Chez Panisse Brine For Pork Chicken And Turkey Recipes

CHEZ PANISSE BRINE FOR PORK, CHICKEN AND TURKEY

Steps:

• Place the water in a large pot that can easily hold the liquid and the meat you intend to brine. Add all the ingredients and stir for a minute or so until the sugar and salt dissolve. Refrigerate poultry in the brine for 24 hours; pork for 3 days. If the meat floats to the top, use a plate or other weight to keep it completely submerged in the brine.
• To cook chicken: Stuff the cavity with onions, lemon wedges, and herbs such as thyme, parsley, and rosemary. Rub the skin with oil to help browning. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. (Salt isn't needed because of the brine.) Cook uncovered in a 400-degree oven until done, about 1 hour and 15 minutes for a 3 1/2- to 4 pound chicken.
• To cook turkey: Stuff the cavity with lemons, herbs, and onions, if desired. Rub the skin with oil and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. Cook uncovered in a 400-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes per pound until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the thigh registers at least 165 degrees.
• To cook a boneless pork roast: Sprinkle the roast with pepper and herbs such as sage, thyme, or tarragon, if desired. Roast uncovered in a 400-degree oven for about 12 to 15 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 150 to 160 degrees.

TERRINE OF PORK CHEZ PANISSE

Steps:

• Slice fatback into thin strips and dice into uniform pieces, about 1/8 inch thick. Cut pork into thin strips and dice. Distribute fatback pieces on top of pork. Divide mixture in half on a chopping block and chop in two batches; chop until you have a varied forcemeat of fine and coarse bits of pork. When chopping, go over mixture with cleaver or knife several times, turning mixture with the blade, until you achieve the right consistency.
• Slice liver; dice it; chop as finely as possible to a near-liquid consistency. Combine chopped meat and fat with liver in a large bowl.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Heat olive oil in a small saute pan, add shallots and saute gently 5 minutes without browning until they are soft. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs and white wine and stir until crumbs are soaked. Add wine-soaked bread crumbs, softened shallots, garlic, parsley, pistachio nuts and all spices to the pork forcemeat and mix thoroughly by hand.
• Line a 1 1/2-quart terrine or loaf mold with chard leaves: cover the bottom with a large leaf and overlap the other leaves around the sides, allowing them to drape over the edge about 2 inches, trimming them if necessary. Pack forcemeat mixture into mold, mounding slightly, and fold leaves over top to enclose it. Rap bottom of mold against table to settle contents and place in a baking pan with enough water to come two-thirds of the way up the sides of the mold. Bake 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, or until a meat thermometer, inserted only as far as the center, reads 130 degrees.
• Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes. On the terrine, place a dish or flat board and, on top of that, a weight (a 2- or 3-pound can will do). Continue cooling at room temperature several hours. When cool and quite firm, remove weight, wrap terrine well and place in refrigerator to ripen a day or longer before serving.

BASIC ALL PURPOSE BRINE FOR MEATS, CHICKEN, AND TURKEY

Steps:

• Makes 1 quart- make up additional amounts of brine if needed until meat is submerged.
• Stir ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Continue stirring until sugar is dissolved.
• Allow to cool.
• Place meat or poultry in a food safe plastic bag inside another container for support and leakage control (oven roasting bags are a fine choice- NOT garbage bags).
• Pour cooled brine into bag, and squeeze out as much air as possible and seal with a twistie tie.
• Refrigerate for 3-4 hours for 3 pounds meat (such as pork ribs), 5-6 hours for a nice roasting hen, or 12-24 hours for a turkey, 12 hours being for a small one and the longer time for those turkeys around 20+ pounds.
• Discard brine before using and pat meat dry.
• If using poultry, you may want to add citrus fruit such as oranges or lemons, additional fresh herbs, or cloves of garlic into the cavity.
• Prepare meat as desired- roast, bbq, etc.