add all of your celery leaves)

3/4 c finely chopped onion

9 cups soft bread cubes (I used 10 slides german black bread and 5 slices whole wheat, partially dried and cubed)

1/2 C dried cranberries or golden raisins

2 T chopped fresh or 1 1/2 t dried sage

1 T chopped fresh or 1 t dried thyme leaves

1 1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper (or several turns of the pepper mill)

1 C or so broth

Melt some of the butter in a pan and add the nuts to brown.

Remove nuts, leaving butter.

Add remaining butter and cook celergy and onions until tender

Stir in 1/3 of the bread cubes

Add remaining bread cubes, fruit, nuts, herbs, salt and pepper

Stir in broth until its as moist as you like it. (The recipe I adapted this from had not broth, but it called for a stuffed bird, and that's a really moist cooking method.)

Place in oven covered for ~20 minutes, then uncovered to brown. These times are approximate. I probably used a standard 350F oven. Who knows, it was Thanksgiving, and I had a lot going on.

I've heard of people forming their stuffing into balls, or making muffins. Then its already perfectly portioned. Maybe I'll try that next year.

Oil Pie Crust

This recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (that red plaid one your mother had). Make sure you look for it in your mother's copy, because it was there in my mom's from about 1972, but doesn't appear in my 2002 copy. This pie crust is soo easy, there's no refrigeration or cutting in. And best of all, its trans-fat free! This makes a double crust for an 8-9" pie tin.

2 C flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 C salad oil
5 T ice water
ice cubes

Put a bowl of ice water on the counter to chill (or if you're out of ice, just put a bowl of water in the freezer for a few minutes while you get the remaining ingredients ready)

In a bowl, stir together the flour and salt with a fork.
In a separate container, measure the oil and add the ice water.
Add wet ingredients to dry all at once
stir lightly with the fork (The flour should be mostly mixed into many balls. Excess flour is expected)

Form 2 balls.

Roll each ball out to size. I like to do this between 2 sheets of waxed paper, then its easy to peel off the counter and onto the pie tin. If you sprinkle a few drops of water onto the counter first, the wax paper will stay in place while you roll it out. There's no need to add flour to the waxed paper.

remove top piece of wax paper, loosely fold dough in half (still on bottom paper) to pick up, then unfold onto pie tin.

Fill with whatever yummy ingredients you like.

Crimp edges to seal. My mom always makes a nice fluted edge, pinching the layers together as she goes around. I prefer a more rustic pie with thick uneven seams.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Take the seeds from your pumpkin. You don't have to rinse them, and its okay to leave some of the pulp and strings, it justs adds flavor. Lay them out on a cookie sheet. Spray them with PAM and sprinkle salt, garlic salt, or even seasoning salt on them. Bake at 350 for about 1/2 hour or until they are golden brown.