 |
| President Obama, daughters, pardoning Popcorn from becoming White House Thanksgiving dinner. Caramel pardoned too. He's a nice man. Two 40-pound turkeys get retirement. |
Update: 2013 White House
Gingerbread House video.
From Denny: Roasted my Thanksgiving turkey a day early. Sure beats stressing on the Big Day. Also, my husband, affectionately known as "Satan" misses out on trying to micro-manage the cooking, driving me absolutely crazy.
"Satan" never did learn to cook but thinks he knows how to tell you all about how to do it anyway. Getting the Big Bird done a day early is a win-win for everyone as he was less stressed just as much as me!
Though he did try only twice this season to be ever so irritating: once, when taste testing the fabulous gravy he made The Yuck! Face but could not keep his composure for long, laughed, and then raved about it as one of the best yet. Later he decided he just had to tell me how to cut the French bread for sandwiches his way rather than the normal slices I was doing for hot garlic bread, his favorite. Since I'm basically The Spatial Engineer in this house (just ask me to pack a car for travel and I am The Expert on finding every nook and cranny to fill) I explained to him how his way made no sense but cut a few slices for him anyway. He was so disappointed to realize I was right after all. "Satan" lost that round. Never a dull moment at our house, that's for sure!
Hey, we should all be challenging the White House chef to a Roast Turkey Cook Off. Bet mine is one of The Best! We love spices at our house and every year I create something different. This year's wet rub spices were swimming in clarified butter: sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smokey paprika, cumin, curry powder, marjoram leaves, lite sodium soy sauce, Moscato wine and Remy Martin cognac...
Make some merry this holiday season! Jingle Jingle!
Purchased a 14.27 pound frozen bird and it sure did take longer than expected to defrost in the fridge. It was a full four-day process with two of those days the turkey spent in the kitchen sink full of cool water for about eight hours each day. Place a 1/3 cup of white vinegar in your defrosting water and gently lower your bird into the water so as to avoid splashing bacteria all over your kitchen.
Vinegar is great for killing off most bacteria and ensures a food safe prepping area. Make sure to bleach clean your sink and counters, yes, probably parts of the floor and maybe the wall too after placing the turkey back into the fridge over night to continue a slower defrost. Later bleach clean your fridge too.
Wash your hands every time you are about to touch something like a drawer handle, a pot holder, the fridge handle, the sink faucets (leave the water running if you have to in order to avoid contaminating again), anything out of the "turkey contamination area" so you do not travel the bacteria all over the kitchen. Yes, you will end up washing your hands a ridiculous amount of times but it's worth it - use antibacterial liquid soap too.
Food poisoning is a major problem for holiday cooking and something beginner cooks need to take seriously, developing a good cleaning discipline in order for everyone to fully enjoy the holidays. I have never had food poisoning as an issue for any of my holiday offerings unlike many friends and relatives. An extra 15 minutes of cleaning time is truly worth the effort.
When the turkey is finally defrosted I cut it out of the plastic covering while submerged in the vinegar water in the kitchen sink so as to avoid a contaminated prepping field. Even pull out carefully under water the neck and the package of heart and gizzards, cleaning it all in the vinegar water. The vinegar helps tamp down the bacteria levels as you gently roll the bird in the water to clean the bird.
After patting dry with paper toweling, slather the web rub spices all over the turkey and inside the cavity, some also gets shoved up under the skin, especially in the breast area to keep it well oiled during the long roasting process. Then the turkey spends yet one more day in the fridge and uncovered. The idea is for the chilly air of the fridge to circulate around the bird to help dry the skin, making it crispy after roasting. It also gives some time for the wet rub to marinate the bird too.
When it's time to roast the turkey I like to roast it at a higher heat of 350 degrees F. - as 325 degrees can be a bit marginal if you want to avoid food poisoning. It's an unstuffed bird with water in the pan to ensure a wonderful texture diners find enjoyable. I use about four to six cups of filtered water in a large roasting pan. The turkey starts out roasting upside down to brown the underside for the first 90 minutes for a 14 pound bird - and the fat of the bird helps baste the less fatty breast too. There is nothing more unattractive than a turkey that is not browned all over. Turning the turkey upside down for the first half of the roasting time helps keep the white meat from drying out, a common complaint of many cooks.
OK, flipping over this turkey can get messy: Use two long handled metal spoons (think for barbecue grilling) and insert into the front and back cavities. Slowly rotate the bird until in position. Then watch the bird for the brown level you like for the remainder of the cooking time, about another two hours or so. My bird was done in 3 hours and 35 minutes for 14.27 pounds and a resting time of 25 minutes before carving.
Be sure to baste the bird every 15-20 minutes or so until done. If cooking time remains and the bird is up to the level of browning you like, then tent it with some aluminum foil, gently placed and loose over the top. Do not secure as you want roasted turkey not steamed!
Santa Jingle Potholder
Santa Jingle Dinner Placemats
Santa Jingle Apron
What's with all that water in the roasting pan? All that clarified butter from the wet rub, turkey fat and those delectable spices, white wine and cognac melt together into the water. After the turkey breast has been perfectly sliced, the dark meat sliced or pulled, the various parts of the carcass broken into smaller pieces for later soups and stews it's time to separate the roasting water as future gravy. You can sieve the roasting water or not. We don't as we like the "debris" here in Louisiana. When cooled, place this roasting water into a tupperware container and place in the fridge. The fats will rise to the top, making it easy to skim off cold when you are ready to make the gravy.
The gravy can be made ahead or the day of Thanksgiving or Christmas. I do a roux gravy of flour, using the roasting pan fats that were chilled and skimmed. When the roux is the level of just the right shade of milk coffee brown, add the gelatinous chilled roasting water and some additional filtered plain water. You can add a touch of sea salt, some black pepper, a few splashes of Muscato wine and Remy Martin cognac, a little garlic powder. Taste test for your preference level.
After the roux gravy comes to a gentle bubbling, reduce to medium low heat, cover, and let the flour in the gravy cook for 30 minutes, stirring often to avoid sticking. When ready to serve the turkey, just add the pre-sliced white turkey breast slowly into the hot gravy, warm a few minutes longer and serve. Enjoy!
Celebrate Chocolate every day as a holiday!
* * * Support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home. Visit Denny Lyon Gifts @ CafePress.com - see what's new!
Subscribe in a reader to Dennys Food and Recipes
* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my other 24 blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place. A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. *
*** Check out Holiday Recipes From Dennys Food and Recipes
