Thank Bryan - sound like the Thomas Keller approach to chicken, which works great, so might just do that!
What’s your stuffing protocol inside bird? I’m thinking just go simple, have a bunch of sage and rosemary in garden so thinking of doing that and a lemon or two inside.
Close! Originally inspired by Judy Rogers’ famous Zuni Cafe roast chicken, I found that I enjoyed my chickens after they had a few days on em’ in the fridge. The dry-brining with salt (and you can use a lot) makes em’ bombproof. I often prepare 4 or 5 chickens at a time to lay out flat on 2 sheet trays in our second fridge, which has subsequently become a beer/whatever meat is dry-brining fridge, and grab a chicken each night until they’re gone. They last without any smells occurring for about 9 days in there without freezing. The power of a light cure! Anyways, I digress. Adapted this method to turkey and found the above to be the sweet spot. The real win for me in the past year with meat is getting the damn meat out of the fridge hours ahead of time. I like to pull chickens 5 hours ahead. If you can have a truly room temp bird it will cook faster and the inside will reach that cooked temp quicker without drying out the bird! Bonus points, the cell walls get sealed up because of the dry-brining, retaining the moisture. Judy has a few pages in the beginning of the Zuni Cafe cookbook dedicated to salting ahead of time, beyond just meat! Even has a recs for salting vegetables 15 minutes ahead of time. A great read.
Finally, to answer your question, yes, stuff it with half a lemon and some garden herbs, the same garden herbs you put in the bird. When I dry brine, I make a slit in each breast and in each thigh, get a finger under there to make a pouch and stuff it with rosemary. Sage/rosemary will go great with the turkey.
Though my wife has an allergy to dairy so I haven’t tried what I’m about to say, I would imagine that, after dry brining, that slipping some butter under the breasts in that same slit you made for herbs and as well into the thighs might be killer.
Thanks for coming to my dry-brine-a-bird TED talk.
Yeah, I think I’ll do a combo of what you said and slip some @KhaN butter under there.
But totally agree with you on process - it was only when I started to really have the chicken dry out (Thomas Keller style) for days, that it made a great roasted chicken. Coming to room temp makes sense too.
Got a bottle of Laherte Freres Ultradition locally for our family’s Thanksgiving. No one else is really all that into wine but they enjoy sparkling on occasion.
Is there a cookbook of his that you liked the most? I havent actually picked up the original “The French Laundry” and should add it to my Christmas list!
No, this was a YouTube clip!
I would never pre-stuff a turkey and leave it in there for days in the refrigerator and then 8 hours on the counter; major food poisoning risk.
Made it to Georgia last night to start the holiday week. One of the kids has strep. Never a dull moment - strep way better than many many things this time of year though, so I’ll consider it a win
I don’t quite go that far, but we dry-brine everything for at least 24 hours and the second fridge always has something in it. Currently, a spatchcocked local heritage turkey.
Doing all the traditional things, here’s the wine line-up
Fun 2016 base BdB horizontal:
2016 Laherte Frères Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Grandes Crayères (d.02/2020)
N.V. Agrapart Champagne Grand Cru Terroirs Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (base 2016, d.02/2020)
N.V. Guiborat Fils Champagne Grand Cru Prisme.16 (base 2016, d.12/2021)
My better half requested this white:
2018 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc
My FiL loves Burgundy:
2005 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Corton-Bressandes MAGNUM
My guess is that you could probably trade wine with folks given the reception they seem to get.
Turkey is spatchcocked and herbed butter rubbed on breasts under skin, dry rub on top, sitting in fridge to dry out a bit, then smoker around game time tomorrow.
One of the bottles I have set aside for Thanksgiving is none other than @Ed_Kurtzman 's Sandler Monopole Crü Cuvee!!! Still the coolest damn label EVER
Thank you, Todd! I hope the wine stands up to the turkey and the rest of the meal. Happy Thanksgiving!
it freakin’ better! Don’t ruin my holiday, Ed!!!
and you, as well!
A pic to refresh our memory?
Best seen on the t-shirt, since the label is hard to capture on a bottle, without rotating the bottle
Dark meat turkey already good, carved/shredded, and in the fridge. Bones and some meat used for stock yesterday. Half breast gets cooked tomorrow just before dinner. Gravy done. Sweet and mashed potatoes get done tomorrow before dinner. Cranberry sauce is made. Tonight is creamy lemon pasta with shrimp and lobster, and salad. Happy incipient thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is a small affair (6) for us this year. My favorite part is that we get to blend some dishes from my British culture (roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, sausage stuffing) with my wife’s American classics (turkey, family stuffing recipe, sweet potatoes, home made apple pie). It’s like a Christmas <> Thanksgiving mash up.
Turkey strategy is key in my wife’s family. The bird has been wet brining since Monday night. We’ll pull it tonight and thoroughly dry in the fridge overnight. Tomorrow it gets stuffed, seasoned, buttered, and this year we’re trying the Alex Guarnaschelli recommendation of a cheesecloth soaked in a ton of butter stretched over the breast. It goes in once the parade is over and we’ll eat around 6pm
Only my wife and I are big wine drinkers so we usually try to open something a little special. This year it’s a La Mission 2005 and a half-bottle of 2001 d’Yquem.
Happy Thanksgiving all!
Dear Lord that looks good 
Got a Foillard Morgon, Dujac MSD village, and Krug on deck. If anyone wants more booze they can hit the liquor cabinet. Doing roast chickens this year. I adore the Pennsylvania Golden Chickens that Regalis sells. That plus crawfish cornbread dressing, shrimp/crab mirliton dressing, butternut squash bisque, pommes dauphinoise, and brioche rolls and we’re in business.
