The fate of the bird
Nov. 25th, 2011 03:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidI got a 13-pound turkey, the smallest kosher one I could find at Trader Joe's. Since it was just me, I decided that it would be more interesting to do a number of different things with it, and would have the side benefit of not having to buy one of those big foil roasting pans.
I started by cutting up the raw bird, which I hadn't done before. I don't have shears; it might have been useful, but the knife worked out fine in the end. It ended up being a lot of pieces, with the wings in thirds, the legs in halves, two large breasts plus some smaller pieces of white meat, the frame cut in half, plus the neck and the tail.
First off, the wing tips, neck, and both pieces of the frame went into a big pot of soup (had it been an even bigger pot, the frame could have stayed whole, I suppose). I'd started with onion, parsnips, celeriac, and sweet potato (I always put something orange into turkey soup, because otherwise it's an unappealing gray; these days I've been preferring sweet potato). Once the soup was cooked and cooled, I took all the bones out. I added dumplings with some sage in them when I reheated it for Shabbat.
I baked the breasts and second wing joints over some red onion and diced sweet potato, topped with a pint and a half of apple-and-boozy-beet chutney. That baked for an hour and a half at around 350-375 F, which got the meat to just done but not overdone when I cut into it. It was my first time trying the chutney; the beets were still boozy enough that I think I should have used more apple than I did, but otherwise fine. I was pleased with how the turkey breast tasted cold, which was my hope, for turkey sandwiches.
The turkey thighs and tail I baked in a hottish oven over a bed of bits of six grain and pumpkin seed bread, onion, walnuts, raisins, apples, and rosemary. I got lucky again; this came out the way I wanted.
The drumsticks and wing drum pieces I baked at 400 F in a dry rub of cinnamon, sugar, curry powder, and cayenne, over a bed of red onion, sweet potato, the last of the boozy pineapple, walnuts, and black pepper. I'm not fond of eating drumsticks off the bone; the hope was that this would make the base for some curried turkey salad and/or some turkey pot pie, after I'd had the wing parts for today's brunch.
The smaller bits of meat I'd cut up, then marinated briefly in some candied ginger with its syrup and Szechauan spicy sauce. I stir fried them with leek, peppers I'd frozen earlier this year, and garlic.
I started by cutting up the raw bird, which I hadn't done before. I don't have shears; it might have been useful, but the knife worked out fine in the end. It ended up being a lot of pieces, with the wings in thirds, the legs in halves, two large breasts plus some smaller pieces of white meat, the frame cut in half, plus the neck and the tail.
First off, the wing tips, neck, and both pieces of the frame went into a big pot of soup (had it been an even bigger pot, the frame could have stayed whole, I suppose). I'd started with onion, parsnips, celeriac, and sweet potato (I always put something orange into turkey soup, because otherwise it's an unappealing gray; these days I've been preferring sweet potato). Once the soup was cooked and cooled, I took all the bones out. I added dumplings with some sage in them when I reheated it for Shabbat.
I baked the breasts and second wing joints over some red onion and diced sweet potato, topped with a pint and a half of apple-and-boozy-beet chutney. That baked for an hour and a half at around 350-375 F, which got the meat to just done but not overdone when I cut into it. It was my first time trying the chutney; the beets were still boozy enough that I think I should have used more apple than I did, but otherwise fine. I was pleased with how the turkey breast tasted cold, which was my hope, for turkey sandwiches.
The turkey thighs and tail I baked in a hottish oven over a bed of bits of six grain and pumpkin seed bread, onion, walnuts, raisins, apples, and rosemary. I got lucky again; this came out the way I wanted.
The drumsticks and wing drum pieces I baked at 400 F in a dry rub of cinnamon, sugar, curry powder, and cayenne, over a bed of red onion, sweet potato, the last of the boozy pineapple, walnuts, and black pepper. I'm not fond of eating drumsticks off the bone; the hope was that this would make the base for some curried turkey salad and/or some turkey pot pie, after I'd had the wing parts for today's brunch.
The smaller bits of meat I'd cut up, then marinated briefly in some candied ginger with its syrup and Szechauan spicy sauce. I stir fried them with leek, peppers I'd frozen earlier this year, and garlic.