Gary's Turkey and Stuffing (and Gravy and Broth)

Whole turkeys are great for meals throughout the year. Dishes that can be made from leftovers are often better than the bird itself. Yet cooking an entire turkey is terribly inefficient . Even cooking and less drying out can be accomplished much more easily with a cut up bird. However, tradition dictates we present the whole tom in all its glory at holidays, even though slicing and serving a whole bird is also more difficult.

Add to this traditional inefficiency the problem of stuffing. Everyone loves stuffing and it tastes best when cooked inside the turkey. But too much stuffing can not be jammed into the bird cavity or it will not cook well and will impede the cooking of the turkey itself. Plus, no matter how big the turkey, the stuffing that fits inside can not possibly feed all the relations there to enjoy it.

Through trial and error throughout the years I have developed the methods below, methods that can be adapted to your own cooking situation. A real benefit to whole bird roasting is the part most people throw away: the carcass can be used to easily make homemade turkey broth.



Buying.

Of course, Beattys always buy turkeys on sale. You can get some great buys before Thanksgiving. If you have a freezer that can handle it, stock up on turkey for year 'round dinners.

Butterball turkeys are pre-brined, if you want to skip the brining step below.

Before thawing, make sure your turkey, roasting pan and rack FIT in your oven. You may have to return it for a smaller bird.



Thawing.

Do not wait until the last minute to thaw your turkey. It must be thawed completely to cook through.

Refrigerator thawing over several days is best (One day of thawing for every four pounds of turkey). If you are short on time, you can put the bird, still wrapped, in cold water in your clean sink. Allow 30 minutes per pound for a whole turkey. Do NOT thaw a turkey at room temperature, unless you want to invite bacteria to the holidays.



Brining.

Used to be, cooks opened the stove to baste their turkeys. They'd scoop up juices with a large spoon to pour over the breast. Trouble is, that lets the heat out of the stove and, for clumsy people like me, can be dangerous. Today, we brine our turkeys.

Brands like Butterball are pre-brined, that is why they come through so juicy. You can achieve the same results brining your less expensive, store brand turkey. I've seen many recipes for brine, but the only recipe, in my experience, that contributes to the flavor of the bird is below.

1 gallon vegetable and/or chicken broth
1 cup kosher salt (Doesn't break down as quickly as processed salt)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns

Bring to a boil together in a big stock pot, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge.

Remove giblets from the turkey cavity and save in your refrigerator. In a big, clean bucket (I bought a plastic pail from Gordon's Food Service I use ONLY for brining. Do NOT use a used pail. Chemicals from whatever was in it before will contaminate your food.) pour the brine mixture. Put your thawed bird in head first (Or, missing head first, I guess). Fill up with iced water. Seal the lid and refrigerate for six to eight hours.

No one has a 'fridge that will accommodate this bucket, of course. I hope for cold weather and keep the sealed bucket in my garage overnight. The iced water keeps it cold. All this worry about bacteria makes me consider vegetarianism.

After brining, remove the bird, dry the outside with a clean cloth and discard the brine (Do not cook with anything that has been in contact with raw meat. Vegetarianism anyone?)



Cooking.

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F.

Make your stuffing (More on stuffing later). It also works to simply put aromatics in your bird: onions, carrots, rosemary stalks, sage stalks, apple slices, etc. Remember the problem mentioned earlier about the stuffing in the bird tasting best? Why not just throw some onions in the cavity when the bird cooks and make the stuffing afterward using the onions, broth made with the giblets and other aromatics? Details under "stuffing" below.

Stuff your turkey loosely. Arrange in a big roasting pan, on a rack, breast side up. Tuck the wing tips underneath and the leg ends together. Some cooks tie everything tight with kitchen twine.

Rub the bird with vegetable oil. Salt and pepper.

Form a piece of aluminum foil over the breast, from front to back. Press it down to form it, then lift it off and set aside. This will be used in 30 minutes.

Place the roasting pan in the middle of your oven. Roast the bird at 500 degrees for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove pan and place your aluminum foil tent over the breast (Don't burn yourself). Put the bird back in the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees.

Cook for 10 minutes a pound. Remember to include the 30 minutes at 500 degrees in your total. Don't trust a timer, they can screw up during important occasions. I tape a piece of paper above the oven with the time written on it.

While the turkey is roasting, brown the rinsed giblets in a little oil in a large saucepan. Fill with water and boil for about an hour. This will provide you with a tasty broth to use with some store-bought chicken broth for the gravy. Chop up the solids fine to use in the stuffing.

When time is up, remove turkey from oven. Use a meat thermometer to be sure the internal temperature reaches 161 degrees. Move the turkey to a cutting board and cover with a clean cloth to keep the heat in.

Now you make your gravy and, maybe, your stuffing.



Stuffing.

Store-bought stuffing mixes, when you're going through this much trouble to cook the bird, is no sin. Here's now to add that in-the-bird flavor.

Cook according to package directions, substituting chicken broth for water.

Remove your aromatics from inside the bird, discard any herb stalks, and chop small to put in the stuffing. Careful, these will be hot.

Add your cooked, chopped up giblets from above.



Gravy.

You start this in the turkey pan with the drippings and move everything to a large saucepan to thicken.

3 cups giblet broth from above and chicken broth
2/3 cup red wine (Never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink)
plus 1/3 cup red wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. fresh herbs, like oregano, thyme or rosemary
Salt and pepper

Leave the drippings from the turkey in the pan and place the roasting pan over medium heat.

Add the broth and 2/3 cup wine and whisk to combine, scraping the bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes to reduce slightly.

Tip the pan, removing fat from the top with a spoon and placing a few tablespoons worth of fat into a large saucepan (Everything will transfer to this large saucepan soon). Heat the liquid to return to bubbly.

Mix cold the flour and 1/3 cup red wine. You can put them in a container and shake them if needed. You want a mixture free of lumps.

Turn the heat to medium under the large saucepan. Add the flour mixture to the large saucepan and whisk to combine. Cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture starts to thicken and become smooth. If you don't cook the flour first, your gravy can taste flour-y.

Turn the heat under the large saucepan to high. Add the bubbly liquid from the roasting pan to this saucepan a little at a time and whisk to combine. (It is OK to not use all the drippings from the turkey pan if they don't fit. Save it to boil into the turkey broth.)

Your gravy should be slightly thin in the pan because it will thicken once you serve it. Whisk in the herbs. Season with salt and pepper.



Turkey Broth.

Once everything is eaten and everyone is fat and happy, you probably don't want to think about cooking. No worries, turkey broth couldn't be simpler. After you strip your turkey of meat for leftovers, put the carcass, bones and all, into a stock pot, pour in water, and boil for an hour or two. Drain off the solids and you have an excellent broth for cooking or to use as-is for soup. It keeps in the refrigerator for one to two weeks, or you can freeze portions of it in tightly-sealed freezer bags.



This blog has been typed from scrawled notes and memory, and will be revised more through the years, I am sure. Once you are comfortable with the steps involved you will want to develop your own methods. For the very best way to cook poultry, see my upcoming blog entitled Sauteed Chicken. Quick, easy and flavorful, Sauteed Chicken will make you wonder why anyone goes through the trouble to cook an entire bird at once!

Gary's Turkey White Chili

About three times a year I’ll cook a turkey. After a couple turkey dinners I’m scrambling for ways to use the leftovers. This chili will keep in the fridge for many days.

Several handfuls of leftover turkey, chopped
2 - 14 1/2 oz. cans of Chicken Broth
2 - 15 oz. cans white kidney beans, well drained
4 tblsp. minced garlic
2 tblsp. chili powder
4 tblsp. minced onion
1 pint half and half
A pinch of salt, several of pepper
1 green pepper, chopped
Optional: 1 cup chunky salsa (will turn chili pink)

Combine everything but the green pepper and boil gently in a large pot, uncovered, 1 hour, stirring often to avoid burning on the bottom. It should reduce by half. When you’re done, toss in the green pepper for color and some crunch.

Basic Beef Roast

Can't Get Much More Basic than This.
Preheat the oven to 400°.

Dry a beef rib eye roast so it will brown. Salt and pepper.

Sear it on all sides in a couple tablespoons of oil, in a dutch oven or heavy, oven-safe pot.

Cover the pot well and put in 400° oven about 15 minutes a pound, until a meat thermometer reads 130° internal temperature.

Make gravy from drippings.


A Little More Complicated
Italian Style Roast

Preheat the oven to 300°.

1 boneless beef chuck eye roast, 3-4 lbs., tied
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 lb. mushrooms, quartered
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz.) plus juice
2 tsp. sugar
1 cup red wine
1 large head of garlic, paper removed, halved
thyme

Dry a beef rib eye roast so it will brown. Salt and pepper.


Sear it on all sides in a couple tablespoons of oil, in a dutch oven or heavy, oven-safe pot. Remove.

Over medium heat, add onion, celery, mushrooms, tomato paste and cook about 8 minutes.

Add diced tomatoes, sugar, 1/2 cup wine, garlic and thyme. Return roast and juices to pot, bring to a simmer on medium high heat.


Cover the pot well and put in 300° oven about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, until fork tender. Flip over after one hour.

Remove roast and let rest out of oven 15 minutes.

Skim fat in pan off the top of the drippings with spoon. Remove garlic, mash into paste and return to pot. Add wine. Boil to thicken, 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve sauce with roast.

Snowy Day Stew

Guaranteed to Disappear.
I generally don't care for messy recipes, but this one is too good to pass up. Note to lazy cooks: this one involves several steps and requires careful watching.

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 lbs. stewing beef
4 tbsp. canola oil
4 cans beef broth (The cheaper kind is more salty)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 large onion, sliced
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. allspice
12 small carrots, trimmed and scrubbed
12 small white onions, trimmed
8 small potatoes, peeled

Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a large bag or container. Add the beef cubes and shake to cover.

This is the hard part. Melt the oil over a high heat in a heavy-bottomed pot with a cover. Don't burn. Add the beef, several pieces at a time so they're not crowded. Give them a couple of minutes per side to brown and brown on all sides. Don't burn. Be careful for splattered oil, it hurts. Bad.

When all the meat is browned, return all meat to the pot and pour in the broth. Stand back, it will sputter. Stir and add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, onion, bay leaves and allspice.

Lower the heat and simmer on low for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or even longer. Stir occasionally and keep that heat down so the stuff on the bottom doesn't burn. This is like chili, you can keep boiling it down as long as you want, as long as it doesn't burn on the bottom.

When it's cooked down to a rich, gravy looking broth, add the carrots, onions and potatoes and cook another 20 to 25 minutes. Serve with an exotic bread.