I’ve had several people ask for this, so here goes. Now, this is based on another recipe I found but I only use the salt, sugar and spices portion of it since we deep fry our bird in 100% peanut oil. I leave out the aromatic stuff since we are after more of a true salt brine. Scale this up for a bird bigger, ours is only 12lbs.

• 2 TSP Ground Cinnamon
• 2 TSP Ground Mustard Seed
• 2 TSP Whole Black Peppercorn
• 2 Cups Redmond Mineral Salt
• 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar
• 6 Quarts of Water

In a stock pot, place cinnamon, mustard seed and peppercorns and toast over a low heat until you can smell them in the room (about 5 minutes). Then add half of the water, salt and sugar. Raise heat and dissolve sugar and salt completely and let seasonings meld together. Then remove from heat and add other half of water. Let cool at least 4 hours, but overnight is better. Then, brine your bird for 24 hours!

If you are roasting your bird, you might want to add the more traditional aromatic ingredients like sage, rosemary, thyme, onion, garlic, carrot, lemon, etc. But for a deep fried bird which is tradition in our house, the above is the only way to go!

The simple roasts are so savory. Add, garlic powder to any roast with an onion, carrots and potatoes. YUMMY!

Ingredients:

• 1 (2-3 pound) boneless pork roast
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp dried basil
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water

Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place roast in slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the cheese, honey, soy sauce, basil, garlic, oil and salt; pour over pork. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160°.

Remove meat to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice roast; serve with gravy (I also made mashed potatoes and the gravy was delicious on them!).

Looking for something a little different?  Give this savory recipe a try!

Roast Beef:

• 1 (2 to 2 1/2-pound) beef chuck roast
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 Roma tomatoes, cut in 1/2
• 2 teaspoons herbs de Provence
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Spicy Parsley Tomato Sauce:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

To make the beef roast, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Season the tomatoes with salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence.

Place a medium, heavy roasting pan or Dutch oven over high heat. Heat the olive oil. Sear the beef over high heat on all sides. Turn off heat. Place the seasoned tomatoes around the seared beef and place the pan in the oven. Roast until a meat thermometer reads 130 degrees F. for medium rare, 135 for medium, about 30 to 40 minutes. Take the roast out of the oven, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. The internal temperature of the meat should rise 5 degrees F more and the juices will redistribute into the roast.

To make the sauce, place the parsley and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the parsley is finely chopped. Add the red pepper flakes, salt, red wine vinegarand the roasted tomatoes from the beef pan and process until pureed. Add the olive oil in a steady stream with the machine running.

To serve, slice the roast and place on a serving platter. Drizzle a little sauce over the meat. Serve the remaining sauce in a small bowl alongside.

This is a great twist on arguably our most popular product:  The Wisconsin Bratwurst!  There weren’t many leftovers after we made this the first time.

Ingredients:

• 8 links Wisconsin Bratwurst
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 pound white, shiitake, or crimini mushrooms, a mix of two or three (optional ingredient)
• 1-1/2 large yellow or white onions, cut into 1-inch wedges (about 2-1/2 cups)
• 3 fresh hot peppers of your choice, stemmed and seeded, sliced into bite size chunks (we used anaheim peppers)
• 2 medium yellow peppers , cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch strips
• 2 medium red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch strips

Directions:

Poke the sausages all over with a fork. Divide 1/4 cup olive oil between two large heavy skillets and heat them over medium heat. Divide the sausages between the skillets and cook, turning occasionally, until the sausages are well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. About half way through browning the sausages, whack the garlic with the flat side of a knife and toss half the cloves into each skillet. Transfer the browned sausages and garlic to a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, leaving the fat behind.

While the sausages are browning, prepare the mushrooms. Trim the stems from the shiitakes, if using. Trim the stems from the white and crimini mushrooms if you like. Cut any mushrooms with caps larger than 2 inches in half; leave smaller mushrooms whole.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Scatter the onions and cherry peppers over the fat in one of the skillets and the mushrooms over the fat in the other. Cook the onions, stirring often, until browned and wilted, but still quite crunchy, about 8 minutes. Cook the mushrooms until they have absorbed the fat in the skillet and have begun to brown, about 6 minutes.

Slide the mushrooms into the baking dish. Spoon the onions into the baking dish, leaving behind some of the fat in the skillet. (If there is not enough fat left to coat the bottom of the skillet, pour in enough olive oil to do so.) Add the peppers to the skillet and cook, tossing frequently, just until wilted, but still quite crunchy, about 6 minutes. Slide the peppers into the baking dish, toss all the ingredients together well and place in the oven.

Bake uncovered, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but still firm and no trace of pink remains in the sausages, about 25 minutes. Serve hot.