Monday, November 15, 2010

Thanksgvining Day

Thanksgiving just around the corner. If you like to bake, yet are running out of room, you have several options. My favourite is the roaster pan. Basically, stick the turkey in and leave it. If you live in a place like Texas where it is possible to be hot at Thanksgiving you can stick it on a table in the garage so as not to heat up the house.

My favourite recipe is:
cut apples and onions into quarters, and insert a clove into each quarter. Add a handful of celery and parsley. Cover the whole turkey with really fat bacon. Roast at 325 according to weight, 15 minutes per pound. After the first hour you might want to baste every 30 minutes and you might add a little more bacon. This always comes out nice and tender. I've been cooking it this way for forty years now.

You might also want to BBQ your turkey, in such case, chop up onion, coriander (cilantro), and Serrano peppers. Put in large zip lock, add turkey and sufficient beer to cover the turkey. Soak for a day or two, and then smoke for about 4-6 hours. If your internal temperature does not get to 180 degrees, put in oven, covered with oil until it does. For better flavour, soak the wood several days before BBQing. You should have a pit with a separate fire box to do this right, and put the turkey as far away from the fire as possible. You may baste with beer and spices if you desire.

Other possibilities are deep fat friers, oiless friers, or a gas grill with rotisserie. The gas grill with rotisserie works really well, and a small turkey will cook in an hour and one half. At this time I have no experience with frying turkeys, so we will leave that alone.

If I roast the turkey, I make stuffing, but I make it apart so the turkey will cook quicker. I make my cornbread the day before. To make the dressing, I take two 9" pans of cornbread, and break into crumbs. On the stove I add one stick of butter and a couple of eggs. If two dry I will add the drippings from the turkey. Fry chopped onion in drippings and add together with cooked celery. I will take a little water or drippings and put into the blender with a handful of parsley, a handful of time, three or four sage leaves, and a handful of time. Blend fully and add to dressing. Cook on the stove for about thirty minutes and cook in oven at 325 for about 30 minutes. Be careful not to burn.

For gravy, take some of the turkey drippings, add a couple of tablespoons of flour and cook. Add milk and thicken. Just before serving add two tablespoons poultry seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.

The main trick to a good Thanksgiving dinner is planning. You should know who is coming, what and how much you want to cook, and have most of your ingredients in the cupboard. Not a bad time to check your spices either, because you'll probably want them for Christmas as well.