apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i am going to try something new this t-day and make two turkey breasts and a few more sides. we'll see how it goes.

oregano, thyme, rosemary under the skin and on top, roasted with a bit of white wine in the pan

i luckily don't have to cook the turkey, my dad always does it.

A few years ago he started cutting all of the meat off the turkey breast, put it on the grill and putting melted butter, sage, and garlic on it. It comes out fantastic and you can cook the entire setup in about 20-25 minutes.

But for T-day we still do it in the oven. However, for as long as I can remember, he does it in a roasting bag. it cuts the cook time down to like 3 hours and is super juicy. None of that waking up at 5 in the morning to cook a turkey BS. He always tried to pass this way on to other people to make their lives a bit easier

We're doing the turkey a few days before just for us on our schedule. Just one other family for T-day and they are getting pork tenderloin which is going to be cooked over the coals of a fire set in our wood-burning stove, its got an awesome smokey taste.

Braised following Bittman's recipe, the recipe sounds too good not to try!

Vegetarians and vegans here, so no: festive lentil and nut roast with ginger-garlic cranberry chutney and a PROFUSION, I say, of side dishes. And then pie, glorious PIE!

braising the dark meat in white wine

roasting the light meat with an herbed garlic butter compound under the skin.

gravy out of the braising liquid and pan drippings

this'll be the second year using this method. it turns out really well.

We're doing Turkey - two ways. we'll brine both a smallish whole turkey and a turkey breast. The brine makes it come out so juicy!
We'll deep fry the whole turkey and put the turkey breast on the grill.
The best thing about this set-up is that the oven is completely free for all of the side dishes (herb stuffing, roasted brussel spouts, sweet potato wedges, rolls)

a la Bittman. I was elated to see his kitchen in NYC was just as small as mine in SF! we're only feeding 4 people and having the second rack in the oven will make all the difference when 6pm comes around and the rolls aren't warm.

I'm intrigued by the braising method, but there's just something about a whole roasted turkey that's too good to mess with. Plus, I'm only cooking a 10 lb. turkey, so it doesn't take too long.

I'll salt it (not brine!) on Tuesday morning when I pick it up, start off at about 450 for a half an hour, then go down to 325-350 till it's perfect. Last year I tried a pancetta/garlic/other stuff compound butter and thought it was a waste of pancetta. I could not taste it on the turkey.

For the last few years my family has been ordering a turkey from a small local farm I worked on as a teenager. The turkey is slaughtered in the morning and they pick it up the evening before Thanksgiving so it is never frozen. My dad then smokes it on the grill. It has a flavor like nothing else and I dream about it all year!

I just smear that big bird with butter, sprinkle a little salt, pepper and herbs de provence all over and shove a bunch of fresh rosemary into the cavity. Then I take that bird and place it UPSIDE DOWN in my roasting pan and let it go for however many hours per whatever the packaging says. All the juices flow DOWN to the breast meat, making it the JUICIEST turkey I've ever tasted in my life. You can flip the bird (heh) back over during the last 20 minutes or so of cooking if you want to brown the skin, but it's soooo not necessary!

Oops, forgot to add.... I use white wine in the bottom of that roasting pan...

Been doing turkey the same, family-demanded way for years.

Chop up and saute a buunch of really good quality bacon, like NUESKE'S. Set aside.

Melt a TON of butter with salt, pepper, and fresh torn sage in a small pot. Mix bacon chunklets into butter mixure.

Jam 1/2 this mixture under the skin of the turkey wherever you can. Hang onto the other 1/2.

Use a giant iron/Le Crueset roaster. Heat it up GOOD on the stove with a little olive oil. Rinse, salt and pepper the turkey. Actually gently brown the bird in the pan on both sides. Briefly, not too much. It's hard to turn it over, but just manage. Brown enough to get a good "fond" crusted into the pan. This should take maybe 20 minutes for an average sized turkey.

Take the bird out and let it rest 15 minutes or so. De-glaze the pan with a shot of booze (white wine, vodka, vermouth, whatever) and add the rest of the butter/bacon mixture. Cook on low for about 1 minute until it thickens and booze evaporates. Take this mixture and slather/paint the rest of the turkey with it. Jam 1 whole quartered red onion and a few rose petals (I'm serious, here) up into the cavity, and put it back in the iron roaster. Roast uncovered at 325 for about 2 hours or until it temps done at the bone. Baste regularly with the juices.

Prepare to DIE OF HAPPINESS in the KINGDOM OF TURKEY NIRVANA.

Oops you wanna rinse, salt and pepper it BEFORE you put the bacon/butter mixture under the skin.

325 or 350, depending on the size of turkey.
Do you guys even care that I'm basically publishing a DECADES OLD FAMILY SEEKRIT?

lol...Bx

don't eat meat often, so we are going to make Turkey paninis!! yummy...