Thanksgiving in Encinitas: The Meal

• Neighborhoods and News
• Encinitas Homes, thanksgiving in encinitas, thanksgiving recipes
• November 19, 2012

Thanksgiving is only three days away, which means soon Encinitas homes will be filled with family and friends sharing a day of thanks. For many this can mean stressful preparation of their Encinitas homes as they clean and cook for the special day. In order to relieve some of the burden I will be providing some helpful hints for the holiday with you in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. First off: Food.

Thanksgiving is synonymous with turkey; statistics put the number of turkeys consumed on Thanksgiving in 2008 at about 46 million. Here are a few different recipes for cooking a main course for Thanksgiving.

Easy Turkey

This recipe is designed for a 12-lb turkey and can be ready in about 5 hours. The necessary ingredients are:

• 12-pound turkey
• 6 tablespoons butter, divided
• 4 cups warm water
• 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 2 tablespoons salt

While you preheat your oven to 350 degrees F rinse and wash your turkey. Remove the giblets. Put the turkey in a roasting pan or Dutch oven and make little pockets for the butter by separating the skin over the breast. Put 3 tablespoons of butter on each side between the skin and breast meat in the pockets you’ve made.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the 4 cups of warm water with the chicken bouillon, sprinkling the minced onion and parsley into the mixture, then pour it on top of the turkey. Spinkle seasoning salt on top of the turkey.

Cover the turkey with foil and then bake in the oven for 3.5 to 4 hours, so that the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F. Remove the foil for the last 45 minutes or so to brown the turkey.

Cajun Deep-Fried Turkey

If you are looking to spice up your Thanksgiving in Encinitas you can try this Cajun Deep-Fried Turkey recipe. This recipe does require a fryer, but it can be prepared and cooked in under an hour and a half.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of butter
• 2 tablesppons of ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cups of onion juice, garlic juice, Louisiana-style hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce
• 7 fluid ounces of beer
• 3 gallons peanut oil for frying
• 12-lb turkey

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Combine with the onion juice, garlic
juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, cayenne pepper
and beer and mix until blended. Inject this marinade all over the turkey including the legs, back, wings, thighs and breasts using a baster or injector. Place in a large plastic bag or oven bag and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

To fry, measure the amount of oil needed by lowering the turkey
into the fryer and filling with enough oil to cover it. Remove the
turkey and set aside.

Heat the oil to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). When the oil has come to temperature,
lower the turkey into the hot oil slowly using the hanging device that
comes with turkey deep-fryers. The turkey should be completely submerged
in the oil. Cook for 36 minutes, or 3 minutes per pound of turkey. The
turkey is done when the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh
reaches 180 degrees F (80 degrees C). Turn off the flame and slowly
remove from the oil, making sure all of the oil drains out of the
cavity. Allow to rest on a serving platter for about 20 minutes before
carving.

Vegetarian Alternative

You can use a Tofurky roast if you like or any other type of vegetarian turkey-substitute. This Sweet Southwestern Glazed Tofurky Recipe will give you a tasty alternative to the traditional turkey:

• 1 Tofurky roast
• 2 teaspoons of chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon of cumin
• 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon water
• dash of sea salt and cayenne pepper

Whisk together all of the ingredients (minus the Tofurky of course) in a small bowl. Follow the cooking directions supplied by Tofurky, but use your mixture to baste thoroughly during the last hour of cooking especially. You may even want to consider injecting the mixture into the roast as well for added flavor.

Keep checking back for more tips to make your Thanksgiving in Encinitas easier and interesting.