Thread: New Post

Okay everyone the last post was 2 months ago. It's the holiday season. How about some favorite Christmas or New Year dishes. No need to start a new thread with every recipe. Lets just see if we get get a bunch of real holiday head turners!

Apple Wood Smoked Turkey Breast

7-8lb bone-in turkey breast-thawed
Brine:
In a large stock pot melt 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of table salt in a quart of water.
Throw in handfuls of ice cubes and stir until mixture and pan are cold.
Add a half gallon jug of apple juice and mix.
Stir in a teaspoon of black pepper.
Place the breast skin down in the pot.
Stir in enough cold water to completely submerge the turkey breast.
Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. It's best to do this about 10am if you want the turkey for dinner the next NIGHT.

24 hours later remove the turkey breast from the refrigerator and remove it from the brine.
Let dry uncovered on a platter in the refrigerator for about another hour.
Fill your smoker water pan.
Bring your smoker to about 230-250 degrees F
Remove turkey breast from refrigerator and add dry rub. I sprayed mine with cooking spray and coated it liberally with Fiesta Seasonings Chicken Rub(Academy)
Place on rack skin side up and smoke for about 45 minutes per pound until the internal temperature reaches 163 degrees F.
Prepare several sheets of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and immediately wrap the turkey breast when it is removed from the smoker.
Cover with a towel for about 45 minutes to allow the internal temperature to reach 165 degrees F.

Carve however you like. I prefer to fillet the breast halves and slice against the grain. There will be a decent amount of meat that will need to be pulled from the bone. I feel it is the chef's responsibility to dispose of this irregular shaped, moist, flavorful and tender scrap so his guests can consume the uniform, pretty slices.




The trusty $5 J&M refurb fillet knife did the trick. Might have been prettier with an electric knife.

Love the addition of apple juice and pepper to the brine.
The Fam are getting together for Christmas and my job is the turkey.
I’ll certainly be stealing your ideas, haha.

That looks wonderful. Looks like a great almost end of hunting season weekend meal! How easy!

Turnip Green Soup (could basically get your good luck covered on New Year's by substituting black-eyed peas for the northern beans):

Turnip Green Soup
(2) – 16oz Frozen Turnip Greens (chopped)
(4) – 15oz cans Great Northern Beans (juice and all)
(2) packages Knorr Veggie Mix
(2) – 1lb packages Conecuh sausage (diced/sliced however you want it!)
3-4 cups of water (enough to cover it all)

Cook in crockpot for 7-8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

Wanted to do the turkey breast. Stores are proud of them. $25 for a turkey breast. Have to wait until next Thanksgiving when whole ones are 19 cents a lb!

Originally Posted by crazynewts

Wanted to do the turkey breast. Stores are proud of them. $25 for a turkey breast. Have to wait until next Thanksgiving when whole ones are 19 cents a lb!

$1.39 a lb at Aldi in my little town. About $13 for an eight pounder. Look for them to be marked down pretty soon now that the holidays are winding down.

Home Made Yeast Rolls

In a large bowl add 1 cup of warm water. Whisk in one package of active dry yeast. Let the yeast dissolve for 5 minutes.
Melt 1/4 cup vegetable shortening and add to mixture along with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1.5 cups of King Arthur Bread Flour. Mix for a couple of minutes until smooth like a thick cake batter. EDIT #2 Add in a beaten egg here!
Add in another 1.75 cups of bread flour a half cup at a time until well mixed. Use a batter knife to scrape sides of bowl to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.
Cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel and let rise for about 2 hours. It will be about double in size.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Empty dough ball onto a smooth glass cutting board or other smooth, hard surface. Use a dough knife to cut on half, and halve, halve again and again to make 16 small rolls.
Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and lightly brush with salted butter.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until brown on top.
Brush again with melted butter when you take them out of the oven.

I made these last night and didn't get a picture before the evidence had been consumed. This is the best recipe I have tried so far.

Edit: Santa Clause got me a Kitchenaid stand mixer for Christmas. Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to use it for the next batch.