Thank Goodness for Turkey
The big bird with feathers, not the ancient and fascinating country. With Thanksgiving kicking around in our old province of the USA, I am reminded about the problems of cooking a successful turkey – whether that is for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I do like a whole bird, but am appreciative of how wrong it can go – hands up here, I have had my fair share of disasters. Unlike all those celebrity chefs out there who like to guarantee you a great bird, I am far more honest. I know that whatever the occasion, there are always a ton of things that need your attention which are not bird related, and that is often where it goes wrong.
To start off, please rush off and buy one of those thermometers that you stick into your meat. Poultry is a source of salmonella (I have a cousin who lead much research on the subject) and one should be a touch careful. Its all very well sticking in forks, prodding it, turning it upside down, but if it is a big bird, you may still get caught out. Do it the proper way. The basic old fashioned non electrical ones are perfectly good and very cheap.
Right, recipe:
- 1 free range turkey
- 1 bottle white Chianti
- 1 large bunch parsley
- 300 gms or so of butter
- bulb of garlic
- 10 carrots or so
- few sticks celery
- A swede – not the person
- bay leaves
- onion
- Couple of cloves
Sorry about the inexact quantities – I have no idea how big a bird you will buy!
Remove the giblets from the bird and bung them in a pan with an onion studded with the cloves, a couple of carrots, bay leaf, chopped stick of celery and fill up with chicken stock. If you want a richer gravy base, roast the giblets first. Put on the back burner and simmer for ages. Make sure it does not run dry, but let it reduce.
In an oven pan, put in the bottom a pile of chopped carrots, chopped swede, chopped celery and some parsley to make a base for putting the bird on.
Take the turkey and gently lift the skin by putting your fingers between the skin and the flesh – do not tear it. Make up a mush of butter, pepper, crushed garlic, parsley and salt and put this in hand fulls under the skin – getting it has far under and well spread as possible. You can push it around from outside the skin too. Put any remaining butter, herbs, garlic and onion inside the bird and season.
Place the bird on the vegetables laying on one side. Pour over the birds an entire bottle of wine (you may need two). If you don’t want to spend too much money, add some chicken stock. You should have a couple of inches of liquid in the bottom of the pan. Seal with foil and very carefully put in a medium hot oven (190C) for 20 minutes per kilo plus 90 minutes (if it is a big bird, 60 minutes if not). Remember, you will test this with your thermometer because these times are only a rough guide. Cooking times varies enormously depending how plump your bird is compared to its bone mass. I find the really lovely big but skinny birds cook a little faster – but always check!
Now, this bird will part steam and part roast. About 1/3 of the way into the cooking time, remove the pan from the oven. DO THIS VERY CAREFULLY! The stock and wine in the bottom will have loads of hot fat in it now. It can very easily splash out. I burned my foot really badly roasting goose like this!
Lift the foil and turn the bird onto the other side. If the liquid has reduced too much, add loads more. Return to the oven and cook to within 30 minutes of the cooking time.
Meanwhile, in a pan, melt some butter and add flour to make a roux. To this add your stock from the giblets till you get a rich, but not too thick gravy. Leave to simmer and reduce.
Remove one again from the oven. Lift the bird temporarily onto a rack so you can remove all the veg and remaining liquid. Hopefully it has not dried up and the veg blackened! Reserve all the veg and cooking liquor into a bowl. Return the bird to the pan the right way up, and baste with some of the liquor. Return to the oven to brown. Remember to check that it is fully cooked with your thermometer – start checking now.
Add any remaining liqour from the bowl to your gravy if you wish – but I suggest you taste first. You may or may not want this addition.
Once the turkey is cooked, remove from the oven, cover with foil and leave for at least 20 minutes or longer. Make sure your kitchen is nice and warm. Professional kitchens are often very hot and chefs forget when they tell you to let meat stand that you kitchen may be rather cooler and your meat goes cold!
And that is that. The turkey should be moist, have a nice wine and garlic aroma to it, and hopefully a success. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!
Related posts:
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- Hot Lentil and Roasted Squash – The Soup Diet
- Beef Stew
- Pan Fried Chicken Livers
- Lamb in a huge pot
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