Steve's Awesome Roast Turkey

This recipe comes from our friend Steve Sahlin. Make sure you start with a 14-16 pound turkey that is NOT pre-brined or frozen. You will brine the turkey the day before and then apply a rub before roasting.

Brine 

1 1/2 cups table salt (or 1 cup per 2 gallons of brine)

4 large yellow onions

2 garlic heads (if Russian variety with purple stripes; if white garlic, use 3)

2 navel oranges (use organic, if you can)

1 package poultry herbs (fresh rosemary, thyme, sage)

1 cup honey or maple syrup (grade B is best, if using syrup)

1 1/2 cups sugar (use cane sugar)

14-16 pound turkey (NOT pre-brined and preferably never frozen)

1. Fill a food-grade, 5-gallon plastic bucket (Home Depot orange buckets work) a little less than 2/3 full with water. Add the table salt.
2. Cut onions in half, then in thirds. Cut garlic heads in half and smash (no need to remove skin). Add onions and garlic to water. 
3. Zest the oranges. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons zest for rub. Cut oranges in quarters and put in the water.
4. Pull the leaves of the herbs off the stems. Chop the herbs, saving 1/2 of the mixture for the rub. Put the rest in the water.
5. Add the maple and sugar to the water. Stir to mix.
6. Remove the neck and giblets, etc. from the turkey and cut into 2" bits for the gravy. Remove the thermometer, if there is one.
7. Add the turkey to the brine bucket and store in fridge or cool place (40 degrees or less) for 9-12 hours (depending on size of turkey).

Rub

1 stick organic unsalted butter (cut into chunks)

2 or 3 pieces thick peppered bacon (raw and cut into chunks)

herbs (use the other half of the herbs you chopped for the brine)

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 teaspoon paprika (Hungarian is best)

salt (optional, 1/4 teaspoon at most)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons orange zest

1. Place all ingredients into a blender (preferably something like a Vitamix) and blend.
2. To apply the rub: starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub herb/bacon mixture under loosened skin and into body cavity. Tie ends of legs with cord. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under bird.

Roasting the Bird

I'm guessing a little at cooking times. A Cook's Illustrated recipe for an 18-20 pound bird suggested 3 hours roasting (breast down) at 250, flip breast up for another hour at 250, then at 400 for about an hour. I'm using a 13-14 pound turkey this year, so I've adjusted the times for that.

1. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Bring turkey legs together and perform simple truss; by using the center of a five foot length of cooking twine, tie the legs together at the ankles. Run the twine aound the thighs and under the wings on both sides of the bird, pulling tightly. keeping the twine pulled snug, tie a firm knot around the excess flesh at the neck of the bird. Snip off excess twine.
2. Set heavy-duty V-rack, adjusted to widest setting, in pan. Brush entire breast side of turkey with butter, then place turkey, breast side down, on V-rack. Brush entire back side of turkey with butter.
3. Roast 2 hours, basting back side every hour or so. Remove pan from oven (close oven door); baste with butter. With wad of paper toweling in each hand, turn breast side up. Continue to roast 3/4 hour, basting once or twice. With turkey still in oven, increase oven temperature to 400 degrees; roast until skin has browned and internal temperature of legs and breast registers about 165 degrees, about 1/2 to 3/4 hour longer. Transfer turkey to platter; let rest 20 to 30 minutes.

Bread Stuffing with Bacon and Apples for a Crowd

This recipe comes from Cooks Illustrated, by way of our friend Steve.

SERVES 16

Drying the bread before making the stuffing is crucial for texture and flavor. If you plan ahead, you can simply leave the bread cubes out on the counter for a few days to become stale. Otherwise, spread them out on baking sheets and dry in a 300-degree oven for 30 to 60 minutes. Let the bread cool before using in the stuffing. You can substitute three 14-ounce bags of plain dried bread cubes for the homemade dried bread cubes, but you'll need to increase the amount of chicken broth to 7 cups. This recipe can easily be halved and baked in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish for a smaller crowd.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds bacon, chopped fine
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), plus extra for baking dish
4 medium ribs celery, chopped fine
2 medium onions, minced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
3 tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves or 2 teaspoons dried
3 tablespoons minced fresh thyme leaves or 2 teapoons dried
1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
3 pounds high-quality sandwich bread (white), cut into 1/2-inch cubes and dried (see note)
5 cups chicken stock or low-sodium canned chicken broth
4 large eggs, beaten lightly
2 teaspoons table salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain the fat, and reserve.

2. Either add all the butter to the now empty skillet, or substitute the reserved bacon fat for an equal amount of butter -- you'll need a total 12 of tablespoons of fat. Add the celery, onion, and apples and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley, sage, thyme, and marjoram and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to a very large mixing bowl.

3. Add the bacon, dried, cooled bread, stock or broth, eggs, salt, and pepper to the vegetables and toss gently to distribute dry and wet ingredients evenly. Turn mixture into buttered 15-x 10-inch baking dish.

4. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until golden, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

To Make Ahead: The stuffing can be assembled in the baking dish, then wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking. To bake, let the stuffing stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and proceed to bake as directed in step 3.

Roast Turkey with Giblet Pan Gravy

This recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We wanted a turkey recipe that would give us a perfectly roasted large turkey, with tender and moist, not chewy and dry, meat. We discovered that a large turkey couldn't be roasted at the typical temperature of 350 to 400 degrees because the exterior overcooked by the time the interior was done. We eventually found that roasting these large turkeys at 250 degrees breast side down, then breast side up, produced the most even cooking. To brown the skin for our large roast turkey recipe, we increased the oven temperature to 400 degrees for the final hour of roasting.

SERVES 18 TO 20

INGREDIENTS

1 turkey, large (18-20 pounds gross weight), rinsed thoroughly, giblets, neck and tail piece removed and reserved
1 cup table salt or 2 cups kosher salt
1 bay leaf
3 medium onions, chopped coarse
1 1/2 medium carrots, chopped coarse
1 1/2 medium ribs celery, chopped coarse
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for brushing and basting turkey
3 tablespoons cornstarch

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place turkey in large stockpot or clean bucket. Add 2 gallons water and salt. Refrigerate or set in very cool (40 degrees or less) spot for 8 hours.

2. Remove turkey from salt water and rinse both cavities and skin under cool running water for several minutes until all traces of salt are gone.

3. Meanwhile, reserving liver, put giblets, neck, and tail piece, bay leaf, and one-third each of onions, carrots, celery, and thyme in large saucepan. Add 6 cups water and bring to simmer, skimming foam from surface as necessary. Bring to boil, then simmer, uncovered, to make a flavorful broth, about 1 hour (add reserved liver during last 5 minutes of cooking). Strain broth (setting giblets, neck, and tail aside), cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until ready to use. (You should have about 1 quart of broth.) Remove meat from neck and tail, cut giblets into medium dice, and refrigerate until ready to use.

4. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Toss another third of the onions, carrots, celery, and thyme with 1 tablespoon butter and place in body cavity. Bring turkey legs together and perform simple truss; by using the center of a five foot length of cooking twine, tie the legs together at the ankles. Run the twine aound the thighs and under the wings on both sides of the bird, pulling tightly. keeping the twine pulled snug, tie a firm knot around the excess flesh at the neck of the bird. Snip off excess twine.

5. Scatter remaining vegetables and thyme in roasting pan; pour 1 cup water over vegetables. Set heavy-duty V-rack, adjusted to widest setting, in pan. Brush entire breast side of turkey with butter, then place turkey, breast side down, on V-rack. Brush entire back side of turkey with butter.

6. Roast 3 hours, basting back side every hour or so and adding small quantities of water if vegetables look dry. Remove pan from oven (close oven door); baste with butter. With wad of paper toweling in each hand, turn breast side up. Continue to roast 1 hour, basting once or twice. With turkey still in oven, increase oven temperature to 400 degrees; roast until skin has browned and internal temperature of legs and breast registers about 165 degrees, about 1 hour longer. Transfer turkey to platter; let rest 20 to 30 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, strain pan drippings into large saucepan (discard solids) and skim fat. Return roasting pan to stove and place over two burners set on medium heat. Add reserved broth to roasting pan, and using wooden spoon, stir to loosen brown bits. When juices start to simmer, strain into saucepan containing pan drippings along with reserved giblets; bring to boil. Mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water and gradually stir into pan juices. Bring to boil; simmer until sauce thickens slightly. Carve turkey; serve sauce passed separately.

Turkey Gravy

This recipe comes from Steve and Brooke Sahlin. I'll include Steve's notes here. We'll be doubling the recipe.

Use butter in the roux instead of turkey drippings. As for the low sodium Chicken broth, use “Better than Bullion” chicken stock and mix with water (use about 6g per cup of water. For the wine, use a Chardonnay. Do not salt the gravy until the stock is reduced, as the salt taste increases as the stock reduces.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
A high-roast turkey doesn’t yield drippings for a gravy. To develop our gravy recipe for high-roast butterflied turkey, we roasted carrots, onions, celery, and garlic to build flavor. We then simmered the roasted vegetables with white wine and chicken broth to finish the stock. For a rich flavor, make a roux with flour and butter and then added the stock to the roux.

MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART

To roast the trimmings and vegetables, it’s best to use a roasting pan that can sit on the stovetop. If you don’t own one, a broiler pan bottom will work; when setting it on the stovetop, however, use medium heat instead of high heat and add only half the amount of chicken broth before scraping up the drippings; add the other half of the chicken broth to the saucepan along with the wine.

INGREDIENTS
Reserved turkey giblets, neck, and backbone, hacked into 2-inch pieces
1 medium carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 rib celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 small onions, chopped coarse
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth (two 14 1/2-ounce cans)
2 cups dry white wine
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Salt and ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place turkey trimmings, carrot, celery, onions, and garlic in large flameproof roasting pan. Spray lightly with cooking spray and toss to combine. Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until well-browned, 40 to 50 minutes.

2. Remove roasting pan from oven, and place over burner(s) set at high heat; add chicken stock and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits on bottom of pan with wooden spoon.

3. Transfer contents of roasting pan to large saucepan. Add wine, 3 cups water, and thyme; bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced by half, about 1 1/2 hours. Strain stock into large measuring cup or container. Cool to room temperature; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until fat congeals, at least 1 hour.

4. To finish gravy, skim fat from stock using soup spoon; reserve fat. Pour stock through fine-mesh strainer to remove remaining bits of fat; discard bits in strainer. Bring stock to simmer in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. In second medium saucepan, heat 4 tablespoons reserved turkey fat over medium-high heat until bubbling; whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until combined and honey-colored, about 2 minutes. Continuing to whisk constantly, gradually add hot stock; bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with turkey. (Can be refrigerated up to 3 days; reheat in medium saucepan over medium heat until hot, about 8 minutes.)

Mulligatawny Soup

My mother used to make Mulligatawny soup when we were kids, and I loved it. I found this recipe in a novel I was reading this week, and it sent me on a nostalgia trip. I'm not sure how similar it is to Mother's, but it looks yummy.

1 whole boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons butter
diced fruits and vegetables including:
- a whole onion
- a whole apple
- a stick of celery
- a carrot
- a tomato
- a bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala (see below)
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup cream or plain yogurt
cayenne pepper to taste

Season diced chicken with salt and pepper. Warm 2 tablespoons butter over medium high heat in a wide, deep pot. Add chicken and saute until golden; remove the chicken and keep warm. Add the rest of the butter tot he pot and reduce heat to medium. Add diced vegetables and garlic and saute until the mixture starts to brown. Sprinkle in flour and curry powder.

Add the chicken stock and stir to combine, then simmer until vegetables and apple are soft. Puree in batches or with an immersion blender; the soup doesn't need to be perfectly smooth. Add the cream or yogurt and the chicken, and warm through. Season with salt and cayenne. Soup may be thickened with rice and topped with unsweetened coconut.

Homemade Garam Masala

I didn't have cardamom and don't like it, so I didn't use it. The spice blend still tasted really good. I did have coriander from my garden and discovered that freshly ground coriander is positively divine.

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Chicken Broccoli Lo Mein

Discovered this gem tonight when I needed a quick and tasty dinner. This absolutely hit the spot! It comes from the Fix-It and Enjoy-It Cookbook. Makes 4 servings.

Prep time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 15 minutes.

1/2 pound fettucine or lo mein noodles, cooked and set aside
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup hot water
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons oil
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 medium bunch broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

1. In a jar with a tight lid, mix peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, hot water and garlic. Shake well until blended.
2. In skillet, stir-fry chicken in oil for 5-6 minutes. Add broccoli. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes.
3. Add sauce to skillet. Stir in noodles. Cook 2 more minutes and then serve.

Peanut & Sweet Potato Soup

This recipe comes from my good friend Sarah Thomas. It's similar to the West African Peanut Stew, but with different flavorings and without the chicken. Very tasty!

1 medium onion chopped

1 large clove of minced garlic

2 medium cooked sweet potatoes (I peel them, cut them into medium size chunks & boil them until soft)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

¾ teaspoon cumin

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

¾ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)

2 tablespoons ketchup

¼ c peanut butter (I use crunchy)

1 quart chicken broth

2 cans great northern beans (15.5 or 16 oz)

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil, add onion & garlic and cook until it wilts.  Add all other ingredients and cover and simmer for 35 minutes.  Mash to thicken.