Turkey Two Ways

[slkinsey]

Turkey Two Ways

This is a great dish for Thanksgiving because it is relatively simple to prepare and most of it can be done ahead of time, yet it seems very fancy and labor intensive. No need to let anyone in on the secret!

It may seem complicated at first, but not when you think about it. Fundamentally, you are only cooking a turkey, cooking dressing and making gravy. These are all things you would be doing anyway!

The dark meat is braised and can be cooked a day ahead of time. Much easier.

The breasts can be roasted to temperature a la minute, poached or cooked sous vide. Much easier.

The dressing is cooked, which you would have done anyway. Plus, you can make the dressing a day ahead of time. Easier.

The gravy is made much the same way you would make any other gravy, only without bothering with a roux. Equal.

• 1 14 - 18 pound turkey
  
• 1 Bottle port
  
• 1 Bottle dry red wine
  
• 2 Large carrots
  
• 5 Ribs celery
  
• 2 Medium yellow onions
  
• 1 Bouquet garni
  
• 1 Head Savoy cabbage (optional)
  
• 1 Jar "Black Truffle Carpaccio" (optional)
  
• 1 Foie gras (optional)
  
• 1 lb Butter
  

Debone the Turkey -- 1-2 Days Before

- Using a sharp knife, remove the legs and wings from the turkey. Remove the skin and reserve. Cut the meat from the bones in large pieces. Reserve the bones. Cut all other large pieces of dark meat from the turkey and place with the leg meat. Cut out the large tendons from the drumstick meat and reserve with the bones, skin and other trim. Trim all other big pieces of dark meat from the carcass and add these to the dark meat.

- Place the dark meat in a refrigerator container or ziplock bag along with the red wine, the port, the vegetables and the bouquet garni (e.g., 4 parsley sprigs, 4 thyme sprigs and 1 rosemary sprig, tied together). Place in refrigerator and marinate 1-2 days.

- Using a sharp knife, remove the breasts from the carcass, each in one large piece. Refrigerate breast meat. Reserve all bones and skin with the rest.

Make the Turkey Stock -- 1-2 Days Before

- Make a simple "white" turkey stock. My method: Place the bones and trim in a large stock pot along with a little roughly chopped onion, carrot and celery. Fill the pot with water and slowly bring up to a bare simmer. Skim fat and scum. Leave on the stove overnight just below the simmer. The next day, strain out and discard the meat and vegetables. Reduce the turkey stock to around 2 quarts and refrigerate. It should be very gelatinous, like this:

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/gallery_8505_0_1465.jpg

- I like to save the skimmed turkey fat for browning turkey meat, vegetables, etc.

Prepare The Dressing -- 1 Day Before

- Cook a batch of your favorite dressing in a baking dish and cool. Keep it simple. I prefer cornbread, sturdy white bread, the "Scarboro Fair herbs" (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme), onion, stock and cream. This should be a fairly moist stuffing. Use some of the reserved turkey stock to moisten the dressing. Bind it with plenty of eggs.

Braise the Dark Meat -- 1 - 0 Days Before

- Strain the wine marinade and reserve.

- Separate the turkey leg pieces and the vegetables and pat them dry with paper towels. Set a large pot over medium heat. Flour each piece of turkey meat lightly and brown the turkey meat well in turkey fat or butter and set aside. Something like this:

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/gallery_8505_0_48211.jpg

- Add the wine to deglaze and stir to release any browned bits.

- Add the vegetables, browned dark meat and bouquet garni to the pot, add turkey stock and barely simmer until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours. Skim any scum that rises during the first 30-40 minutes.

- Drain meat and vegetables, reserving liquid. Discard vegetables and bouquet garni. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and set aside. When the turkey meat is cool enough, pull it into rough shreds by hand into a bowl. Mix with enough of the reserved liquid to moisten it and set aside.

- Simmer the remaining reserved liquid until it coats the back of a spoon and set aside. This will be the basis for your sauce.

Cook The Breasts -- 1.5 hours ro 45 minutes before service, depending on method used

- If Roasting: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a roasting pan over medium high heat and add butter. Season the breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. When butter is sizzling, sear the breasts about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast to 150 degrees F (around 45 minutes). Remove and let rest for 10 minutes covered with foil.

- If Poaching: Heat enough salted water in a large pot or roasting pan to cover the breasts to 155 degrees. Keep a thermometer in the water to monitor the temperature. Poach the breasts around 1 to 1.5 hours, until cooked through.

- If Cooking Sous Vide: Bag with butter, herbs and salt. Cook at 61C for 1 - 1.5 hours (consult nathanm's timing charts depending on thickness). Serve immediately. This is the best option.

Reheat The Dressing And The Shredded Dark Meat -- 30 minutes before service

- 30 minutes prior to service, moisten the stuffing with broth and reheat still covered, in a 350 - 400 F oven. You can do this in a separate oven from the breasts, or together in the same oven if you only have one.

- While the sauce and dressing coming up to temperature and the breasts are roasting, reheat the dark meat using the method of your choice. (I do it in a small saucepan on the back of the stove, but you can just as easily do it in the microwave.)

Prepare the Sauce -- 15 minutes before service

- Bring the wine/port reduction up to a simmer on the stove. Mount with copious amounts of butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the saucepan to a corner of the stove to keep warm. (You may want to refer to Jack's excellent eGCI course on Non Stock-Based Sauces for background.)

Plate The Course -- A La Minute

- Slice the breasts across the grain into medium-thick slices.

To do one plate:

- Using a ring mold (or large tomato can open at both ends) in the center of the plate, layer shredded dark meat, then cornbread dressing, then a few slices of breast meat.

- Remove the mold and spoon some sauce around.

- Serve!

- Once everything is hot and ready to go, you can plate everything fairly quickly -- especially if you have help. Warm plates (just throw them in the oven for a few minutes) can make a big difference.

Tweaks and Upgrades

- Add black truffle carpaccio to the sauce, along with a touch of sherry.

- Finely shred Savoy cabbage and soften in butter. Add to the shredded dark meat base.

- Add foie gras to the Savoy cabbage/dark meat base.

Credit where credit is due: Although my recipe deviates from his in several meaningful ways, the concept of braising/shredding the dark meat and cooking the breasts separately was inspired by a recipe employing this division by Eric Ripert that appeared in the New York Times Magazine.

Keywords: Main Dish, Intermediate, Turkey, Dinner

( RG746 )