Scott, Turkeyless...
So what to do? Cooking a whole turkey would be a waste, and chicken doesn’t quite have the right flavor to act as a stand-in. Cornish hens, however, while not tasting just like turkey do have a stronger flavor than chicken. Plus they’re itty bitty, which means they cook fast, and you can eat the results yourself, so if the recipe turns out to be a flop, no one has to know but you.
What I wanted to test was a new brine for the bird. Last year I used one that was pretty close to Alton Brown’s standard turkey brine; This year I wanted to try my own flavors while still using Alton’s excellent technique.
Here’s the full turkey-portioned brine recipe that I tested:
4 quarts of water
5 quarts of ice
2 cups kosher salt
1 cup honey
3-4 tbl coarsely ground black pepper
2 bunches fresh thyme
1 bunch fresh sage
1 12 oz can OJ concentrate
2-3 lemons
Technique: In a 12-quart pot, combine the water, salt, honey, and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, then add the OJ concentrate. When the mixture returns to a boil, remove from the heat, squeeze in the lemons, add the thyme and sage, then cover for 15 minutes. Place the pot in the sink and fill it with cold water until the pot begins to float, after 15 minutes change the water once, then let it sit for another 15 minutes. At this point add the 5 quarts of ice to the brine and apply it to the bird for 8 to 10 hours. Be sure to rinse the bird thoroughly before cooking.
To test the recipe, I divided the quantities and brining time by 8, and applied the brine to two Cornish game hens. It went a little something like this:
Step 1. Get My Brine Ingedients Together
Mise Is In The Place
Step 2. Build the brine
Add the water, honey, salt & pepper, bring to a boil and add OJ, return to boil and then take off the heat (quickly).
Step 3. Steep the aromatics.
Add the sage, thyme and lemon, then cover and let sit for 15 minutes, then cool the pot in the sink to room temperature and add the ice to chill it below 40 degrees.
Step 4. Clean the birds
Rinse your birds well, there's no need to dry them though since they'll be in the drink soon.
Step 5. Bag and brine the birds
Bag em and brine em.
Step 6. After an hour, rinse the birds and pat them dry.
See, the blurriness indicates motion.
Step 7. Stuff the birds with aromatics (thyme, sage, and lemon in this case)
Wear latex while stuffing.
Step 8. Roast the birds for 45 minutes, let them rest for 15, and serve.
The author, in between two hot chicks.
By the way, if you like the way I garnish, then check out
this site, it's chock full of visually stunning culinary creations.
The cornish hens tasted great, and so did the turkey, which came out flavorful and juicy and so tender you could cut it with a fork. However, the dark meat wasn't done when the white meat was ready, even though I used a digital thermometer and Alton's "turkey triangle" method to slow the cooking of the white meat. I think I know what went wrong so I'm going to try again soon.
I'll let you know how it goes.
-tbg