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Nov. 22nd, 2007
In Which I Show I Am A Natural
Nov. 22nd, 2007 04:41 pmHappy Thanksgiving!
I cooked the turkey today. It was kosher, and thus I did not brine it. I just about wanted to turn vegetarian when I was inspecting for quills, of which there were many, and prepping the poor bird for stuffing and roasting.
I used a combination of methods discussed in the afore-linked post. I put sage-black pepper butter under the skin and all over, stuck some onion quarters in the space under the skin next to the legs, stuck a few more onion quarters in the roasting pan next to the bird. The stuffing was ultra-simple, as per my family's usual, comprised of half cubed baguette and half cubed whole wheat bread, plus sage (from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
therck's garden), black pepper, kosher salt and a mix of margarine and olive oil. I think I should have sliced the baguette and wheat bread earlier so they could dry out some more.
I used the start-fast method: starting in a 500-degree oven and turning it down after 20 minutes or so. The bird cooked way faster than I expected, about 2.25 hours total, even with stuffing. The breast was at 173 degrees and the thigh at 184 when I removed it. Thank goodness for my thermometer, which has a probe that can be left in a roast or bird but is read from outside the oven. Since the turkey cooked so much faster than I was expecting, I really had to scramble on the sides. The potatoes got mashed just as I finished the gravy, and the green beans were steamed and sprinkled with fried onions instead of my planned take on green bean casserole. The turkey was wonderfully juicy, and the gravy was really, really good. I had made stock from the turkey neck, an onion, a carrot and a stalk of celery, which stretched the gravy without need for adding chicken stock, and used arrowroot to thicken instead of flour-based roux. My mom's gravy always tastes more like chicken than turkey, so this was a change from what I am used to, but I really liked how it turned out.
We had dinner rather earlier than we originally had planned, but that was fine since it was just our immediate family and no guests at all. It's been pretty low-key, and I have enjoyed getting my kids into the kitchen a bit today.
We're currently on the dessert course, with immersion-blender-whipped cream on pumpkin pie, warmed apple pie, and some lemon tarts. I never made pecan pie, once I figured out that only I wanted pecan pie. I miss it, but having a whole pie to eat by myself was a bad idea.
In all, I am not daunted at cooking for Christmas for my family, assuming my brother-in-law doesn't grab the glory of cooking the turkey.
I cooked the turkey today. It was kosher, and thus I did not brine it. I just about wanted to turn vegetarian when I was inspecting for quills, of which there were many, and prepping the poor bird for stuffing and roasting.
I used a combination of methods discussed in the afore-linked post. I put sage-black pepper butter under the skin and all over, stuck some onion quarters in the space under the skin next to the legs, stuck a few more onion quarters in the roasting pan next to the bird. The stuffing was ultra-simple, as per my family's usual, comprised of half cubed baguette and half cubed whole wheat bread, plus sage (from
therck's garden), black pepper, kosher salt and a mix of margarine and olive oil. I think I should have sliced the baguette and wheat bread earlier so they could dry out some more.I used the start-fast method: starting in a 500-degree oven and turning it down after 20 minutes or so. The bird cooked way faster than I expected, about 2.25 hours total, even with stuffing. The breast was at 173 degrees and the thigh at 184 when I removed it. Thank goodness for my thermometer, which has a probe that can be left in a roast or bird but is read from outside the oven. Since the turkey cooked so much faster than I was expecting, I really had to scramble on the sides. The potatoes got mashed just as I finished the gravy, and the green beans were steamed and sprinkled with fried onions instead of my planned take on green bean casserole. The turkey was wonderfully juicy, and the gravy was really, really good. I had made stock from the turkey neck, an onion, a carrot and a stalk of celery, which stretched the gravy without need for adding chicken stock, and used arrowroot to thicken instead of flour-based roux. My mom's gravy always tastes more like chicken than turkey, so this was a change from what I am used to, but I really liked how it turned out.
We had dinner rather earlier than we originally had planned, but that was fine since it was just our immediate family and no guests at all. It's been pretty low-key, and I have enjoyed getting my kids into the kitchen a bit today.
We're currently on the dessert course, with immersion-blender-whipped cream on pumpkin pie, warmed apple pie, and some lemon tarts. I never made pecan pie, once I figured out that only I wanted pecan pie. I miss it, but having a whole pie to eat by myself was a bad idea.
In all, I am not daunted at cooking for Christmas for my family, assuming my brother-in-law doesn't grab the glory of cooking the turkey.
