Monday, November 26, 2012

To Stuff or not to Stuff...

Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey
Happy Thanksgiving!

So here's my question.  Do you stuff your turkey?  With so many "other" ways to cook a turkey, how many people still roast a stuffed bird each year?

I recently spoke with my mom who nearly disowned me because I am not stuffing my turkey.  I like Alton Brown's Roast Turkey recipe.  He brines it and roasts it, but with no stuffing.  Instead he uses aromatics like sage, apple, onions, and rosemary to flavor the bird.  I did it last year and it was a mighty juicy turkey.

Typically on Thanksgiving, or at least for the past few years, we have gone to some friends' house where they smoked a turkey last year, and I believe plan on doing it again.  Well, you can't very well stuff a smoked turkey.  For one thing, it would take forever to cook it.  And for another, who wants smoked stuffing?  That just doesn't excite me.

The Gravy
What about frying a turkey?  You can't stuff a fried turkey.  Although, I'm convinced only rednecks fry turkeys in their back yards, holding a can of beer, saying things like, "Hey, Billy Joe, watch this!" as they plunk the frozen projectile into the hot oil.  Or maybe I've been watching too many YouTube videos.  I'm sure many people have safe fried turkeys on their thanksgiving tables.  I know my dad did it one year, minus the beer and the redneck friends, of course.
The Turkey, unstuffed

So is it against everything that is tradition to not stuff the bird?  Mom says I'll never hear the end of it, but look at this scrumptiously, golden delicious bird.  How can you say that's wrong?

My turkey this year, the one pictured here, was perhaps the best turkey I have ever eaten.  The breast meat was juicy and tender.  The gravy was sumptuous, with such a concentrated flavor that I really wanted to just drink it.  The stuffing was still delicious, and all the people at both my Thanksgivings told me so.

Sorry, Mom.  I'll keep my turkey unstuffed, and my dressing on the side.  But thanks for the recipe!


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