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I don't cook much, but I decided to make Thanksgiving dinner this year for the first time in my life.
I got a 10 pound frozen turkey that was pre-basted with 9.5% broth/salt/sugar/flavoring.
I was looking at a couple of recipes that called for rubbing an herb butter all over the turkey. One of the recipes said to use one stick of unsalted butter and 4 tablespoons of kosher salt for the herb butter, and the other recipe said to use 2 sticks of unsalted butter and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. I decided to go with 1 stick of unsalted butter and 2 tablespoons of kosher salt.
I used the drippings from the turkey to make the gravy, and I didn't add any salt to the gravy. But the gravy still tasted extremely salty.
Was that because I used too much salt in the herb butter? Maybe I should have used 1 teaspoon instead of 2 tablespoons? Or are pre-basted turkeys just really salty in general?
Two tablespoons of salt is way too much, 4 TB is insane. Never trust internet recipes, most have errors and many are written by people who have never cooked a meal in their lives. Yes, the prepped turkeys are already pre-salted with a “solution” that makes the bird weigh more and also helps keep the meat moist. But it comes out during cooking as salt in the pan juices.
Its a bit late for a turkey lesson now, but in future, cut way back on the salt in recipes and if it isn't enough, you can add salt at the table.
The newer a recipe is, the more likely it is to call for too much salt and too much sugar. My mother's cookbook from the 50's doesn't have that problem. But with new recipes and recipes off the internet, you have to be careful
Your turkey was pre-basted with a salt solution, so no need to a add any more salt to the bird.
If you can remember next year (or for Christmas) come here and ask for suggestions for rubs and bastings for turkeys. You will probably get some good suggestions to choose from.
And veering off topic, I wonder why a recipe called for unsalted butter and then added salt by the multiple tablespoons. Odd.
I'm assuming you salt your potatoes before boiling them to make mashed potatoes.
Add the potato water to the turkey pan drippings to make your gravy. That takes care of the salt in the gravy (unless you've really salted the turkey down as you apparently did).
Something that works sometimes. Adding raw Irish potato will draw the salt out of broth. If it happens again, deglaze the pan and add whatever water you are going to use. Taste before you thicken the gravy and if it is too salty, simmer some cubes of potato in the broth for awhile and see if that will reduce the saltiness.
I'm assuming you salt your potatoes before boiling them to make mashed potatoes.
Add the potato water to the turkey pan drippings to make your gravy. That takes care of the salt in the gravy (unless you've really salted the turkey down as you apparently did).
Something that works sometimes. Adding raw Irish potato will draw the salt out of broth. If it happens again, deglaze the pan and add whatever water you are going to use. Taste before you thicken the gravy and if it is too salty, simmer some cubes of potato in the broth for awhile and see if that will reduce the saltiness.
It might work. At least it is worth a try.
If salty gravy was the only oops you did well! Next year - post on CD BEFORE you are in the kitchen.
All that salt in the butter was absolutely not necessary. I also don't use a pre-basted turkey because of the salt. Choose one or the other - pre-basted or butter rub, but not both and eliminate salt. It's actually quite easy to baste yourself. I cook my turkey in a covered roaster (yes, 25# will fit in my giant roaster) for a minimum 1 hr less than recommended time. I take the cover off for the last hour to crisp the skin and at that time, I spoon some of the juice over the turkey - basting it with it's own juice. My turkeys are always super moist and tender.
I've been cooking for 60 years and never had a turkey be dry.
I don't cook much, but I decided to make Thanksgiving dinner this year for the first time in my life.
I got a 10 pound frozen turkey that was pre-basted with 9.5% broth/salt/sugar/flavoring.
I was looking at a couple of recipes that called for rubbing an herb butter all over the turkey. One of the recipes said to use one stick of unsalted butter and 4 tablespoons of kosher salt for the herb butter, and the other recipe said to use 2 sticks of unsalted butter and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. I decided to go with 1 stick of unsalted butter and 2 tablespoons of kosher salt.
I used the drippings from the turkey to make the gravy, and I didn't add any salt to the gravy. But the gravy still tasted extremely salty.
Was that because I used too much salt in the herb butter? Maybe I should have used 1 teaspoon instead of 2 tablespoons? Or are pre-basted turkeys just really salty in general?
Those recipes are heavily salted. I would never use tablespoons of salt in gravy. You're not making a banquet sized portion of gravy. Always start off with a little and taste it, then add more if it needs it.
Something that works sometimes. Adding raw Irish potato will draw the salt out of broth. If it happens again, deglaze the pan and add whatever water you are going to use. Taste before you thicken the gravy and if it is too salty, simmer some cubes of potato in the broth for awhile and see if that will reduce the saltiness.
It might work. At least it is worth a try.
How do you get a potato from Ireland when you live in the US?
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