22 November 2009

TURKEY TIME

I wasn't going to write about turkeys, but several people have asked me how I cook mine.


The first thing about turkeys is not to be afraid of them.  The second is to have patience and just let them cook until done - and not any longer!  My mother is very casual about turkeys - she thinks nothing of sticking one in the oven when we come to visit, and then having the leftovers for several days.


Some of my thoughts on turkeys...
To Brine or Not to Brine
Brining is certainly the fashionable cooking technique in the magazines and tv shows.  I just don't get it.  I don't have an objection to the gentle use of salt - from a health point of view, I think the people who obsess over eliminating sodium are doing more harm to their blood pressure from stress than if they just had the occasional sprinkle - but it seems insane to drench a piece of protein in salt water.  The meat always seems salty to me.  Also, while it is supposed to make the meat moist, to me it just tastes...well, wet.  More poached than roasted.  Also, the skin of brined turkey never gets crispy - and we love crispy skin. Also, you can't stuff a brined turkey - and my family lives for the stuffing.
To Stuff or Not to Stuff
Yes, we love stuffing.  During my years in England, stuffing the bird was normal.  Lately, the cooking fashion seems to be to cook the stuffing separately.  Another fashion I just don't get, nor do I think there's any justification for health paranoia, as long as you stuff the bird just before cooking and make sure it is actually done before serving. A stuffed bird takes a bit longer to cook, but is worth the wait.  Stuffing cooked separately is just flavored bread.  The beauty of stuffing is that it absorbs the juices from the bird - the flavor is created from the mixture of whatever you've decided to put in with the flavor of the bird.  The stuffing also helps keep the bird moist.  So I'd rather stuff than brine!
To Cover or Not to Cover
If you cover (with tin foil or a baking bag), the bird won't dry out.  On the other hand, it won't get beautiful and crispy. I use a technique I learned many years ago - I cover the bird with cheesecloth that has been soaked in olive oil or butter.  The bird needs less basting.  I sometimes uncover the turkey for the last fifteen minutes to crisp up the skin.
High or Low Heat
I mix it up here - I start with a hot oven to seal the skin, then turn the oven down quite low to cook the bird.  The last fifteen minutes or so, I may turn the heat up a bit to crisp the skin (have I mentioned that my family likes crispy skin?)


TURKEY GUIDELINES


Prepare the turkey:
I usually rinse it the night before, and let it air dry in the fridge.  I sometimes salt the skin the night before, as well - it helps to dry the skin (a dry skin helps absorb the fat you coat it with, and helps it crisp).


Let the turkey sit at room temperature for a while before cooking - a cold bird cooks less evenly.


Near cooking: Preheat the oven to 425 (400 convection).


I usually rub the skin with softened butter, mixed with salt and pepper (no salt if you've already salted the skin).  You can also slip the softened butter under the skin.  You can use olive oil instead of butter.


Stuff the bird just before cooking (see below for stuffing ideas).


Place the turkey in the roasting pan.  I don't use a rack for turkey, and I don't have an expensive roasting pan.


Take a piece of cheesecloth and soak it in olive oil or melted butter.  Place it over the bird, covering it as well as you can.


Cooking:
Place the bird in the hot oven.  Roast for 15-20 minutes.


Turn oven down to 325 (300 convection).  Roast until 165 in thigh (about 3 hours convection for a stuffed 15 lb bird).


A cheesecloth-covered turkey needs very little looking after.  Every 30 to 45 minutes I might open the oven door and have a look - if it looks a bit dry, I'll baste it with the juices from the bottom of the pan (see options below for some other ideas).  


When the turkey is done, the cheesecloth should slip off easily, revealing a golden skin.  Check it when the bird is close to done - if the skin isn't as done as you like, take the cheesecloth off for the last ten minutes of cooking - you can turn the oven back up to high, to ensure nice browning.


Don't overcook the turkey! 


Some options:
- if the bottom of the pan seems dry or close to burning, add 1/4 C stock or water or orange juice in the pan.
- 1/2 hour before the end, you can add 1 C warm white wine or orange juice in the bottom of the pan.
- if not crisp, put the heat back up high (425/400) for ten minutes at the end.
That's it  - consult a real cook book about tying the bird up, letting it sit, carving, etc.


STUFFING
In England, it is traditional to do two stuffings for the Christmas turkey (obviously, they don't have Thanksgiving, since the Puritans were the ones who left England...) - one in the front cavity, then a smaller one in the back.  I love to make stuffing, so I sometimes do this.  I always make a traditional sausage stuffing.  For the other, I might do a chestnut stuffing, or a sweeter stuffing with dried fruit and nuts.  Stuffings give a lot of opportunity for creativity - the amounts are not exact, the flavorings optional. Adjust any recipe for your own personal taste, knowing that the flavors will become richer and more complex as they cook inside the bird.


Sausage Stuffing
2 oz butter (or more as needed)
1 lb onions, finely chopped
6 oz breadcrumbs
8-12 oz ground sausage meat, or breakfast sausages chopped into small pieces
liver from the turkey, chopped fine
fresh sage and thyme


A note on breadcrumbs:  You can buy 'stuffing mix' breadcrumbs, but I never do.  Here's what I do - I take a nice bread and chop it up or tear it up into small pieces and leave it to dry out a while.  This is one time when I really do prefer white bread to whole wheat, although I might put a bit of whole grain bread in.  I usually take off most, if not all of the crust.  A nice sourdough works well.  Don't skimp on the bread - commercial bread is too soft to make a nice stuffing.  I don't spend too much time drying the breadcrumbs, although you can stick them in the oven for 10 or 15 minutes.  I just tear it up a few hours before (the night before, if I remember) - the air will dry it out.  Dry, stale bread absorbs more juices than fresh soft bread.


Cook onions gently in butter, on medium low heat, in a cast iron or stainless steel frying pan.  Add the sausage and liver and fry until the meat is nice browned.  Put the onion/meat mix in a large bowl, and add the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, sage and thyme to taste.


All these amounts are approximate - feel free to add more or less of anything.  In addition, here are some ideas for optional extras:  1 egg (added at the very end), 3-4 T cream or stock (added at the end, if the mixture looks very dry), 1-2 apples, chopped fine and sauteed separately in butter.  If your don't have fresh herbs, dry will do.  Feel free to add more herbs - parsley, small amounts or rosemary, chives all mix well with the sausage. 


Stuff in the bird just before roasting.  Fill the cavity, but don't pack it in too tight.  If there's extra, put it in the back cavity, or bake separately in a baking dish, adding some stock or wine to the mix (it'll take about 45 minutes)


Apricot and Almond Stuffing
2C/8 oz dried apricots
1 onion, finely chopped
2 oz butter
1/2 C/2 oz chopped almonds
1C/4 oz raisins, dried cranberries or a mix of the two
4 oz breadcrumbs (prepared as in sausage stuffing recipe)
grated rind of one orange
1 t allspice
2 T sherry
1 t brown sugar (optional)
salt & pepper


Soak the apricots overnight.  Try to get preservative-free apricots - they will look harder and darker and perhaps less appealing, but have much better taste (and no preservatives, of course).  After soaking, drain  them and chop finely
Fry the onions gently in the butter, and transfer to large bowl.
Add the dry ingredients except the sugar.  If you're using dried cranberries, which are sweetened, don't add the sugar, otherwise add according to personal taste.  Then add just enough sherry to moisten the mix. If it's too wet, you just have mushy stuffing.


Options: orange juice instead of sherry; different spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and star anise are all nice  possibilities); some chopped dates or prunes instead of some of the apricots...pecans instead of almonds...like with all stuffing, play with the proportions - feel free to add more bread if it's too densely fruit-y, or more liquid if it's too dry.  If you want to experiment with changes, just don't make it too complicated - too many flavors or ingredients can overwhelm your senses!


Enjoy your turkey!

12 November 2009

ADIEUX TO APPLES

Another snowstorm is headed towards Colorado (the 6th snow of the winter, here in mid-November).   To be fair, it was 70 degrees today...the fun of Colorado fall.  In any case, early frosts mean that apple season is truly over.  I can't resist another post, using the last of my local Honeycrisps.  They are slightly wrinkled, but still sweet and great for baking.  


I love apples...


I've carried around my favorite apple cake recipe with me since I was a teenager.  It's named after my grandfather, although I have no memories of him ever baking.  I've modified and updated this recipe over the years.  It's simple and delicious.


KAPPY'S APPLE CAKE


1 C    sugar
1/2 C oil
3        eggs
1 t      vanilla


2C      whole wheat pastry flour
2t       cinnamon
2t       baking soda
1t       baking powder
1/2 t   salt


4    C diced apples
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1/2 C raisins


2 loaf tins, or 1 tube pan, greased and floured.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Beat eggs, oil and sugar together with a whisk until frothy.  Lots of beating!
Sift all the dry ingredients together.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture.
Mix in apples, nuts and raisins.
Pour into tins
Bake: 40 minutes for loaf tins, 1 hour for the tube tin


GLUTEN FREE APPLE CRISP


I invented this for my many friends who eat gluten-free.  The extra nuts make it very rich.  It is perhaps more delicious than the original! 


5-6 apples (1 1/2 lbs)
1 orange (rind and juice)
2 T brown sugar (optional)


1 1/2 C (2 oz)  rolled oats
1/2 C    (2 oz)  oat flour
1 C       (5 oz) almond flour 
1 1/4 C (2 oz) organic cane sugar
8T/1 stick (4 oz) butter
1 t                    cinnamon
1 t                    ginger
3/4 C    (3 oz) chopped almonds


Preheat the oven to 375 (350 convection)


Crumble:


Mix together the oats, oat flour, almond flour, sugar and spices.  If you don't have almond flour, take 5 oz of almonds and process them to a course flour in a food processor.  Rub in the butter, then add the chopped nuts. (see the 'normal' recipe, in the previous apple blog entry, for technique details).  The nut flour makes the mixture a little difficult to work - if it gets too sticky, put it in the fridge for about fifteen minutes - the ingredients, when cold, are easier to mix.  After mixing, keep the crumble cold while you prepare the apples.


Apples:  Slice the apples thinly, mix them with the orange juice and rind. Add the sugar if the apples are tart.  Pile into a small baking dish.  


Pour the crumble evenly over the apples.  Don't press the mixture down. This recipe makes a lot of crumble - if you have too much, just put it in a bag in the freezer for later use.   Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the apples are soft and the crumble is brown.