Traveling Turkey
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Three Thanksgivings ago, my wife took a special guest along for our eight-hour drive to her mother's house in Texas: a 12-pound turkey, soaking in a cooler full of cold cider brine. This Thanksgiving, we're headed to the beach with friends, again with a bathing turkey in tow, which will officially make our Rolling Brine Roadshow a tradition.
Yes, we could just dry-brine the bird, or not brine it at all, and spare ourselves the hassle. But where's the fun in that? Besides, the interstate brining method seemed to produce an exceptionally delicious and moist turkey. My theory is that the gentle sloshing of liquid in the cooler as we barrel down I-20 helped the brine penetrate the turkey meat more deeply, though I'll have to double-check with Harold McGee on that.
Point is, you don't have to sacrifice procedural standards just because you're going over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. Will, meet way. Any food is portable if you want it bad enough.
Do you have any funny Thanksgiving travel tales? Share in the comments.