Ben Starr

The Ultimate Food Geek

Tag: brine

  • FRANK: The first MasterChef love child

    During the filming of MasterChef season 2, Jennie Kelley and I had become very close.  During one pressure test challenge, our team was safe and we were watching the opposing team battle it out from the safety of the balcony above.  Jennie and I were distraught, watching our friends cooking at the very limit of…

  • On Brining…

    It’s turkey season, and that means all the TV shows are full of tips and tricks for the perfect Thanksgiving turkey.  Baste it every 10 minutes.  Bake it in a bag.  Deep fry it.  Rub butter under the skin. The turkey, like all meats that have both light and dark on the same carcass, presents…

  • Ben’s Life-Altering Cajun Turkey

    The Cajun-spiced deep-fried turkey has become very popular since Emeril introduced it on Food Network several years ago.  Most of us don’t have a fryer large enough for a turkey, nor do we want to spend $50 on a fryer and another $50 on peanut oil, so an alternative is to “brine” the turkey from…

  • Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey (brined)

    For this recipe, you will need three 10-pound bags of ice, 1 gallon of apple cider vinegar, 1-2 boxes of Morton’s Course Kosher Salt (see the recipe below for different types of salt), white sugar, canola oil, aluminum foil, a cooler, a roasting pan, a meat thermometer, and, of course, a turkey.  Do not brine…