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An alternative to the oven.
(Credit: Bed Bath & Beyond)Holidays are built upon a strong base of tradition. Each particular holiday has its associated colors, foods, and activities. It's what makes them different from each other and not just another day off of work. However, along with tradition comes stagnation and the threat of repeating past mistakes. If you know somebody who somehow always seems to make dry turkey, then perhaps it's time to change how they make it. Or maybe, what they make it in.
The Masterbuilt Butterball Oil-Free Electric Turkey Fryer and Roaster might not make cooks better at their craft around holiday season, but it does give them something different to work with. The electric cooker uses radiant heat to quickly cook an 18-pound turkey in one-third the time of a conventional oven. No additional oil is needed. Included is a wood-chip tray to add smoke and flavor, while a removable drip pan catches grease and fat. The entire contraption ships ready to go, complete with turkey stand and tempered-glass lid.
When the holidays are over, the 17-inch tall (it measures 16.5 inches by 16.75 inches across) can be used for other applications. A cooking basket and drain clip are included for just such a purpose. No matter what time of year, or what is being made, the easy-to-use machine brings a new element to the mix. Best of all, an integrated timer keeps track of time, no matter who is doing the cooking.
That? Why, that's a turkey fryer.
(Credit: Bed Bath & Beyond)It's almost that time of year again. With Halloween right around the corner, thoughts across the country will soon turn to the most important food holiday of the year: Thanksgiving. Before the apple pie, before the mashed potatoes, before all the traditional appetizers, side dishes and desserts, comes the turkey. As a centerpiece of the meal, turkey preparation takes center stage for good reason, and it all starts with how you decide to cook the turkey.
Every year, Black Friday not only features news stories about mall attendance, but also unfortunate stories of fires caused by deep frying turkey. If you are choosing fried turkey this year, leave the shoddy preparation in the past and get yourself a dedicated appliance. As far as unitaskers go, the Masterbuilt Butterball Professional Series Indoor Electric Turkey Fryer probably isn't too bad of a choice. (And to be fair, a cooking basket and drain clip are included to fry other foods.)
The kitchen appliance is small enough for countertop use, but is large enough to accommodate a 14-pound turkey. Complete with breakaway power cord and automatic safety shutdown, the indoor fryer makes it easy to cook delicious turkey for your big meal. Other features include a filtered lid with viewing window for when you just have to (safely) sneak a peek.
(Credit:
Dolphin Innovations)
Thankfully, when I asked my roommate for a backup length of string, he came through. But the string he found came out of a desk drawer and was wrapped around a pencil. I carefully washed it, but even so, I couldn't shake the icky feeling of using it to make my food.
This isn't the first time I've come to realize too late that I have no kitchen twine. To be honest, I rarely have it in my kitchen, as I'm still fairly new at roasting whole birds. When I do, it's usually during the holidays, when they sell twine in little 99-cent packages that are located right in the deli section. For some reason, I always have a hard time finding kitchen twine in the smaller stores around my Brooklyn apartment outside of the holiday season.
Thankfully, I might not have to worry about finding twine before next November. This Foodloop Lace provides a reusable solution, and is available at a shop right down the street.
Made of stainless steel and silicone, the gadget is meant to replace twine and needles when stuffing chicken, duck, or turkey. The materials allow you to use it in the oven, refrigerator, freezer, and stove top, and it's dishwasher safe for easy cleanup. You can also link it to other Foodloop products to extend it for bigger birdies.
The Foodloop Lace is available for $9.99 from The Brooklyn Kitchen's Web site.
Bread slicing made easy.
(Credit: Amazon via Norpro)Even as we approach the Official Season of the Turkey Sandwich, I doubt many of us will really need the precision of a bread slicer. Granted, it does have its uses. My bread machine has a propensity to produce loaves that look somewhat like renegade muffins: big poofy tops pouring over a tall base. Sometimes, they can be difficult to slice evenly. However, I trust that a few uneven slices will still taste just as delicious.
For those who do prefer uniform half-inch slices of bread, this Norpro Bread Slicer with Crumb Catcher might be just the thing. The acrylic edges extend high enough that most loaves of bread will fit entirely within the guides. In fact, I'm pretty sure I could even get one of my oddly shaped bread machine loaves in there (as long as I put it on its side).
The $15.49 price tag reflects the no-frills approach of the bread slicer. The bread rests upon the included hardwood crumb-catcher tray and the acrylic slicing guides allow for consistent slices. Just make sure you have a long-enough knife; as you slice, the knife will have to stay in-between both slots, which could become tricky for shorter knives.
Of course, with all the turkey sandwiches that will soon be eaten, perhaps a bread-slicing guide is not all together such a bad thing. The price is certainly right, and with all the potential use in the next week or so, it might just be the most popular gadget in your kitchen (besides of course, whatever you use to warm up leftover turkey).
No, it doesn't fire turkeys.
(Credit: Sante)It's that time of year again: turkey time. All across the land decisions are being made as to how to cook the main course for the Thanksgiving feast this year. While ham or duck may occasionally grace the table, for most the question is how to prepare the turkey.
Recommended cooking times vary greatly, usually hovering around some safe bet of 15-18 minutes per pound at 325-350 degrees. Chances are that if you follow the guidelines, you'll end up with a dry bird. Dark meat and white meat need different cooking times, so when one is done (white) the other (dark) still needs cooking. If you choose to stuff your bird, you're asking for even more trouble, as it slows down cooking time, increasing the chances of an overcooked turkey.
Your options are not just limited to the standard roast, however. Deep-fried turkey is an enticing option, but requires a bit of planning (especially in the safety department). Those looking for a new experience without much fuss may want to try the Turkey Cannon. Yes, that's right, the Turkey Cannon.
The two-piece contraption is a take on the classic beer can chicken, but is designed instead to accommodate the larger size of a turkey. Simply pour in your favorite delicious liquid, such as wine, beer or even juice, and slide the turkey over the cylinder. As the turkey cooks, the liquid will boil and flavor the turkey from the inside. As an added bonus, the turkey should cook more quickly, giving you more time to partake in that other Thanksgiving tradition: filling up on appetizers before dinner.
Before we hit the gift-giving holidays, we have to get through Thanksgiving and all that turkey. Just how are you preparing your meal this year? Hammacher Schlemmer recommends that you use Char-Broil's The Big Easy Oil-Less Infrared Turkey Fryer.
The name is fairly descriptive--this is a turkey cooker that uses infrared technology in place of oil. So you get a healthier dinner without risking life and limb at the deep-fryer--but, it's not really a fryer, and some of the reviews at Amazon point out that if you're really looking for the taste of deep fried chicken, this roaster won't deliver.
On the other hand, it does cook up a succulent turkey in about half the time a traditional oven would take. There's no preheating time, and you can keep the heat out of the kitchen by setting up the roaster outside. The included meat thermometer lets you ensure that your meat is fully cooked to the proper temperature, and you will get a juicy bird to bring to the table.
The Big Easy runs on propane, so you'll need to pick up a tank and a spare---you'd hate to be caught turkey-less on the big day, right?
I know you're still figuring out the details of your Thanksgiving meal, but it's actually already time to start thinking about the holidays. By which I mean holiday gifts. As in, start scouring the Internet and scoping out the stores, because every person on your list needs a thoughtful, perfect, chosen-just-for-you gift.
The good folks at Hammacher Schlemmer have some ideas, and we'll look at a few of them over the next several days. First up is the Chef's Remote Thermometer Monitor, a wireless meat thermometer and timer that lets you keep tabs on the cooking from up to 100 feet away. So, pop that turkey in the oven and head into the living room with your drink--the handheld receiver will tell you when the bird is ready.
The transmitter is also weather-resistant, so go ahead and set up the grill, and then come back inside to socialize. No need to bundle up and spend 40 minutes huddled over your grill in the cold--the receiver actually gives you audible alerts when your food reaches your chosen level of doneness.
Programming and storing your custom setting for cooking is so easy even your sous-chef can do it. The device costs $50 and runs on four AAA batteries.
(Credit:
Cuisipro)
Now that Thanksgiving's just around the corner, it's a good time to take stock of the equipment in your kitchen to make sure you have everything you need to pull off the big feast. We've put together a three-part series of gadgets that can help with every stage of the meal. Today we'll focus on cooking the bird, with side dishes on Thursday, and desserts on Friday.
Dual baster/injector
The bulb baster is a tried-and-true turkey tool used to keep the skin of the turkey moist and flavorful. Recently though, there's been a trend toward injecting turkeys with combinations of juice, water, herbs, and spices to boost the flavor of the meat. Cuisipro now has a device that marries the old with the new. This dual baster/injector has two interchangeable heads: one with an injecting needle and one with a shower-like baster.
(Credit:
Maverick Industries)
Digital thermometer
Since every oven is different and turkeys at Thanksgiving tend to be big, a meat thermometer is essential for making sure the bird is cooked all the way through. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out of determining doneness, so you don't have to overcook your turkey to make sure it's safe to eat.
This Maverick Redi-Chek remote thermometer allows you to simply select the type of meat you're cooking and how well you want it cooked. It monitors the temperature of the meat as it cooks, then sets off an alarm when it has reached the proper temperature. Lots of digital thermometers do this, but the Redi-Chek's best feature is that it comes with a remote pager that operates within a 100-foot range, meaning cooks don't have to miss out on the Cowboys-Jets game while they monitor what's happening in the oven.
(Credit:
Wrapables.com)
Silicone trussing
If you're starting to think there's a silicone alternative to just about everything in the kitchen...well, I think I have to agree.
Wrapables.com has a silicone "looplace," which can be used to close the turkey cavity. It's dishwasher safe and comes with a mesh bag for storage and for running through the washer. The company's food loops can be used to truss the turkey (and to keep wrapped or stuffed meat and fish nice and tidy during cooking).
(Credit:
Amazon.com)
Turkey lifters
Lifting a finished turkey from its roasting pan can be tricky business. For large gatherings, a turkey can weigh upwards of 20 lbs. and is usually perched atop a pan of blazing hot grease. Moving a hot turkey from the roasting pan to a cutting board or serving platter should always be a two-person job. But turkey lifters can help give you about as good a grip on the bird as you'll get, the key being getting support underneath the bulk of the weight.
These Norpro lifters are available at Amazon.com, but their fork design is pretty standard, and similar utensils can be found from other suppliers. Bed Bath & Beyond has another style that's designed to help cooks airlift the bird out of the pan.
(Credit:
Black & Decker)
Electric knife
Even the most skilled carver won't be able to serve good-looking, evenly sliced turkey without a sharp knife. So make sure you have a quality carving knife ahead of time so you don't end up hacking your perfectly cooked Thanksgiving turkey into a mangled mess.
Purists might prefer a manual carving set, but electric carving knives will make quick work of any big roast and they can help carving newbies or people who don't have a lot of hand strength turn out nice, even slices. This Black & Decker EK800 Slice Right gets America's Test Kitchen's nod as the best one available today.
Fat separator
When making gravy from scratch, the fat needs to be separated from the lean drippings. The easiest way to do that is to let it cool down so the fat starts to solidify on top and can be spooned off easily. But that, of course, takes time that might not be available at that stage in the game.
(Credit:
Sur La Table)
This OXO fat separator allows you to separate out the fat while the drippings are still hot, so you can get crackin' on the gravy right away.
Fire extinguisher
It's always a good idea to have a fire extinguisher on hand and easily accessible from the kitchen, but it's especially important during the chaos of Thanksgiving cooking and particularly for those deep frying their turkeys.
The HomeHero is not just a stylish fire extinguisher. It can also be integrated into a networked fire safety system that uses dual smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. When one alarm goes off, all alarms in the house go off. And when a fire extinguisher is in use, the whole house is automatically alerted that there is a fire. What's more, rather than simply setting off a beeping alarm at an ungodly decibel level, a voice recording calmly instructs residents on what immediate steps to take. The HomeHero fire extinguisher was named one of 2007's IDEA design award winners. When it becomes available, it will be sold exclusively at Home Depot for $25 a piece, according to the Daily Olive.
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