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Kitsa Kitsa is offline
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Old Nov 25th, 2011, 12:09 AM       
Thanks. I didn't brine the turkey because one year (under the influence of chef Michael Ruhlman, whom I'd just heard speak a week or so before), I brined it and forgot what that would do to the gravy. The resulting salt-sludge turned me off brining for the rest of my life. The turkey was ok...no better, no worse. I went back to rubbing the cavity with kosher salt and stuffing it with mirepoix and it turns out ok often enough to stick with.

Last year I went nuts and made a really ridiculously involved chestnut stuffing that tasted great but took forever. I never want to roast and peel chestnuts again. This year I simplified it, got precooked vacuum-packed chestnuts, and it turned out better. Here's exactly how-

-Buy one box of stove top turkey dressing and one box of sage dressing.
-Make according to directions, but instead of water use chicken broth. Just use both boxes of dressing dumped in together.
-While you're waiting for the broth to boil, saute diced celery and onions with chopped roasted chestnuts in butter until they're softened and golden-brown on the edges.
- When the stuffing is at the "take it off the heat and put a lid on it to steam it" phase, stir in the celery, onions and chestnuts until they're well-incorporated in the rest of it. Put it in a greased casserole dish and bake under foil for the last 45 minutes the turkey is baking. If it looks dry, add more chicken broth. To crisp it up, take the foil off and raise the oven temp for a few minutes.

Thank you for the compliments. I could have done a tablecloth and nice dinnerware, but my kid would have had it all ruined in minutes and I didn't need that sort of aggravation.
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