How to prepare and roast a turkey with all the trimmings

Hi everyone, Quay Lo here. When it comes to making turkey for the holidays Quay Po surrenders her apron to me. She takes it back again when it comes to preparing the many other dishes we serve, especially the pies.

I’ll start with a promise. If you follow the recipes below you will make a perfect turkey, perfect gravy, and a perfect side dish called “dressing” not to be confused with “stuffing” which I will explain below.  In my family Thanksgiving and Christmas were crowned by the dinner at which the turkey was featured. It was highly anticipated and with all of the various recipes for ways to use the left overs we ate turkey for a week beyond the holidays as well. Those were my favorite two weeks of the year. The smell of sage and roasting bird in the house is enough to almost bring tears to my eyes (or was that the onions I’ve just chopped?)   

Let’s start with preparing the turkey. If you want a moist, savory roast turkey, marinating the whole bird in a brine solution for several hours before the roasting will provide the best results. Since most turkeys come frozen in the market, we’ll start about 3 days before the big event by placing the frozen turkey in the regular side of the refrigerator to allow it to thaw slowly. Another solution that will make more room in the fridge is to simply put the turkey in an ice chest, and cover with ice. This keeps big bird safely out of the way, as long as you don’t have a very clever dog.  

                    

The TURKEY

About 16 hours before you are ready to pop the bird in the oven, we are going to prep it with a soak in a brine solution. You will need a large, deep soup pot with a lid or a bucket that can be covered and is large enough for the whole bird plus the brine solution.

Brine Ingredients

• 12 cups water, divided
• 1 cup sea salt
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped candied ginger
• Herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme, 2 bay leafs) any mix ratios, up to one cup.
• Black pepper
• 6 cups ice or one block of ice

Instructions 10 -14 lb turkey

1. In a pot larger than the turkey simmer 6-8 cups of  water and add salt, sugar, and candied ginger. Stir until dissolved.
2. Stir in 6 cups cold water, 1 cup apple cider vinegar, herbs and 4-6 cups of ice cubes.
3. Remove giblets and neck from the thawed bird’s cavity. Rinse the outside and inside of the turkey under a cold faucet. Completely submerge the turkey in brine solution without the turkey rubbing the sides. Cover with a lid. Marinate for 12 hours for a small turkey (8-10 lbs), 16 hours for a 12 – 16 lb. and a full 24 hours for a bigger bird. You can wrap wet towels around the pot and keep it inside an air conditioned room as long as you replenish the ice before you sleep. Overnight it should be fine, just pack it full with ice before retiring and again in the morning.
4. Pre heat your oven to 165ᴼC (325ᴼF). Rinse turkey inside and out thoroughly. Pat dry with paper towels. Chop some herbs, (sage, rosemary, and thyme) and add them, and some black pepper, to a ½ cup of butter and rub every part of the turkey. The herbs and butter will eventually join the natural juices at the bottom of the baking pan and become the basis for your flavorful gravy. Place a whole orange or a lemon, halved, plus four stalks of celery halved, fresh herbs (not chopped), and 3 large carrots split length wise and halved, inside the cavity of the bird.
5. Place a rack inside a large roasting pan. Place the prepared bird on the rack, breast side up. Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast, taking care not to touch a bone. The thermometer should read 74ᴼC or 164ᴼ F to be done and still moist. (It will continue to cook a bit as it rests out of the oven and that is fine, it is in the calculation) A 12 pound turkey should take about 3 hours or a little over to reach the desired temperature. Be sure to monitor for surface doneness. Most often, the turkey will get a nice golden brown on the surface but still require some baking time. If your bird gets that lovely lacquered appearance, but still needs time, just baste it again then lay a piece of aluminum foil, with the shiny side out, on top and loosely formed over the bird, and let it continue until the temperature is reached.
6. Remove and discard the aromatics in the cavity, place the turkey on a platter and cover with aluminum foil (shiny side facing the bird this time) and allow it to rest for 30 minutes before carving. Do NOT discard the roasting pan drippings. While your bird rests, move on to make the gravy. You are going to perform wizardry with the pan drippings.

Notes:

Most stores sell heavy gage aluminum foil roasting pans during the holidays and they work just fine. Place the bird on a small rack set inside the pan.

Throughout the baking process, baste the turkey every twenty minutes or so, drawing from the juices collected in the pan. If the turkey gets a nice golden brown but the thermometer suggests there is still more baking time required, lay a sheet of aluminum foil, with the shiny side facing outward, over the turkey and continue baking until done. Be sure to monitor this closely as it can happen

We’ve had better luck with smaller birds in the 12 – 14 lb range. Much larger turkeys tend to be more tough and sinewy. If you need more meat,  just bake a second turkey the day before and warm up the pre-sliced meat in an oven or microwave before serving.

THE GRAVY

• 24 ounces chicken broth
• 8 ounces red wine
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon fresh herbs such as oregano, thyme or rosemary
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. After you remove the turkey from the roasting pan and set aside to rest, leave the drippings from the turkey in the pan and place the roasting pan over medium heat. If you’ve used a temporary aluminum foil pan transfer the contents into a large frying pan. Heat up the drippings, then transfer to a quart size, heat resistant measuring cup or a jar. Allow it to sit for 5 -8 minutes to allow the fat to separate and to rise to the top.
2. Return 2/3 cup of the fat to the roasting pan and place over medium-high heat. Skim any remaining fat from the pan drippings liquid and save while discarding the excess fat.
3. With the fat heated up in the pan, add the flour and whisk to combine into a roux. Cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture starts to thicken and becomes smooth and brown, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Once this happens, gradually add the reserved liquid back to the pan and whisk until smooth.
4. Add 1 cup of red wine and 3 cups of chicken stock, all at once. Whisk to combine, continuing to scrape the bottom of the pan until all of the bits have come loose and you have reached your desired consistency, approximately 5 to 6 minutes.
5. Season the finished gravy with salt and pepper but be sure to taste before that.

THE CORNBREAD, SAGE 

AND  SAUSAGE DRESSING

There are two terms used to describe this favorite side dish; “dressing” or “stuffing”. In general it is called stuffing if, in fact, you cook it inside the turkey’s chest and stomach cavity along with the turkey. The resulting combo can be delicious as the seasoning of both the bird and the stuffing co-mingle along with the roasting juices absorbed by the stuffing.  However, I don’t recommend this approach for a couple of reasons. One is that the pan juices are not going be as generous for gravy making because the stuffing absorbs much of it.  Secondly, it takes longer for the stuffing to reach a safe 165ᴼ. In the meantime, the turkey itself risks becoming considerably overdone.  That would be tragic in my humble opinion given all of the effort to brine the turkey for exactly the opposite. Besides, no one wants to try to eat a “tough old bird”. So let’s talk “dressing” which is named that simply because it is specifically designed to accompany and complement the turkey, carrying it savory notes into a carbohydrate side dish. (Not that we need one as typically there will be mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, and hot dinner rolls also served. I once heard it said that Thanksgiving and Christmas were holidays invented so that Americans could eat four or five kinds of starchy dishes at one meal.

So while I would concede that the following recipe may be easily sacrificed by families here in Asia, I must also stipulate that if I am cooking, I will make it every time. The fact is that two days later, when half a pan of dressing is in the fridge and you need something right then, the dressing will taste like it has transformed into something far more exquisite than you imagined.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cubed dry bread
• 3 cups cubed or crumbled cornbread
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1  cup chopped celery
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 6  tablespoons melted butter
• 500g pork sausage, crumbled
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2  eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon each dried sage and poultry seasoning
• ½  teaspoon seasoned salt

Note: Serves 8, double recipe if you are feeding more people and if you want some generous leftovers. Hint: You DO!

PREHEAT oven to 375°F (190ᴼC).

Directions:

1. Grease with butter or olive oil, a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. COMBINE bread and cornbread in large bowl, set aside.
3. COOK onion, celery, and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat until onion is softened. Add crumbled sausage; continue cooking, stirring frequently, until sausage is half done.
4. STIR sausage mixture into cornbread and bread bread cubes.
5. Stir in remaining ingredients; mix well.
6. BAKE 40 to 45 minutes until lightly browned.
7. If there is still some time to go to finish the baking and the top is already golden brown, just lay a piece of aluminum foil over the pan with the reflective side out.

Note: Sausage is a matter of taste and tradition. We’ve tried making our own by chopping a pound of pork shoulder and adding a bit of red cayenne pepper, 2 tbs of chopped sage, salt, and pepper. This carries the sage flavor profile all the way through the meal, which I am fond of. However, we have also tried purchased chorizo, removed from the skin, and cooked in the manner prescribed above. This gives the dish a definite spicy boost and works in contrast to the sage in the turkey which can be equally pleasant. Someday I want to try merguez sausage, the quite spicy lamb sausage thought to originate in Morocco.

Stop touchin' my balls

I saw this picture on my Quay Lo’s Facebook wall few days ago and here is his message:

“Speaking of the year of the Dragon, it looks like the little warrior Goku san from Dragon Ball fame had better watch out this year.”

But my message to him is this when he left a batch of delicious Swedish Wedding Balls that he made, on the kitchen table:

“Better beware of our little terror, Ranger, our cat. Quay Lo San, you better watch out that if you don’t hide your balls, you will lose them!” Haiyah, this doesn’t sound like a polite sentence but do I have any other better way to say it? LOL!

Ranger will touch anything and everything and make a mess just to satisfy his curiosity. Now, I truly understand why there is this phrase, "curiosity kills the cat". He is now four months older since the day we rescued him from the drain. He is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in our home. Why do I say that?  Oh yes, it is confirmed that he has split personality. When he is Dr. Jekyll, he wants all the attention you can give him but when he is Mr. Hyde, he will bite the hand that feeds him. He can make me love him to death one minute and get furious with him the next. Go figure! You will understand why I said that after you see his photos which was taken by me and edited by my Quay Lo.

So much about our little terror, and I am sure you are now wondering what the delicious balls look like and some might be interested to make them so here is my Mother-in-law's recipe that was passed down to my Quay Lo. 

Two of my blogger friends, Small Kucing and his family and Cleffairy and her son have tasted these delicious balls. In fact, her son finished them all before his Daddy had a chance to taste one. Then later, Small Kucing told me that they tasted them and they were delicious. I guess it is worth including these balls in your Chinese New Year’s cookie list. Since these balls have so many different names, how about add one more and we call these "Dragon balls" for the Year of the Dragon? There seems to be an open license to call them whatever we wish, to join labels like:

Mexican (or “Swedish” or“Danish”) Wedding Cookies or sometimes called “cakes” as in "Russian Wedding cake")

A Note from my Quay Lo:

"My Mom called these Swedish Wedding Cookies. I think it all depends on what you heard it called first which determines how you personally label these. Many variations exist. What is  clear is that it is a wide spread, basic recipe for an unleavened sweet that keeps well, and accompanies tea and/or coffee very well."


Added post pub: Wikipedia suggests these pastries are related to recipes that appeared as early as the 17th century for a pastry called "Jumble",  and were popular for their simplicity, taste, and the ability to store them for up to a year. Originating either in Italy or the Middle East the "cake" called for almonds instead of the pecans introduced in the Northern hemisphere. Other variations called for favoring with aniseed, carraway, rosewater, and other flavoring spices offering a large potential for experimentation. The common element in most of these recipes is the ratio of  shortening to flour, the use of nuts and/or nut flours, and the omission of leavening agents. Wikipedia also notes the variety of names under which the various recipes are found, and in particular, their appearance in wedding celebrations.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for coating baked cookies

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting hands

1 cup pecans, chopped into very small pieces

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at low speed until it is smooth. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed gradually add the flour. Mix in the pecans with a spatula. With floured hands, take out about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape into a crescent or roll in a ball. Continue to dust hands with flour as you make more cookies. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in additional confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks

I LOVE LUCY!

My Quay Lo made some rum balls and had used them as Christmas gifts for our close friends. They are also one of the desserts we served during Christmas day to friends and family. Everyone love it and there was not one ball left!  Yes, they were very delicious and addictive! So, instead of spending a fortune to buy a box of “GODIVA” chocolate as a gift, how about making rum balls yourself and give them as gift to your sweetheart this comingValentine? This will be a more valuable gift because it is something you made with love and money cannot buy. Furthermore, it will only cost you a fraction of what you pay for those outrageously expensive flowers or chocolates sold during Valentine's Day. This reminds me of an incident that happened during the early part of our marriage. My Quay Lo was on a long business trip to Bangkok and in order to break the long time separation, Quay Po a.k.a. Lucy went to join him for the weekend. On the day of her arrival, Quay Lo went and bought flowers to decorate the apartment and a big box of ‘GODIVA” chocolates to welcome her. So here comes Lucy walking into the apartment and she could see flowers everywhere in the apartment and a nicely wrapped gift on the center of the coffee table. That put a big smile on her face. Quay Lo asked her to sit down and relax. He even made her a cup of her favorite English Breakfast tea before handing her the gift that was on the coffee table. He asked her to open the gift and so she did while Quay Lo eagerly waited for a response from her. Are you curious to know what is the first thing that came out of her mouth when she tore off the gift wrap and saw the box of GODIVA Chocolate? Can you guess? I don't think so. LOL! No, not “Honey, how sweet and thoughtful of you, Thank You! MUAX! MUAX!” BUT being CHINESE and being LUCY she said, “Wah!! this chocolate is VERY EXPENSIVE wan!! How much ar?” LOL!  OOOPZZZ!! She immediately noticed the “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT” expression on Quay Lo’s face. HAIYAH, DIE! Lucy!!!, you just gave the wrong response and said the wrong thing!!


Usually when a friend gives Lucy a gift, she will not ask for the price but among  family members, she would because when she gives gifts to her family members, the price will be the first thing they ask sometimes even before saying thanks. After Quay Lo got over the culture shock, he told her that he almost dropped dead when he was asked for the price of the chocolate instead of the normal response that he was used to. He told Lucy that it is rude to ask for the price of a gift. Westerners will never do that even with family members. (Oh I see, said the blind man). 


When Quay Po did something stupid or embarrassing, she would love to blame it on LUCY!  I hope I did not confuse you on this story. I am sure my regular readers know that Quay Po is Lucy and Lucy is Quay Po. 


I love you, LUCY, please don't cease to exist so I will always have someone to blame. LOL!

Another suggestion. Since Chinese New Year is round the corner, Rum Balls are something different to offer other than the usual traditional Chinese New Year cookies. Look, don't you think they look attractive but don't you dare ask "How much ar?" LOL!

Rum Balls

(My Quay Lo's recipe)

Start with “day old” brownies (I use the Better Crocker brownie mix to make the brownies) that have been allowed to dry. Break apart in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with rum (or bourbon or brandy may also be used) and stir until a clingy dough is formed that is not too wet. (At this point you may add into the mix optional chopped nuts that have been toasted in a frying pan or low temp oven. You could also add finely chopped preserved fruit best of which would be cranberries, cherries, blueberries, or blackberries).

Note: If day-old brownies doesn’t work for you, try this recipe:

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (optional)

1/2 cup dark rum

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 1/2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers

Method:

Mix all of the above together and go to next step.

Place in fridge for at least 35 – 45 minutes. Remove and while still chilled roll spoonful’s in the palm of your hands until the size you want. Roll each ball on toppings of your choice. Chopped nuts (pistachio is excellent here) powdered sugar, decorative sugar, or dip in chocolate.

Place on a silicon padded or wax papered pan. Return to the fridge and allow the formed balls to return to a chill. Place in a covered cookie container and keep cool.