Monday, November 30, 2009

The Best Thanksgiving Turkey Anywhere

Here is Kate's write-up for how she cooks her Thanksgiving turkey. This year, she cooked her own pasture-raised heritage turkey, which was pretty fantastic.

The turkey is really an amalgamation of Julia Child and my take on it. The best write up she does of turkey is in From Julia Child's Kitchen and NOT in any of the later books where she takes to deboning and reconstructing the whole dang bird, way more work than they require. So here is what I do:

Take the neck and whatever innards you have out and brown in hot but not burning oil until brown. Remove them and add in about 2 cups each of chopped carrots and onions and cooked those in the pan, covered, about 5-10 minutes until tender. Take out half of the vegetables to use to flavor the turkey cavity (put the bones and giblets back in the post with the other half of the veggies, season with a little salt, some sage, a bay leaf, cover with stock and about a cup of white wine, and simmer partially covered for three or so hours, then reduce down to use as a base for your gravy).

For the turkey, make sure it is defrosted thoroughly, rinse and pat really dry, then smear all over with at least one stick of softened butter. Make sure you toss some in the cavity as well. Stuff the cavity with parsley springs, celery tops, dried thyme and sage (about 1/2 tsp each), a little salt and the half of the cooked carrots and onions you took out of the gravy starter. Tie him up (I don't try to do it too fancy, just get the wings secured to the body and the cavity closed up best you can, salt lightly, and place on a rack in a roasting pan breast down. Cook in a preheated 325 oven according to the time table below. Baste every 30 minutes. When it is about 90 minutes before the turkey is done, flip it on its back (make sure you do this no later than an hour before the earliest finish time for your turkey so the breast has time to get done). Cooking it this way ensures that the breast meat is moist and the skin is crispy all round. Do not forget to let the turkey rest before carving; it will fall apart -- much better to be done too early than to late -- you can always tent the turkey in tin foil until you are ready to carve.

Timetable for a moderately chilled, unstuffed turkey:

Pounds: 6-8
Hours roasting at 325: 2 3/4 - 3 1/2
Buffer: 20 min
Rest Before Carving: 20 min
Estimated Safe Total: 4 1/4

Pounds:8-12
Hours roasting at 325: 3 1/4-4
Buffer: 20 min
Rest Before Carving: 20 min
Estimated Safe Total: 4 1/2-4 3/4

Pounds:12-16
Hours roasting at 325: 3 1/2 - 4 1/2
Buffer: 30
Rest Before Carving: 30
Estimated Safe Total: 5 1/2

Pounds: 16-20
Hours roasting at 325: 4-6
Buffer: 30
Rest Before Carving: 30
Estimated Safe Total: 5 1/2 - 7

Pounds: 20-26
Hours roasting at 325: 5 1/2- 7 1/2
Buffer: 30
Rest Before Carving: 30
Estimated Safe Total: 7-8 1/2

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Thanksgiving on Green Fence Farm

Reviewing my annual list of things in my life for which I am thankful, Green Fence Farm sits near the top. While I love the farm, this has more to do with our friendly proprietors. Some of us are lucky enough to be born into strong and wonderful families. Some of us aren't. In either case, family is what we make of it. Kate and Nick are builders. They have built this farm, but it is really so much more than a farm. Starting with a strong foundation, they have built a huge extended family; we are blessed to be members.

Don and I have spent all but one of the last fifteen Thanksgivings with Kate and her family (maybe more but I have lost count). This is the third Thanksgiving on the farm and it reminds us of our many blessings. One cannot help but feel fortunate when taking in the beauty of the land and the warmth of the friendship. While my list of blessings is too long for this blog, here are some we might share:
  • I am thankful for Kate's health this year and her boundless energy to make this family and farm work.
  • I am thankful that Kate and Nick have brought the farm to us in the city, making us healthier and happier (if not a little guilty when I can't figure out what to do with everything in our share).
  • I am thankful for the pasture raised turkey. (Rumor has it that many of you could be thankful for this next year. Start your lobbying now, because it is pretty wonderful.)
  • I am thankful for fresh brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes, straight from the garden.
  • I am thankful for shearing day and the celebration! (your loss if you missed it; it was great.)
I am thankful as well for the three people who have asked Kate, "what has happened to your blog?" I have been a little busy this fall, but I have a few things I will be posting soon. If you are worried, please send your recipes to keep the blog alive.

Happy Thanksgiving!