NHS Culinary Teacher Shares Recipes and Holiday Plans

The worldwide Coronavirus pandemic has dramatically changed normal life. With more holidays coming up and Thanksgiving recently passing, there have been changes made to how people all over the world are celebrating. A Nutley High School culinary teacher, Mr. Tarik Huggins, shared his favorite Thanksgiving recipe with the Maroon & Gray. This year, he and his family celebrated, but took extra precautions. 

Huggins is a culinary teacher at NHS who enjoys celebrating Thanksgiving and cooking for others. In an interview, he shared that turkey is his favorite dish to make. He further explains tips on how to make the perfect turkey. “Most thanksgiving turkey is bland, extremely dry, or not delicious enough to be served without gravy. I brine my turkeys which makes them extremely flavorful and juicy. Then I cook them with most of the bones removed as it cuts the cooking time in half and as well as making it more juicy. Then I finish them with a maple and rosemary glaze. This gives them that picture perfect golden color.” 

Mr. Huggins claims the brine is the most important step to having a well cooked turkey. The steps are as follows. “Mix all ingredients except for ice and turkey until other ingredients dissolve.  Add the raw turkey and then cover with ice. Allow to soak for exactly 4 hours.  Remove from the brine mixture and thoroughly rinse. Lightly coat turkey with olive oil and roast as you normally would. This recipe is best for a small turkey or a turkey breast. To brine a full size turkey you may need to double the recipe.”

Just like many other families across the world, Mr. Huggins’ celebration plans differed from past years. Huggins explains how in the dinners he catered he had to reduce his numbers by half. In previous years, Mr. Huggins has made 17 turkeys, while this year, he only made 10. He further explains, “My family's dinner was for only 10 people where last year we fed 50.” In taking these precautions him and his loved ones were able to stay safe in this difficult time.

Similarly to a majority of the world, plans had to change for Thanksgiving and will continue to differ from other years as more holidays come. Tarik Huggins was still able to celebrate safely with his loved ones, cook his favorite dishes, and cater his Thanksgiving dinners with the recipes he shared and more. 

Mr. Huggins’ Turkey Brine Recipe:

3 qt water

½ lb kosher salt

½ lb brown sugar

2 lb ice

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp peppercorns

1 tbsp dried parsley

½ tbsp dried thyme

1tbsp fresh sage minced