Wind & turkey

The winds have really arrived today. The banshees are howling down the chimney. The pilot light of our gas fire has blown out. In the background I can hear the squeak of the garden gate. I look out at our front garden & can see the bay tree, sage & rosemary bushes tossing this way & that in some wild dance. But for all the wind it is better than yesterday. That turned so dark that you needed lights inside even early in the afternoon. We did venture out to the fish shop for the smoked haddock. As we were out we went along to the golf club. The place was virtually deserted as people stayed safely tucked up at home.

Today we're having roast turkey for dinner - a bit late I know, but I came across a recipe for turkey which involved soaking the crown in spiced brine for a couple of days before cooking. I found some frozen crowns at reduced price when we went shopping on Wednesday. Once the crown had thawed out, I put it in some brine with various flavourings & it's been sitting out in the cold of the garage ever since.

We did have a more conventionally roast turkey in December, but you can never have too much leftover turkey in our opinion.

I will admit the recipe has made me think what equipment cookery writers think normal home cooks have. In this instance you need a pan big enough to hold the crown, covered in water. Okay I have a roasting pan big enough to roast the turkey in but it's not deep enough for all that spiced brine. As for my biggest saucepan, that is too small for the crown as a whole piece. I've ended up cutting it in half to get it all submerged in the liquid with a lid on. I suspect I'm not the only person who would be in that situation, even if they have a family. The domestic kitchen tends not to need such huge pans as the professional kitchen. Most people do not cook for more than 4-6 as a norm. When they cook for more it tends to be a roast or a boneless casserole, neither of which need such a big pan.

Still we're curious to see what this brining does to the flavour & moisture of the bird. But I will be keeping a careful eye on the cooking as I'm half-expecting it to take less time as I'm going to be roasting two small joints rather than one big one. We'll find out this evening.