Here’s another way to cook a turkey that I found to be a great alternative to the conventional way. The benefit of braising is that both white and dark meat come out perfectly cooked and seasoned, juicy, and carving is so much easier. Also, rather than stuffing the bird, the dressing is made separately, allowing for a much larger quantity. Read on to see how this works.
Ingredients:
Your favorite brand of defrosted turkey
2 extra turkey wings and turkey hearts
5 small onions
4 celery stalks
4 carrots
6 garlic cloves
1 apple
1 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)
1/2 oz. porcini mushrooms
1/2 cup dried parsley
4 bay leaves
3 eggs
1 cup toasted pecans (350 degrees for 6-7 minutes)
16 slices of cubed white bread
5 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 stick butter
white wine
Cut turkey into sections. (Ask your butcher to do so for you.) Place parts in pan of brine water overnight.
Dressing: On a cookie sheet, toast 16 cups of cubed white bread for 1 hour or less at 250 degrees.
Stuffing: In a large pot, brown pre-poked wings 4-6 minutes per side in 2 T butter and 2 T olive oil. Remove and set aside. Add in 4 T butter, giblets, and extra hearts, 11/2 cup each chopped celery, onion, carrots, 1/2 t salt, 1 cup chicken broth, 3 beaten eggs, Craisins, grated apple, toasted pecans, and baked bread cubes. Stir. Cook a few minutes to warm, then place bread mixture into a baking dish, placing wings on top. Cover with parchment paper and foil. Cook at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Remove meat from wings and add to bread cube mixture. Return to oven for 20 minutes. This can be done ahead and then heated up when turkey is almost ready to carve.
Turkey: In a large roasting pan, layer bottom with 3 small onions, 3 stalks celery, 2 carrots, 6 cloves garlic, chopped. Add 4 bay leaves and 1/2 C dried parsley, 1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, and 2 T melted butter. Top with turkey parts. Brush with melted butter and pepper. Brown in the oven for 20 minutes at 500 degrees. Remove from oven and add 4 cups of warmed low sodium chicken broth and white wine. Cover with parchment paper, then foil. Cook approximately 2 hours at 325 degrees. Using a meat thermometer, continue baking until temperature of the turkey reaches 160 degrees. Slice and arrange on your favorite turkey platter and baste with hot broth from turkey pan.
Please let me know if you try this method what you and your dinner guests thought. If you are nervous about doing it for company, try practicing on a chicken prior to Thanksgiving. If you do so, you will need to cut back on some of the amounts of the ingredients and cooking time. Happy Thanksgiving!
Sammy
1 Comment
I had been looking for a process I saw on PBS using deconstructed turkey and braising it. This helped a great deal, though for dressing, for the past 10 years or more, I have used sourdough bread and for this I used cracked wheat sourdough, no eggs (though that would have been a good idea, no pecans, no apple or Craisens. Used sauteed fresh mushroom and a pound of good sausage, and put some dried mushrooms on top under the wing parts. Did use chicken broth and white wine. Came out really well, though I should have used a larger pan. Used broth and wine for the turkey as well, on the vegetables. As was shown on the PBS show, I used the drained broth for an excellent gravy. When I do it again, I’ll use my regular roasting pan for more space.