Doug loves turkey. To me it's a big, troublesome chicken. This year, before the holiday in various classes I prepared 5 whole turkeys and 4 turkey breasts. This was a light year and nonetheless, the reason for my prejudice. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, a pizza sounds good.
Usually, there are two turkeys to grace our dining table of six. Doug and the kids love turkey and need to be assured of many leftovers. This year Doug, King of Turkey, deigned there would be three. Not all at the table, silly. One was an appetizer.
Many years ago, Doug received a turkey fryer, unfortunately, he's never fried a turkey. It's been used many times to boil lobsters but never once to fry a turkey. The inaugural turkey? Bacon stuffed with a light dusting of Wingman.
Into the oil....
It was a tiny bird. Gone by noon. Clearly we all love deep fried turkey and highly recommend stuffing it with bacon.
Did I mention the side? Stove Top Croquettes? Stuffing Hush Puppies? Call them what you will they were yummy, and a lovely pre-turkey bite to accompany the pre-turkey turkey.
For years, Doug has smoked a turkey for the holiday and no one smokes a better bird. It's perfectly smoky and very juicy. He's a pro.
You don't get color like that from the oven.
Since you can't make really good gravy unless you roast a bird, the third bird was prepared more traditionally - by me. A dry brine (aka-brine for over-done cooks) and compound butter with herbes de Provence under the skin. In the last half hour of roasting I brushed on a glaze of reduced five apple cider concentrate infused with more herbes de Provence. Lovely drippings. Doug's favorite gravy.
It was a delicious day. I wish I had taken a picture of Doug on the sofa after the meal. A video might have been better.
Maybe I should have called it the Tryptophan Trilogy.
2 comments:
What a fun day it was. I learned again that most times the things that you put off because you are uncertain or afraid to take that step into the unknown (deep frying turkey)typically turn out to be far less daunting in reality. The turkey went off without and hitch and was rather simple, just be smart and not a problem. The smoked turkey was the best I have done so far and I was incredibly proud of how nice and brown it looked, almost good enough for a magazine spread and the roasted turkey and drippings for gravy was delicious. Hours and Hours of prep, thought and hard work for a meal that lasted less than 30 minutes. To me this is not a problem, I think the fun of Thanksgiving is not in sitting down and eating the meal as much as it is in the time you spend together preparing, talking and laughing with your loved ones.....
Wow. I love Anonymous!
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