Poultry

The technique: Brining—soaking the bird in salt water—creates juicy turkey. Here, stout beer and barley malt syrup add a richness to the brine, which infuses the meat with flavor.
The payoff: Moist meat that tastes great. The malt glaze gives the bird a crisp, burnished skin. Roasted turkey: Prep 45 minutes Total 20 hours (includes brining and roasting time)
Grilled turkey: Prep 45 minutes Total 21 hours (includes brining and grilling time)

The technique: When it comes to poultry, butterflying means removing the backbone and flattening the bird like a book. This is easy enough to do with a chicken, but we suggest asking your butcher to butterfly the turkey.
The payoff: A flattened turkey cooks more evenly and quickly than a regular bird. Tucking the stuffing under the skin ensures that the meat will be moist and delicious.
Roasted turkey: Prep 1 hour Total 3 hours 30 minutes (includes roasting time)
Grilled turkey: Prep 1 hour Total 3 hours 30 minutes (includes grilling time) If roasting the turkey, serve it with the Fresh Fennel Pan Gravy . Grilling the bird? Try the Mixed-Mushroom and Tarragon Gravy.

The technique: Rub the bird with an herbal, citrusy salt mixture and let it chill overnight. As the turkey sits, the salt draws moisture to the skin. During roasting, the flavorful liquid seasons the meat and keeps it moist.
The payoff: A superjuicy bird with crisp, browned skin.

This single recipe is a complete Thanksgiving dinner.

Medjool dates work well in this braise, which should be served with enough couscous to soak up the delicious juices.

Cèpes (also known as porcini) are perfect with roast duck. Pair this dinner-partyworthy dish with a New Zealand Pinot Noir.

The secret to a roast chicken with crispy skin and tender meat? Salting the chicken and letting it sit for at least a few hours. A little bit of beer really amps up the pan juices.

The key to this comforting soup? Tons of fresh veggies and a rich broth.

Save some of the brine that the olives are packed in—adding a dash or two at the end of cooking is a quick and easy way to bump up flavor.

The tortillas and filling are layered (instead of rolled) to reduce prep time.

Mcintoshes soften quickly when cooked. You'll love their slight sweetness with the savory melted cheese and turkey in this dish.

This odd recipe makes some of the most moist, succulent, flavorful barbecued chicken I've ever tasted. The secret: an open can of beer is inserted into the cavity of the bird, which is cooked upright on the grill. Besides being incredibly tender, the bird makes a great conversation piece. The recipe was inspired by the Bryce Boar Blazers, a barbecue team from Texas I met at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. The proper beverage? Beer, of course.

This iconic regional dish incorporates soy sauce, evidence of the strong influence of the Japanese and Chinese communities in Peru. The intensely flavored marinade, bright with lime juice and zesty with garlic, deeply seasons the meat, and the grill gives it a beautiful sear. We've provided a range for the portion size, because while some home cooks may be content with a quarter chicken per person, many Peruvian restaurants and takeout places serve each customer a half chicken (even here in the States, where chickens tend to be on the large side).

Save a roast chicken plus the leftover carcass to use for the Chicken Soup with Root Vegetables.

Smoked paprika is sold in the spice aisle of the supermarket.

When I was a student in France, Rose Minkel was a fixture at Friday night dinners at my friend Nanou’s home. Called Mémé, an endearing term for “Grandmother,” she brought with her the recipes from her family’s native Metz, a city in the province of Lorraine with a long Jewish presence. Though the Jews had been in Metz for many generations (some say the first Jews settled there in 221 C.E.), up until the eighteenth century they lived a very different life from non-Jews in the town. They paid extra taxes on meat, wines and liqueurs, and other provisions. It was easy to spot a Jew on the street, because the men wore yellow hats to distinguish them from the black-hat-wearing gentiles. But over time they did assimilate, and already at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Jews of Metz began to speak French instead of Yiddish. One Rosh Hashanah recipe that I remember most fondly was this simple roast chicken with peeled apple quarters, cinnamon, sugar, and wine.