Turkey wars in Washington: Obama pardons, Boehner brines
| WASHINGTON
Lots of gobbling in Washington聽on Wednesday. At the White House, President Obama did the traditional thing and pardoned the national Thanksgiving turkey. Actually, two birds were involved 鈥� one named 鈥淢ac鈥� and the other named 鈥淐heese.鈥澛�
In an online contest, the nation chose to spare Cheese, but Mac 鈥� the alternate 鈥� was also subject to the president's executive action. "Some will call this 'amnesty,' " he joked.聽
The 50-pounders hail from Ohio, the home state of Republican House Speaker John Boehner. In his family, he鈥檚 responsible for turkey preparation 鈥� not pardon 鈥� and聽on Wednesday聽he shared his secret to the perfect bird: a maple syrup brine
For those folks searching the web for what exactly to do with a bird, Speaker Boehner,听, walks viewers through a recipe that he says he has perfected over the last five years. His instructions, delivered from Capitol Hill, are interspersed with video of him in a white crisp shirt and green apron, moving about in his home kitchen.
Besides the brine, he advocates cooking the turkey breast-down, then flipping it over halfway through. When he takes it out of the oven, he covers it with foil and lets it sit for at least an hour. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the resting time that really works,鈥� he says, knowingly.
The ingredients of the Boehner Brine:
- 8 quarts water
- 6 bay leaves
- 2 cups Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons peppercorns
- 1 head of garlic
- 16-ounces pure maple syrup
The directions, per the speaker鈥檚 office:
鈥淏ring the brine close to a boil, then let it cool. Put a bag in a five-gallon bucket. Wash the turkey and remove the insides.聽Put the turkey in the bucket.聽 Pour the brine over to cover the turkey.聽Keep the turkey submerged. Let it stand overnight in the refrigerator or outside, if it is cool enough.聽After 24 hours, take it out and rinse it off.聽At that point, it鈥檚 ready to be cooked.鈥澛�
A follow-up, please, Mr. Speaker: Who can fit a five-gallon bucket in their refrigerator at this time of year? Yes, you say outside will do, but what if you live in Florida?
No satisfying the media. But hopefully, this recipe will satisfy hungry diners.
