Marcus Samuelsson Quotes

My mother very rarely skipped a Thanksgiving turkey. And yet, none of them ever tasted quite the same, landing somewhere on a sliding scale of succulence. She'd try new methods.

A week before Thanksgiving, my mother bought the turkey, frozen. Then she froze it some more. Then she let it thaw and cleaned it - and I mean really cleaned it, because nobody wanted a 'dirty bird.' She salt-and-peppered the turkey, buttered, paprika-ed, and nominally stuffed it.

Most turkeys taste better the day after, my mother's tasted better the day before.

That's the ultimate goal of most turkey recipes: to create a great skin and stuffing to hide the fact that turkey meat, in its cooked state, is dry and flavorless. Does it have to be that way? No. We just have to focus on what the turkey is and what the turkey needs.

In order to have good fried chicken, you should wash and season the bird the morning you're preparing it for dinner. Don't wait and do it right before you start cooking. Throw it in the refrigerator, seasoned, that morning, and give it a chance to soak up all the salt and pepper and goodness.

I use ginger like garlic. I love it for steaming fish and making barbecue sauces or roasted chicken.

I love to cook a meal for the so-called holidays. You always need the turkey. I like making a good BBQ brisket as well.

I just grill chicken and make very simple cuisine.

Another way I like to barbecue king salmon is as a whole fish stuffed, literally to the gills, with sweet onions, sliced lemons, and summer sage.

I think over-seasoning it is something I tend to do. If it's a good steak, salt, pepper, and butter are the three key ingredients. But just try not to overcook it, and you'll be happy.

We don't yet call it 'Thxgvng,' because any holiday whose centerpiece sits in an oven for four to six hours, after having sat out for as long to reach room temperature, must be spelled all the way out. Cook a turkey. You'll see. This is to say that you're not just roasting a turkey, obviously.

Stuffing is my favorite food in the world! I actually have been known to go buy stuffing and make it in the middle of summer.

A juicy chicken breast can be the perfect accompaniment to a classic Caesar salad or a club sandwich. It's also easy to cook, and can be as simple as dressing it with a few spices and popping in the oven.

I always buy the smaller turkeys. On the pre-baste put pats of butter on the meat under the skin, put the skin back on, put a bunch of seasoning on the top, call it a day, put it in the oven. With a 10 - 12 pound turkey you are done in a couple of hours.

I may find something that looks interesting and then go on to alter the recipe by adding spices, things of my own. I also look for time-saving recipes, dishes that can be prepared ahead and stored.

The most important thing with turkey is to let it rest - most people don't let it rest long enough. It will get juicier the longer you let it rest.

Over the years I've tweaked my stuffing recipe many times, adding a variety of ingredients like sauteed wild mushrooms, dried cherries, fresh chevre, toasted hazelnuts, chopped ham hock meat, and other taste treats.

I'm not terribly good at three-page recipes - I tend to skip bits - or anything that involves marinating things in juniper berries.

I love grilling. Grilling is an incredible way to keep healthy. And you can marinate both with a dry rub and also wet marinades. You can marinate juniper berry or a little bit of olive oil and some citrus and fresh herbs - all of that sort of stuff.

It's not color, it's like pouring 40 tablespoons of sugar water over a roast.

Often we eat squid fried, so it's fun to grill it for a change. To grill squid, slice the cleaned bodies open into two flat pieces and thread them, along with the tentacles, onto skewers, then grill quickly over a direct fire with the coals as close as possible to the grate, turning the squid several times.

Basting is evil. Basting does nothing for the meat. Why? Skin. Skin is designed to keep stuff out of the bird, so basting just lets heat out of the oven. That means the turkey will take longer to cook... so don't touch that door!

Don't make a big to-do about the turkey; brine it, put it in the oven, and don't think about it again.

I've roasted a somewhat frozen turkey, and it's come out just fine.

Manage the heat, let the meat cook, and you'll get fantastic results.