by Doctor Science
Some friends once described their style of Jewish/Christian marriage as, "We observe all the 'eating' holidays." We follow the same guidelines here, at least in regard to the winter solstice celebrations.
Later today I will expand this post, hopefully with pictures of some of the delicious cholesterol-bomb cookies we've been making, by for now I have a quick question:
Our big Christmas Dinner will be on the 26th. We're having turkey with all the trimmings, and I'm heading out to pick up the fresh turkey now; we'll start brining it tomorrow night. I was planning to put the turkey in the picnic cooler outside on the porch, in what I call God's Fridge, and to keep it cool with a couple bags of ice. Now I learn that the overnight low tonight is predicted to be 18°F (-8°C), with the high tomorrow 31°F/-1°C, the low tomorrow night 25°F/-4°C.
I keep the cooler up against the house, so it doesn't get quite as cold as outdoors. Nonetheless, I'm afraid that under these conditions the turkey will freeze overnight.
The question is, do you-all think the cooler will keep the turkey *warm*, compared to the outside world? Or should I put the cooler in a cool part of the basement -- which is still awfully warm compared to God's Fridge (when it's turned into God's Freezer)?
Put it inside. When our temperatures went down into the teen recently, stuff froze *inside* our "outside refrigerator" located in a part of the house that, although indoors, was not directly heated.
Posted by: Older | December 24, 2013 at 02:13 PM
I'd keep it inside.
This past thanksgiving, we brined our turkey in the vegetable drawer of our fridge. It was a small bird (13 pounds maybe), but it fit perfectly.
Posted by: Turbulence | December 24, 2013 at 02:29 PM
Merry Christmas to all!
And to all a good night.
Posted by: even a mouse | December 24, 2013 at 04:08 PM
If that's as cold as it's going to get, brine is unlikely to freeze. But it's also unlike to thaw all your ice fast enough to cause a problem if you bring it indoors.
I think you could get away with either option, to tell the truth. We kept our's in the garage while brining it for Christmas, and checked it a couple times a day. Still had ice in the bags by Thanksgiving morning.
Posted by: Brett Bellmore | December 24, 2013 at 04:25 PM
Bury it at least 18 inches deep....should be perfect.
Merry Christmas to all.
Posted by: bobbyp | December 24, 2013 at 06:21 PM