Turkey Day is coming and there are important questions to answer: Should your bird come from a local or national source? Organic, heritage or standard issue Broad-Breasted White? Stuffed with a chicken and duck? Brined, deep-fried or plain old oven-roasted?

The answers to the first three questions depend on your individual preference and your budget. But, in the answer to the last question, more and more people are opting to brine their turkeys before roasting them on Thanksgiving Day.

Why go through the extra prep and step? Because, most experts agree, overnight brining makes it more likely the turkey — and especially the breast meat — will be moist and tender.

In an article in the Nov. 12 edition of The New York Times, Harold McGee — author of On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen and The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore — explained that the "main driving force (behind brining) is osmosis, the natural shifting around of water and substances dissolved in it so as to even out any imbalances in their distribution."

At 58 percent, turkey is lower in moisture than most other birds, write David Joachim and Andrew Schloss in The Science of Good Food: The Ultimate Reference on How Cooking Works, recently released by Robert Rose, Inc. Brining the bird, they say, not only increases its moisture content by up to 10 percent, it also helps cut juices lost through cooking by almost 50 percent.

An additional benefit to brining? The seasonings in the brine — usually composed of water, salt, sugar and other herbs and spices of the cook's choice — are absorbed deeply into the turkey, making for a more flavorful as well as a more moist bird.

The downside? If you leave meat in a brine solution for too long, it can damage the muscle fiber. Delicate meats, like fish, should be brined for a half-hour or less; roasts and ribs get their best results between 3 and 6 hours; whereas large, whole turkeys can soak in a wet brine from 8 to 18 hours.

Another potential problem: drippings too salty to use as the base for gravy — the primary reason McGee says he roasts his turkey sans the brine. (He keeps the breast moist by removing it from the bird and cooking it separately.)

If you are interested learning more about brining, tune into this week's episode of Cooking with Chef Johnny Vee on etastesantafe.com. The New Mexican's columnist and cooking-teacher-about-town demonstrates two simple ways to get more moisture into your turkey. One is a dry brine, more akin to a barbecue rub than a soaking solution; the other is a wet brine enhanced with classic Thanksgiving herbs and spices.

To cut down on roasting time — and avoid the possibility of the salt spoiling the stuffing — Vollertsen also suggests two dressings baked outside the bird. The first makes use of the seasonal abundance of pears and chestnuts. The second — developed when the cook brought home a bag of leftover sopaipillas from a dinner out — celebrates Northern New Mexico's squashes, chiles and pine nuts. With a minimum of modification, both would make delicious vegetarian dishes.

To make gravy without fear of oversalting — more of an issue with the wet brine than with the dry salt rub — you can base the sauce on a stock made several days before rather than on the pan drippings. Making the broth (and perhaps the gravy itself) several days in advance also helps cut back on the last minute chores that can make a cook frantic. For a simple recipe for turkey broth and a gravy made from it, see "Turkey stock lightens load this Thanksgiving holiday."

DRY BRINE
(For a turkey averaging 14-16 pounds)

1/3 cup kosher salt*
1-1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1-1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1-1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram
1-1/2 teaspoons dried celery seed
2 well-crumbled dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes (like caribe)
1 tablespoon finely diced lemon or orange zest
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Softened butter, for roasting

Blend salt and all seasonings together in small bowl.

Remove the giblets, neck and excess fat (near the tail area) from the turkey and refrigerate for another use. Sprinkle the salt mixture all over the turkey, inside and out.

Place the turkey on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and refrigerate, uncovered, for 1 hour per pound. (This open refrigeration will dry out the skin a little, which is good because it helps the skin release more fat during roasting.)

Just before roasting, rinse the bird very well, inside and out, with lukewarm water. The lukewarm water will remove the salt, but also help the bird lose its chill. Pat the bird dry and cook it according to your favorite method and timing. There's no need to salt and pepper the skin, but do give it a rub with softened butter.

*Adjust the amount of salt proportionately from 1/4 cup for smaller turkeys to 1/2 cup for larger birds.


Note that you have to start this preparation at least 18 hours before you plan to put the bird in the oven.

WET HONEY BRINE
(For a turkey averaging 19-24 pounds)

1 brining bag
8 quarts water
2 cups kosher salt
1 cup honey
2 bunches fresh thyme
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons coarsely cracked black pepper
2 lemons, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup goose fat at room temperature *

Line an extra-large stockpot with large, heavy plastic bag that can hold about 30 gallons of liquid. (Special "brining bags" are available in many markets and most specialty kitchen shops.) Rinse the turkey; place in plastic bag in pot.

Stir 8 quarts water, 2 cups kosher salt and 1 cup honey together in large pot until salt and honey dissolve. Add 1 bunch fresh thyme, peeled garlic cloves and black pepper. Pour brine over turkey. Gather plastic bag tightly around turkey so that bird is covered with brine; seal plastic bag. Refrigerate pot with turkey in brine at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours. (Do not leave in brine for more than 18 hours as this could make the meat mushy.)

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Drain turkey well; discard brine. Pat turkey dry inside and out.

Squeeze juice from lemon halves into main cavity. Add lemon rinds and remaining bunch fresh thyme to main cavity. Tuck wings under turkey; tie legs together loosely to hold shape. Place turkey on rack set in large roasting pan. Rub turkey all over with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Roast turkey 1/2 hour. Baste turkey with goose fat. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Continue to roast until turkey is deep brown and thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165 degrees, basting with goose fat every 30 minutes, about 2-1/2 hours longer. Cover turkey loosely with foil if it's browning too quickly.

Transfer turkey to platter. Tent turkey loosely with foil and let stand 30 minutes before slicing. Pour pan juices into large glass measuring cup. Spoon off fat; reserve juices.

*You can find jars of rendered goose fat at specialty markets and via the Internet. Kaune Foodtown, 511 Old Santa Fe Trail, will be carrying it through the holidays. If you don't want to buy goose fat, you can use an equal amount of clarified butter in its place. You can clarify butter by melting a stick or so in a saucepan and cooking it briefly over medium-low heat. The water will cook off and the solids will sink to the bottom of the pan; pour off the golden liquid on the top and discard the solids — the part that would burn over time in the turkey roaster.


Trade the chicken broth for vegetable broth and this stuffing is vegetarian. Check the ingredients in your baguette — if it's made just of water, flour, salt and yeast, it will also be appropriate for the vegans at your table.

CHESTNUT-CARAMELIZED PEAR STUFFING
(Serves 8)

4 Bosc pears, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped into one-inch pieces
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup steamed or dry-roasted chestnuts, quartered
1 French baguette, torn into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon toasted and ground caraway seeds
3 large eggs
1-1/2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dissolve brown sugar in balsamic vinegar. Place pears in a medium bowl and pour vinegar mixture over them. Toss pears to completely cover.

Drain pears and place them in a heavy-bottomed casserole dish. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until pears are nicely browned but still holding their shape. Remove pears from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile melt butter in a sauté pan and add chopped celery and onion. Sauté over medium heat until onions brown slightly; set aside.

Butter a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.

Toss bread in large bowl with celery and onion mix, pears, sage, chestnuts and ground caraway seeds. Whisk together eggs and stock in another small bowl; stir into stuffing mix.

Pour stuffing lightly into buttered baking dish — do not pack down — and bake until cooked through and toasty, about 35 minutes.

Serve hot.

You can make your own sopaipillas, use some leftover from a restaurant meal, or order some especially for this purpose from your favorite New Mexican restaurant a day or two before Thanksgiving. Again, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken and you have a fine vegetarian side. (Sopaipillas do not usually pass the vegan test.)

GREEN CHILE-SOPAIPILLA STUFFING
(Serves 8-10)

4 large sopaipillas
6 green chiles, roasted and peeled (or 1 cup chopped canned green chiles)
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 yellow squash, roughly chopped
2 zucchini, roughly chopped
2 jalapeños, minced (seeded if you want less heat)
1 teaspoon toasted and ground cumin seed
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup toasted piñones
1-1/2 cup chicken broth

Melt butter in medium saucepan and sauté onions until soft. Add garlic, squash and zucchini and sauté until vegetables start to brown slightly. Stir chiles into mixture. Add jalapeños, spices and salt. Stir in chicken broth and set aside.

Butter a 3 quart casserole. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Tear sopaipillas into pieces and place in large bowl. Add sautéed vegetables and piñones and mix well. Turn stuffing into buttered casserole and bake for 30 minutes, or until stuffing is nicely browned.

Serve hot.



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