Vaguely Southeast Asian Turkey-Noodle Soup

It's day 2 of Thanksgiving leftovers, and already I'm getting a little tired of just reheating the dishes I served on Thursday. Time for something else! Early in the day, I thought about making a simple turkey-noodle soup. I'd already thrown out the carcass, so there wasn't going to be a "make your own stock" situation at my house (I know I should save it and use it, but the last few years, it just sits in the freezer).

I thought I'd making something simple with cooked turkey, onion, celery, carrot, egg noodles and turkey broth. But then it dawned on me that with some Southeast Asian flavors, I could probably make something just as satisfying and a lot more interesting. In went the ginger, garlic, star anise, fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice and cilantro. The results were a big hit around the table. Home run!

Vaguely Southeast Asian Turkey-Noodle Soup

6 oz. rice sticks (rice noodles, similar in size to linguine) broken in half
4-6 cups boiling water
2 tbsp. canola or vegetable oil
1 sweet onion, cut into slivers
2 stalks of celery, cut into slivers
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin julienne (like matchsticks--I recommend using a julienne peeler)
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
3 inches of ginger root, peeled and finely grated
6-8 scallions, sliced into small pieces, white and green parts separated
2 quarts (8 cups) low-sodium turkey broth
3 star anise pods
1 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
Freshly ground white pepper, to taste
2 cups cooked turkey cut into 1/2 inch or smaller pieces
Juice from 1 lime
1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1. Place the rice sticks in a bowl and add boiling water until the noodles are submerged. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then drain the noodles.

2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and celery, and sauté until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the carrot, garlic, ginger and white scallion parts, and cook another minute until fragrant.

3. Increase heat to medium-high and add turkey broth, star anise, fish sauce, soy sauce and white pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Add the turkey and simmer over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the star anise pods, stir in the lime juice and adjust seasoning to taste. Stir in the cooked noodles.

4. Serve in bowls garnished with a good pinch of cilantro leaves and green scallion pieces.

Toss the Seasoning Packet: Make Old School Tacos

Have you noticed that tacos you can get today are different from what we had as kids? ("We" being used here for those of us who remember the '80s as a time of our youth.) Tacos today are "authentic" dishes of fillings like carne asada or pork carnitas. They're served on freshly made corn tortillas and garnished with raw onion, cilantro and a variety of fresh salsas. They're amazing.

Thirty years ago, tacos looked a lot different, at least if you were a child of suburban America where Taco Bell reigned supreme. Taco supreme, I suppose. Back then, a taco featured seasoned ground beef with shredded cheese, maybe tomatoes and lettuce, and crunchy corn shell. They were amazing...well, okay not really, but they were satisfying.

Arguably, the tacos we can get today are way better. But sometimes, that nostalgic pull of food memory makes me yearn for the tacos of my youth. When you weren't eating tacos like that at Taco Bell, you could have them at home. All it took was a taco kit, a pound of ground beef and a seasoning packet.

This recipe shoots for reliving some of that '80s taco nostalgia with a few modern updates. I've replaced that seasoning packet with a custom seasoning blend. It's really not that hard to assembled the spices to make good taco seasoning. And you can customize this any way you want. Don't have onion powder? It's probably just as delicious with just garlic. Can't find Mexican oregano? Use the standard kind. Want more chili powder? By all means add more. Making your own mix means you're in control, which includes dramatically reducing the sodium, if you are so inclined.

I also made some alterations to the taco ingredients, swapping in ground dark turkey meat for the beef, using colby jack cheese (you and I probably used cheddar as kids), and garnishing the tacos with a quick spicy corn salsa and fresh avocado instead of tomatoes and lettuce (tomatoes aren't in season right now and lettuce is just boring on tacos). Having a little chipotle hot sauce on the side ain't a bad idea either.

Seasoned Turkey and Corn Salsa Tacos

Seasoning:
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tbsp cumin

Corn Salsa:
1 tsp of olive oil
4 oz frozen corn
2 tbsp minced red onion
1 jalapeño minced
Pinch of chipotle chili powder

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb dark ground turkey
1 tbsp Worcestershire
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups finely shredded Colby jack cheese
1 avocado, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8-10 taco shells

1. Combine the seasoning ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Make the corn salsa: Heat olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the corn, onion and jalapeño, season with chili power and sauté until lightly browned, about 6-8 minutes. Remove salsa from pan and set aside.

3. Make the ground turkey: Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and cook, stirring frequently, until the turkey is cooked through, breaking up with a wooden spoon as the meat cooks (when cooked, I chopped the meat on a cutting board to break it into smaller pieces). Stir in the spice mixture and cook another minute or so until the mixture is fragrant, then add the Worcestershire sauce and water. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce has thickened.

4. Serve the seasoned taco meat with the corn salsa, shredded cheese, avocado and taco shells.

Stuffing-Brined Roast Turkey Breast

I've never stuffed a turkey. Partly that's because I usually (okay always) roast a turkey breast instead of a full turkey, and with the back removed, you can't really "stuff" the turkey, since the cavity is half-open. But even without this limitation, what is the reason for stuffing a turkey?

Just about everyone recommends not stuffing your turkey these days. The food-safety people will run from the room ranting about pathogens and cross-contamination from stuffing that soaks up raw turkey juice and doesn't fully cook. From a physics perspective, stuffing the turkey means the turkey will take longer to cook, since instead of a nice cavity for warm air to flow through, you've got this dense mass of bread and water that also must be cooked.

So what the reasons some people still do it? I've been asking Google, and I can't figure it out. I can only assume it either adds turkey flavor to the stuffing. But stuffing already has a lot of flavor going for it. Onions, celery, good bread, herbs and seasonings. Is additional turkey flavor really needed? Instead, why not use the stuffing to flavor the turkey?

Enter the stuffing-brined turkey. That's right. This turkey is brined with the flavors of stuffing. Now, I didn't actually go through the trouble of making stuffing. There's no bread in this brine, as I figured that bread wouldn't add any flavor via a brine. But I did sauté and puree the typical aromatics (onion and celery), herbs (sage and thyme) and, instead of cornbread, I used freeze-dried corn, an ingredient I first came across making Momofuku Milk Bar corn cookies. It adds wonderful corn flavor to not only those cookies but also cornbread, so I figured it would be a nice addition to the brine.

Stuffing-Brined Roast Turkey Breast

Note: For the freeze-fried corn, I use Just Tomatoes brand "Just Corn," available from Amazon. Grind the corn until fine in a food processor before using in this recipe.

Brine:
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2/3 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup ground freeze-dried corn
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 quarts water
Shopped sage and thyme
½ cup kosher salt (or 1/4 cup table salt)

6-8 lb. turkey breast
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and celery and sauté until lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes. Add sage and thyme to the pan and cook another couple minutes. Transfer mixture to a food processor, add the freeze-dried corn and puree. Combine pureed mixture with chicken broth and cold water in a large pot or brining bag and stir to combine. Add salt and stir to dissolve. Place turkey breast in pot/bag. Cover pot or seal bag and refrigerate to brine overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 450 F. Set a V-rack inside a roasting pan. Remove turkey breast from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Put turkey breast on top of rack. Brush turkey all over with melted butter and season with salt and pepper.

3. Roast turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 F and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reads 165 F, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours total roasting time. Let breast rest 30 minutes before carving.

Related

Thanksgiving Central

Marbella-Brined Roast Turkey Breast

Because I write a cooking blog, instead of an entertainment blog, I don't often get to share with you my love of movies--a notable exception being my annual Oscar Cocktails. This recipe was inspired by the movie Scent of a Woman, the 1992 drama starring Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell about a prep-school student (O'Donnell) hired for the weekend to care for a temperamental blind military veteran (Pacino) during which they end taking a whirlwind tour of New York City in the face of foreboding consequences for both of them.

That movie arrived in my life at a pivotal time. It was a Best Picture Oscar nominee, and that was the first year I really paid attention to the race, as my moviegoing taste was transiting toward more thoughtful and mature fare. I remember seeing the movie in the theater and really enjoying it, especially Al Pacino's performance (he won the Best Actor Oscar) and of course the classic tango scene between Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar.

The connection to this dish is the scene where O'Donnell takes Pacino to visit the latter's family for Thanksgiving dinner. They're having Turkey Marbella, which I can only assume is a turkey version of Chicken Marbella, one of my favorite recipes from Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso's classic The Silver Palate Cookbook. Incidentally, those early '90s years just after that book came out was when I was also starting to become a more adventurous eater. My mom would make Chicken Marbella sometimes, and despite the inclusion of quite a few things I wouldn't have touched just a few years prior (prunes, olives, capers), I absolutely loved the dish.

A traditional Marbella is a wonderful dish, but there's a key drawback for serving it as a Thanksgiving centerpiece: no browned skin. Because the poultry is marinated and then roasted in its marinade, you gets lots of flavor, but no browning. A few years ago, Cook's Illustrated tried to address this issue by updating the recipe, but I still wanted a more traditional recipe.

My solution was to use the brine as the source of the Marbella flavors, using the same ingredients but in a brine instead of as a marinade. I pulsed the ingredients in a food processor, then mixed them into a 24-hour brine. Of course, this being a brine, there is proportionally more salt, but I maintained the other ingredients in about the amount you would use if making the Chicken Marbella recipe. This worked great. The Marbella flavor was subtle but noticeable, especially on the skin, which was a gorgeous ruddy brown. Plus the drippings made for a wonderful turkey gravy.

As Pacino's Scent of a Woman character would say, "Hooah!"

Marbella-Brined Roast Turkey Breast
Inspired in part by the classic Chicken Marbella recipe from The Silver Palate Cookbook by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso

Notes in this recipe:
-The turkey needs to brine overnight, so plan to mix up the brine the day before you want to eat the turkey.
-You'll need a large container for brining, such as a large pot or a sealable plastic bag designed for such purpose.
-You'll need an instant-read thermometer for checking the temperature of the turkey.

Brine:

1/2 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups hot water
1 head of garlic, cloves removed and peeled
1/4 cup dried oregano
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted green olives
1/4 cup capers
6 fresh bay leaves
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup dry white wine (I used a sauvignon blanc)
6-8 lb. turkey breast
3 quarts cold water

Other ingredients:

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Combine salt, brown sugar and hot water in a medium bowl and stir until the salt and brown sugar dissolve (heat in the microwave for a minute if additional heat is needed to dissolve the ingredients--it doesn't need to be boiling hot). Transfer to a large pot or brining bag (I use an extra-large Hefty 2 1/2 gallon zippered bag as my brining container).

2. Combine garlic cloves, oregano, prunes, olives, capers, bay leaves, vinegar and white wine in a food processor. Process until the mixture is a smooth puree. Transfer to the brining container and shake or stir a bit to combine with the salt/sugar solution.

3. Place the turkey (breast down) in the brining container, then fill the container with 3 quarts of cold water (this should be enough to submerge the turkey, add a little more if needed, but not a lot more, as it will dilute the salt solution too much--add additional salt, about 1/2 tbsp, for any additional cups of cold water you add beyond the 3 quarters).

4. If using a brining bag, place in a large pot or bowl (if just using a large pot, cover it), then put the brining container in the refrigerator and brine over night (about 24 hours).

5. Preheat oven to 450 F.

6. Remove turkey from brining container, pat dry with paper towels and place (breast up) on a V-rack set inside a large roasting pan. Brush turkey with melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 300 F and roast until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165 F (measure with an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the turkey breast), a total roasting time of about 2 1/2 to 3 hours depending on the oven and the size of the turkey. Remove turkey from oven and transfer to a cutting board. Allow to rest about 30 minutes before carving.

Related

Chicken Marbella Updated

Simple Turkey Gravy

Thanksgiving Central

Linda Gray's Mexican Meat Pie

I've made dishes from celebrity chefs before, but this is a first from a celebrity actor.

The recipe comes from actress Linda Gray, most famous for portraying Sue Ellen Ewing in the CBS television drama "Dallas" and its recent TNT revival. Gray's new memoir, The Road to Happiness Is Always Under Construction, was released today. My husband Chris, a.k.a. Dallas Decoder, has a review of the book on his site, as well as an interview with Linda, while I focus on what she has to share about food and cooking.

The time I met Linda was, appropriately, over a meal. This was about a year and a half ago, as my husband and I got to enjoy lunch in Dallas on a beautiful spring day with Linda and Dallas's costume designer, Rachel Sage Kunin.

Of course the conversation gravitated toward food at some point, and it was clear that Linda enjoys good food and cooking just like I do. So I was thrilled to hear that her new memoir includes recipes and knew I wanted to share one on my blog. When Chris told Linda this recently, she was all for it, encouraging me to embellish the recipes as I saw fit.

Although not the focus of the book, food has a constant presence through The Road to Happiness. Early on, she recounts how she helped her then-husband overcome chronic acid reflux by changing his diet to incorporate more fresh vegetables. She became obsessed with cooking and nutrition. Later in the book, she describes making pasta with garlic and spinach picked from her garden to serve Elizabeth Taylor for lunch--with only a 45-minute warning that the legendary actress would be coming over. No pressure! On a more serious note, she also discusses her work as an advocate to address senior hunger.

Linda sprinkles recipes throughout the book and cites food writer Michael Pollan's famous adage to "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants" as one of her favorite food quotes (it's a personal favorite of mine as well). She still likes to cook: toward the end of the book is a recipe for a lasagna noodle and vegetable crock pot meal that she makes for herself "all the time."

The story around her Mexican Meat Pie will feel familiar to working parents. It was early 1978, and Linda was going to be away from home for a couple months to film what became the first of 14 seasons of the original Dallas. Wanting to ensure her 11- and 13-year-old children were well-fed while she was gone, she stockpiled and froze a number of dishes, including this Mexican Meat Pie. It's a delicious and simple dish that comes together in just over an hour.

With Linda's blessing, I made some adjustments from her original recipe. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef and upped the amount of vegetables, adding bell pepper, jalapeño, garlic and quite a bit more onion. While Linda's recipe called for taco seasoning, I made my own spice blend with cumin, coriander, chipotle chili powder, oregano, salt and just a hint of brown sugar. This makes for quite a bit more filling than her original recipe, so I'd recommend baking this in a 9 X 13 dish (and using 12 tortillas) instead of the 9-inch pie plate (and 8 tortillas) her recipe calls for.

Linda Gray's Mexican Meat Pie
Adapted from Mexican Meat Pie by Linda Gary from The Road to Happiness Is Always Under Construction

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. ground turkey (dark meat)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño, minced with seeds removed
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Kernels from 1 ear of corn, about 1 cup
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2/3 cup corn meal
1 cup water
Olive oil spray
8 corn tortillas (or 12 if using a 9 x 13 baking dish)
3-4 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey and cook, breaking up with a spoon until browned. Remove from pan.

3. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeño and garlic to pan and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the cumin, coriander, chili powder, oregano, brown sugar and salt. Add the cooked turkey, corn, black beans, crushed tomatoes, corn meal and water and stir to combine. Turn off the heat.

4. Spray the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan (or 9 x 13 baking dish) with olive oil. Place four of the tortillas in the bottom of the pie pan (or, alternatively, six tortillas in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish). Spread the tortillas evenly to cover the bottom of the baking dish, allowing the edges of the tortillas to fold up the sides. Spread meat mixture evenly over tortillas until the mixture comes halfway up the pan. Sprinkle the top with half of the shredded cheese, then add another layer of tortillas, meat mixture and then cheese (if using a 9-inch pie pan, there will be leftover meat mixture).

5. Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and the mixture is heated through, about 35 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes. If using a round pan, cut into wedges; if using a square pan, cut into squares. Serve immediately.

Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Often when I hit my neighborhood farmers market on Saturday morning, I have a plan for what I want to get and what I'll make with it during the following week. On a recent Saturday, however, I was struggling. I couldn't decide what I wanted to make! So, I set out for the New Morning Farm Saturday market at Sheridan School with the hope that the ingredients I found there would inspire my direction.

Sure enough, after picking up corn, a sweet onion, a couple carrots and a good handful of green beans, I decided to make Shepherd's Pie, the classic Irish dish of diced or ground meat, vegetables and gravy sealed with a layer of mashed potatoes and baked until the potatoes brown a bit on top. According to The Food Lover's Companion, the dish originated as a way to use leftovers from the "Sunday roast." I think it can be just as useful as a showcase for summer vegetables.

I used Alton Brown's recipe as a template for this Shepherd's Pie, but made some key changes. I used ground turkey instead of ground lamb, upped the ratio of vegetables-to-meat in the filling by adding corn, celery and green beans and omitted the egg from the potato topping, as it just didn't seem needed. This makes my version a little lighter and more "summery" than Brown's recipe.

Turkey Shepherd's Pie
Adapted liberally from Shepherd's Pie by Alton Brown for Food Network

1 1/2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup half-n-half
Salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb. ground turkey (dark meat recommended)
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Corn kernels cut from 1 ear of corn

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with 1-inch of water. Place on the stove and bring to boil. Cook the potatoes until tender, then drain. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl. Add the butter and mash the potatoes with a potato masher or the back of a large spoon. Warm the half-n-half in the microwave and stir it into the potatoes along with salt and freshly ground white pepper.

3. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and green beans and sauté until the ingredients have softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Add ground turkey to the pan and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned. Sprinkle the meat with the flour, toss to coat and cook for another minute. Add back the cooked vegetables, then add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer covered for about 10 minutes to thicken the gravy. Stir in the corn and turn off the heat.

4. Transfer vegetable-gravy mixture to a 9 X 9 glass baking dish. Spread the mashed potatoes on top, making sure to "seal" the potatoes against the edge of the baking dish. Smooth the top with a spatula. Place the baking dish on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until the potatoes begin to brown, about 25-30. Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Posole

Consider the day after Thanksgiving. You're stuffed and you might not want to cook. But there are all these leftovers. Especially Turkey; especially if you roasted a whole one.

Soup is a common thing to make with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. But rather than something like turkey-noodle soup, I suggest instead turning that leftover meat into a spicy Southwestern posole.

We had posole a couple of times during our recent Southwest trip, the better of which was as a side to fajitas in Santa Fe's La Plazuela restaurant.

If you don't have leftover turkey, you can make this starting with raw meat (which I did, actually, given that I made this in late October). Either way, I think it would be a delicious soup.

I gave this posole some heat with ancho chili powder, which is hotter than the New Mexico chili powder I also added. Adjust the chili powder to your heat preference.

Turkey Posole
Adapted liberally from multiple other recipes

1 tbsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. black peppercorns
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lb. boneless, skinless turkey thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes (or about 2 lb. leftover shredded roasted dark turkey meat)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt, to taste
1 tsp. ancho chili powder (or more, to taste)
1 tbsp. New Mexico chili powder (or more, to taste)
15 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
Two 15-oz. cans of hominy, drained and rinsed
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese
4-5 corn tortillas, warmed

1. Heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and peppercorns and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and starting to brown, about 5-6 minutes. Allow to cool, then, using a spice grinder, grind to a coarse powder.

2. (Skip this step if you use already roasted turkey.) Heat 2 tbsp. vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the turkey cubes in batches, setting them aside in a bowl as they are browned.

3. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil to the Dutch oven, maintaining the medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and season with salt, to taste. Sauté until the vegetables have softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the ground spices, chili powders and turkey. Cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, hominy and broth. Bring soup to a bowl, then reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Serve posole in bowls topped with a generous sprinkle of shredded cheese with tortillas on the side.

Other Recipes

Thanksgiving Central (all Thanksgiving recipes)

Thanksgiving Leftovers Tacos

Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza

Smoky Maple Brined Roasted Turkey Breast

Last week, I shared a recipe for Mole Brined Roast Turkey Breast. Because I'm a big believer in variety, today I'm offering another turkey brine recipe. This one is similar to the brine I made in 2012, but with a more woodsy focus to the flavors: maple, rosemary, juniper and a bit of liquid smoke.

You may have noticed that I always have recipes for turkey breasts instead of turkeys. This is for a few reasons. First, I tend to host small Thanksgiving dinners. We just don't have the space for a big gathering. But second, even if I was having more guests, I'd probably still roast turkey breasts. They are easier to get right--you don't have to worry about whether the breast will dry out while still cooking the dark parts. The whole thing takes much less time. And they don't take up as much space in the oven, leaving room available for the other dishes you may want to roast concurrently with the turkey.

When roasting turkey, I recommend gauging its temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Don't rely on the pop-out that comes with many turkeys. I find them to be very inaccurate. You can see above that the hasn't popped yet, but I know the turkey was done based on its internal temperature having reached 165 F. I've also had the opposite happen: the thing pops, but the turkey really needs more roasting time.

Smoky Maple Brined Roasted Turkey Breast

6-8 lb. turkey breast

Brine for breast:
2 tbsp. juniper berries
2 tbsp. all spice berries
1/2 cup kosher salt (may substitute 1/4 cup table salt)
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp. liquid smoke
2 sprigs of rosemary
8 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
8 sprigs thyme
2 whole cloves

Roast breast:
1 sweet onion, sliced
1/2 bunch sage sprigs
1/2 bunch thyme sprigs
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Seasoned salt and fresh-ground black pepper

1. Place juniper and allspice berries in a resealable plastic bag and crush (you can use a rolling pin, a heavy pan or even a cocktail muddler to crush them). Transfer to a large pot or brining bag. Add salt, maple syrup, liquid smoke and 2 cups hot water. Stir until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Add rosemary, parsley, thyme and cloves. Add 3 quarts cold water and stir to combine. Place turkey breast in pot/bag. Cover pot or seal bag and refrigerate to brine overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 450 F. Set a V-rack inside a roasting pan. Place onion slices, sage and thyme sprigs on rack. Remove turkey breast from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Put turkey breast on top of herbs on rack. Brush turkey all over with melted butter and season with salt and pepper.

3. Roast turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 F, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reads 165 F, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours total roasting time. Let breast rest 30 minutes before carving.

Other Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving Central (all Thanksgiving recipes)

Mole Brined Roast Turkey Breast

Brined Roasted Turkey Breast

Roasted Turkey Breast with Herb Butter

Easy Turkey Gravy

Mole Brined Roast Turkey Breast

In U.S. Mexican restaurants, I usually see modern-day mole sauces served with chicken. However, according to Dan Jurafsky's The Language of Food, there is a long history of serving mole with turkey going back to the ancient times of the Aztecs.

Jurafsky's book got me thinking that mole might make a good foundation for a Thanksgiving turkey brine. I'd had such great results brining a turkey breast in 2012 and using a spicy brine for chicken last year, that I thought it might not only work but make for an incredibly flavorful turkey.

(top) dried ancho chiles; (below) sautéing the vegetables, nuts and spices.

Moles can be daunting because they include a long list of ingredients. To assuage your fears, I offer a couple observations. First, most of the ingredients are spices, nuts or seeds that require measuring but little prep. So apart from the chiles, onion and garlic, there's not the kind of chopping and mincing that often make a long ingredient list taxing. Second, because there are so many ingredients, the recipe is flexible. Don't having something? Don't sweat it. Omit or substitute; just be wary of categorically excluding a key flavor--like not including any nuts or seeds, for example.

I adapted the mole sauce brine from Pati Jinich's recipe for Mole Poblano. I used most, but not all of the spices in her mole. In particular, I cut way back on the chiles, for fear it could make my turkey too spicy. Turns out that wasn't the case, as the turkey wasn't at all hot. So if you like spicy, feel free to use more chiles (Pati's recipe called for 3 oz. anchos, 3 oz. pasillas, 3 oz. mulatos and 1/3 oz. chipotles--which I pared way back to just 2 oz. of anchos). Since I didn't need a "sauce" so much as a "paste," I used tomato paste rather than the tomatoes and tomatillos she used. The ingredients make more mole than you need for the brine. I ended up with about 3 to 4 cups, but used 2 cups for the brine (with the rest, I made Mole Gravy, today's other recipe).

Because this is a brine recipe, remember to allot enough time for making this. The turkey needs to brine overnight, so you should plan to make the mole and prepare the brine the day before you roast the turkey. I use a jumbo 2 1/2 gallon sealable plastic bag for the brining with the whole thing set in a large metal bowl (just in case; it would be awful to have raw turkey brine spilled all over the fridge).

Brines give turkey subtle flavors, so don't expect a super spicy turkey from this. What you get is the wonderful subtle flavors of the various mole spices. The turkey is moist and perfectly seasoned.

Mole Brined Roast Turkey Breast
Mole sauce adapted from a mole poblano recipe by Pati's Mexican Table, itself adapted from Sor Andrea de la Asunción from the Santa Rosa Convent.

Mole sauce:
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 oz. ancho chile peppers, split in half, stems and seeds removed
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, smashed
3 tbsp. sliced almonds
3 tbsp. unsalted roasted peanuts
3 tbsp. golden raisins
1 tbsp. pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
5 whole cloves, stemmed
1/4 tsp. coriander seeds
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. dried marjoram
6 oz. can tomato paste
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
2 cups water

Turkey brine:
2/3 cup kosher salt
2 cups warm water
3 quarts cold water
1 5-8 lb. turkey breast
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste


1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the chile peppers and sauté, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Remove the chiles from the oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the almonds, peanuts, raisins and pumpkin seeds and cook another 2-3 minutes, then add the sesame seeds, spices and herbs (cloves, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, thyme and marjoram), and cook another 3-4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and bittersweet chocolate, then add the chiles and water and stir until the ingredients are well combined. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool, then puree the mixture in batches using a blender or immersion blender. Transfer to a container and store in the fridge until ready to use. Makes about 3 to 4 cups.

2. Add 2 cups of the mole sauce to a large (2 gallon) sealable plastic bag (reserve the rest of the mole for another use, such as mole gravy). Combine the kosher salt and warm water and stir until the salt has dissolved. Add the warm water and salt mixture to the bag and stir to combine with the mole. Add the remaining water and stir to combine. Place the turkey breast in the bag with the mole brine, then place the bag in a large bowl. Put in the refrigerator to bring overnight (about 20 to 24 hours).

3. Preheat oven to 450 F. Remove turkey from brine (discard brine), place on a V-rack set in a roasting pan. Pat dry, then brush or spray with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes. Loosely cover the turkey breast with aluminum foil, reduce heat to 300 F and continue roasting another 2 to 2 1/2 hours or more (depending on the turkey's size) until an instant-read thermometer reads 165 F. Let turkey rest for 10 to 15 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board. Cut the two breast halves from the bones, then slice into 1-inch pieces. Serve on a platter.

Other Thanksgiving Recipes:

Thanksgiving Central (all Thanksgiving recipes)

Mole Gravy

Brined Roasted Turkey Breast

Roasted Turkey Breast with Herb Butter