Well, another year over and a new one has begun...  2013 was a very bad year for me and Gourmet Conspiracy especially since I have not put much effort in the business.  I had been torn between my engineering job and my catering business; and the job won.  Late nights at work completing projects, making sure that we're on schedule and on budget, and feeling exhausted and completely drained when I get home.  The stress of the work and my responsibility as an Engineering Manager has started taking its toll.  I have been experiencing bouts of depression and feeling sharp pin-like sensations throughout my body during the night.  I am losing touch with my life goals and I don't like it.  Until now, I have had one foot in and one foot out.

This year, I have placed myself on a journey of rediscovery and onto a path of pursuing my passion.  This came about as I was reading Howard Cannon's "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Restaurant".  The first couple of chapters deals with just that - addressing what my true motivation is for venturing into the culinary business side of the world.  I have been a complete idiot for not reading this much sooner.

My first and foremost inclination and purpose for this sort of decision is the ability to be of service to people; and to share my love for cooking and entertaining.  I consider my passion as that similar to artists and musicians who are purely motivated with sharing their craft with the world.  It is, after all, known as 'culinary arts' and I am now daring to step up on stage.  It is a real joy seeing the smiles and lustful expressions of those who truly appreciate my creations.  This has always been my drive.

Secondly, I am excited about the idea of having our own business and the opportunity to be able to provide for my wife and I on our own terms.  I don't have all the answers right now but in my internal being, I already envision the outcome of spending the time that I would otherwise devote to a job towards what I love to do.  Working hard was never the problem - I would just rather be working towards my own dreams and goals.

Thirdly, I would like to leave this world being remembered for having accomplished my dream rather than "someone who tried..."  What better way to be remembered than be able to do what I love to do.  Everyone has to eat, and I love satisfying that need.

This being said, my New Year's Resolution this year is to develop a 2 year exiting plan from engineering and establish the foundations for a new life in the culinary industry.  Will I succeed?!  God only knows - but I will surely hang on for dear life!  If it doesn't kill me, it will only make me better!

Happy New Year to all of us!

This year, based on my wife's ingenious suggestion (and insistent prodding), I have decided to serve smoked turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner. Surprisingly, the process was not too difficult and the result turned out a moist and favorable bird.

Based on my knowledge about smoking, I know that it tends to dry out the food that is being smoked; especially if smoking for longer periods of time as in the slow smoke method.  This turkey was smoked for three hours between 200 - 250° F with apple wood.

... but let's not get ahead of ourselves.  The bird needed to be prepared, especially since I'm subjecting my victim poultry through the dehydration process of smoking.  This bird needed to be soaked in brine overnight.  The brining process is a flavor liquid mixture that uses salt as a means to open up the pores of the meat for delivering the flavor and saturating the meat with moisture.  I started the brining process the day prior to the party.  The brine mixture that I used for this 24 pound turkey is as follows:



BRINE

3/4 cup Kosher salt                     3 cloves of garlic, curshed              3 dried bay leaves
1/4 cup sugar                            7 black peppercorns                      1 cup of apple juice
2 large onions, quartered             3 fresh parsley stems                    24 cups of water
1 large lemon, quartered             3 sprigs of fresh thyme

I steeped this mixture in a large pot and let it cool.  Once cooled, I transferred into a large container (I used a 22 quart bucket with a lid that I purchased from Smart and Final).  I added about 2 pounds of ice cubes to this mixture before adding the bird in.  I made sure that the bird was completely submerged in the liquid so I add more ice and water as needed to submerge the bird completely.  I then placed the bucket in the refrigerator to brine overnight.

SMOKING THE TURKEY
The day of the party, I made a rub with various spices found in Indian cuisines (get it... Thanksgiving... Indian...  well...)  I used 1 cup of dried Italian seasoning (a combination of dried thyme, dried oregano, and dried basil); 2 tablespoons of ground cumin, 2 tablespoons of ground coriander, 1 tablespoon of ground turmeric, 1 tablespoon of sumac... and that is as they say "the rub..."

I then prepped the turkey by taking it out of the brine and drying it with paper towels.  I then massaged the turkey and rubbing the skin with grapeseed oil (I offered it cocktails but after his massage, he was dead to the world...).    I seasoned the bird with Kosher salt and ground black pepper, inside and out.  I then applied the rub and placed the bird in the smoker.  As mentioned above, "I smoked this turkey!"

THE FINISH
After smoking the turkey, I transferred it onto a large roasting pan and placed it in the oven set at 350° F to finish cooking. When the temperature of the breast came to 155° F (which is equivalent to approximately 1-1/2 hours), I took it out of the oven and tented it with aluminum foil.  The residual heat continued cooking the turkey until it reached its final temperature of 165° F temped at the breast.

THE OUTCOME
Overall, this process was no more difficult than straight oven roasting, although the flavor of the apple wood smoke gave the taste profile another layer of dimension.  One characteristic of the the smoking process that I thought enhanced the final result was that it helped produce a crispier skin than with strictly oven roasting. Everyone truly enjoyed the flavor, many of whom have never experienced smoked turkey.  This was a great success and may end up to be a beginning of a new tradition.