Thanksgiving 2010 Tips, Queries, Trucs

[Chris Amirault]

I'm doing prep all day and night today and of course busy tomorrow too, and I thought it would be good to start a topic on all this prep and cooking we're doing. We can share ideas, ask questions, all that.

Here's my first tip. I don't stuff turkeys anymore, but make a stuffing/dressing with toasted bread cubes, super-enriched stock, and other goodies (this year pancetta, rosemary, dried cherries macerated in applejack, and pecans). Usually the pan it's cooked in is the hardest thing to wash from all of the crusty stuff that's cooked onto it. So this year I am putting a round of parchment paper under the stuffing:

No revolutionary insights there, but I think it looks nice and will save time down the road.

What tips do you have this year? Or do you have any questions that Society members can answer? I've got the window open all day!

[Chris Amirault]

Big collection of "last minute" ideas at Saveur.com.

[Chris Amirault]

Alex and Aki at Ideas in Food just tweeted, "Apple cider is like instant stock when cooking thanksgiving dinner."

[Chris Hennes]

I am in need of a tip: I want to make sage sausage today for my stuffing, but I don't have a recipe I like. Does anyone have ingredient ratios for a sage sausage that you like?

[Chris Amirault]

Here's my question: can I slice the fennel up for the salad a day in advance?

[Katie Meadow]

Alex and Aki at Ideas in Food just tweeted, "Apple cider is like instant stock when cooking thanksgiving dinner."

Someone once suggested that I use apple cider as part or all of the liquid that starts out in the bottom of my roasting pan. This turned out to be a terrible idea. Although the flavor is good, there's a lot of sugar in it, and sugar tends to burn. The bottom of the roasting pan burned, and the basting juices with the added sugar caused the breast to darken far too quickly. I'm sure apple cider is useful for something at Thanksgiving, but maybe not as part of the roasting process.

[Chris Amirault]

Maybe as a cooking medium?

[slkinsey]

Here's my question: can I slice the fennel up for the salad a day in advance?

How do you plan on serving it? Fennel will brown once you cut it. You can mitigate this with acid or by removing contact with oxygen. I've had good results by putting sliced fennel and olive oil into a vacuum bag and removing all the air (it scrunches down very small, which is nice from a storage perspective, and the oil coats all the pieces).

Otherwise, I'd say you were asking for brown fennel.

[Chris Amirault]

It's a salad with parsley, lemon, olive oil, and parmigiano reggiano. About how much oil do you need to coat in the vacuum bag?

[slkinsey]

Depends on how much fennel you have, I suppose. If I were you, I might consider tossing the fennel with all the lemon and oil you're going to use, and then vacuuming out all the air. Add the salt, parsley, etc. tomorrow.

[Dave the Cook]

I am in need of a tip: I want to make sage sausage today for my stuffing, but I don't have a recipe I like. Does anyone have ingredient ratios for a sage sausage that you like?

I haven't made it, but Kinsella's Professional Charcuterie has a promising recipe for "English Fresh Herb Sausage." For six pounds of butt, it calls for 4 grams of fresh sage, 2 grams fresh thyme, 10 grams pink salt, and -- I noticed you're looking for applications -- 28 grams prepared horseradish.

Another formula, this one for "Irish Breakfast Sausage," uses 8 pounds shoulder, 3 grams each dried sage and dried thyme. No pink salt.

[teagal]

Has any one tried Karo Lite for a pecan pie? I'm now one of "them"-people that don't prepare fully in advance! Thought I had a bottle of the regular stuff, but its almost empty and I have a full bottle of the Lite. By Lite I mean lower calories, not the white syrup.

[Chris Amirault]

From the website, it sounds like you are ok but on the edge:

Karo Lite (reduced calorie) syrup can be substituted in many recipes calling for light or dark corn syrup, but is not recommended for cereal bars or candy making.

You may be courting an unset interior. Can you cut back on other liquids? What's the recipe?

[patti]

I'm going to be heating up a smoked brisket that was prepared earlier in the week. After defatting, there isn't a huge amount of liquid (now gel) in the pan. Should I add some liquid? Beef stock (store bought)? Beef base? Sorry if this is too basic!

[CDRFloppingham]

Question for the forum:

I'm doing a 6.5 lb bone-in turkey breast (Melissa Clark's recipe).

What would you estimate the cooking time at 425 non-convection?

I'm thinking 2.0 to 2.5 hrs.

[Chris Amirault]

I'm going to be heating up a smoked brisket that was prepared earlier in the week. After defatting, there isn't a huge amount of liquid (now gel) in the pan. Should I add some liquid? Beef stock (store bought)? Beef base? Sorry if this is too basic!

No such thing as "too basic"!

There are a lot of ways to keep your brisket moist, the main two being: (1) you want the meat to be enclosed somehow -- wrapped in aluminum foil or a tightly sealing, shallow dutch oven -- so that it warms in a moist environment, and (2) you want to heat it to a very low temperature, just above the USDA meat holding threshold of 140F. That's a lot lower than most ovens at Thanksgiving, so be careful!

[Chris Amirault]

Question for the forum:

I'm doing a 6.5 lb bone-in turkey breast (Melissa Clark's recipe).

What would you estimate the cooking time at 425 non-convection?

I'm thinking 2.0 to 2.5 hrs.

I'd estimate less than that -- but given that thickness and not weight is the determining factor, you should definitely go by temperature. For my turkey breast, I'm going to remove it from a 325F oven at 140F to rest for ~60 minutes (Robuchon's "rest half the time of the cooking" rule). Given that you'll be removing from a far hotter oven, you may want to aim a bit lower, as your exterior will be 100F higher than mine.

[patti]

Thank you, Chris. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[CDRFloppingham]

Thanks Chris. I've got an indwelling thermometer and will do as advised.

[Jon Savage]

Grass fed and finished roast

and plated

it was tasty