As per request from the lovely pair of ladies whom I have the joy of chatting with on WTIP this morning, I have put together some tips, quick recipes, and menu suggestions for Thanksgiving. We tried to d-mystify the roasting of the bird, stuffing options, and what to choose for a side- questions on the air this morning. I think it went pretty well. We all felt a longing for roasted turkey and all the fixings in our bellies immediately after our Thanksgiving conversations!
The turkey. I view this big bird as I would a chicken. It's just bigger, and requires a bit of prep work before it gets roasted. I use a brine for the turkey. A brine can be as simple as 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of sugar per 2 gallons of water. You can modify the brine by steeping herbs and spices in the liquid, replacing the sugar for brown sugar, molasses, or maple syrup, or by switching up the liquids used for, say a 6 pack of Guinness or a flavorful chicken stock. If you have never brined before, stick with the simple recipe above. The brine will add moisture and flavor to your bird, so you can throw away the turkey baster. For a 14-16 pound bird, submerge the turkey, breast side down in the brine overnight. This can be done in a clean 5 gallon bucket stored in the fridge. The following morning, remove the bird from the brine, rinse inside and out, and place in your roasting pan. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels, and liberally coat the skin with olive oil. You can put some aromatics in the cavity of your turkey at this point. Think sprigs of rosemary, sage, thyme, and maybe a lemon cut in half. Roast the turkey at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and continue to roast the turkey until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the breast reaches 155 degrees. If the skin on the breast begins to brown too much, cover the skin with foil or strips of bacon.
The stuffing. If you have a tradition of cooking the stuffing inside the turkey then you should go for it. I prefer to bake mine in a baking dish for I can get a bread pudding like consistency with a buttery crisp top, much like a savory bread pudding. Here's a simple stuffing recipe:
Melt one stick of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cups of each diced onion and celery. Saute a few minutes, then add 1 tablespoon each minced sage, thyme, and garlic. Season with salt and black pepper and continue to saute until the onions start to become translucent. Add 3 cups of chicken stock to the pan and set aside. In a large bowl mix together 3 eggs and 1 cup of cream. Add 16 cups of cubed, stale bread, then pour in the veggie/stock mixture. Transfer to a buttered baking dish, dot with butter, cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover the pan and bake until the top is golden, about 20 more minutes. To this simple stuffing recipe you can add in your favorites. I like crisped bacon and sauteed kale, or wild rice and goat cheese. You could also try sauteed apples or pears and toasted pecans.
The sides. I like to keep these pretty simple, or ask my dinner peeps to bring a dish to pass. Some easy options I'm planning on this year are horseradish mashed potatoes, sauteed brussel sprouts with blue cheese, and savory scones. The key to keeping the sides simple is to keeping the ingredients high quality. For the best mashed potatoes I use Yukon Gold potatoes for their buttery flavor. The brussels sprouts will roast in the oven with a simple drizzle of olive oil and sea salt with blue cheese crumbles added at the end of roasting. I prefer making savory scones not only because they are so buttery, flaky and delicious, but also because I never end up having the space or time to deal with yeast doughs.
Dessert. This year I am embarking on a pie marathon. Well, not really, but I am making several pies, and I plan on eating a piece of each, even if that means for breakfast the days following Thanksgiving. The key to a better pecan pie, toast and chop the pecans. Toasting the pecans brings out their flavor and chopping them disperses them evenly throughout the custard. I also like to substitute grade 'B' maple syrup for the corn syrup used in traditional pecan pie recipes. I have a plan for building a better pumpkin pie containing a layer of cheesecake, a layer of traditional pumpkin pie custard, and then topped with a crunchy- nutty stuesel. I'll keep you posted on this pie later.
Food and Wine magazine, 101cookbooks.com, food network, and many other resources will be available for you Thanksgiving day if googling assistance is needed. Remember that eating should be fun. Enjoy your Thanksgiving! Belly up!!
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