To stuff or not to stuff?

[Food Network Fan]

I have seen Alton stuff too, so he can't be THAT MUCH against it.

[Clove]

Alton revised his approach (and opinion) on stuffing a turkey, but his method is so involved that no one will use it.

I don't stuff my turkey for 2 reasons:

1. It lengthens the time it takes to cook the bird. It adds about about 5 minutes a pound. It's so hard to get the breast cooked and moist and the thighs cooked through at the same time. Stuffing just complicates it more.
2. I can never get enough stuffing "into " the body cavity to serve all of the guests and their "second helpings", that I have to make extra and cook it outside the bird anyway.

Why bother with a longer cooking turkey and inside and outside cooked stuffing?
Much easier to control the finished product by keeping these two parts separate.
The real question I'd like to hear about is brining.
Do you brine your turkey?
I do!

[Callisto in NC]

Never a turkey.

[Food Network Fan]

When I fix it myself I brine. My mother does not. She is doing the bird this year.

[Clove]

Originally Posted by Callisto in NC

Never a turkey.

Why?

[Callisto in NC]

Originally Posted by Clove

Why?

Why what?

[Callisto in NC]

Originally Posted by Food Network Fan

When I fix it myself I brine. My mother does not. She is doing the bird this year.

Frozen turkeys are already brined.

[Food Network Fan]

No frozen for me, frozen does bad things to the meat.

[Clove]

Originally Posted by Callisto in NC

Why what?

When I said "do you brine your turkey" you said "never a turkey" and I replied "why" ...do you never brine a turkey?

[Clove]

Originally Posted by Callisto in NC

Frozen turkeys are already brined.

Turkey's that are commercially brined are injected with a 1.5% salt water solution. That helps keep the turkey moist during roasting, just like brining.
Many people who brine their own turkeys, add other flavorings to the brine to enhance the flavor of the finished product.
In addition to anything else I add to the brine, I always add about a cup of honey. This doesn't really sweeten it as much as it gives the skin the mahogany color that you see in the magazine photos.