Wild Firebrand

This post will be a long one my loves, but seriously, the turkey served at Thanksgiving isn’t any more complicated than anything else — it just has a LOT of steps. But, YOU can customize ANY of the steps along the way to meet your own tastes. It’s your bird. Here’s how I prepared it this year….but it changes every year so don’t be intimidated – it’s just a bird. Make sure it’s defrosted — this takes days…so plan ahead.

On the day before you plan to roast it — start with salt. Salt is a symbol of purity, hospitality, and good luck — it also brings abundance and prosperity to a home – so it’s only fitting that the annual tradition of giving thanks for your abundance starts with salt. Salt. This is 3 cups of kosher salt for a 15lb turkey.

Then add a bunch of leaves and seeds. Choose the measurements that work for you — 2 tablespoons, half a tablespoon, dash, or heavy hand — whatever you like. This is a fun time to help the little ones toss stuff into a pot and be in the kitchen. Use fun names for your leaves and seeds if you want to add some drama to the ‘boil, boil, toil, and trouble’ part of stirring the pot.
Usually, I use bay leaves, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, mixed pepper pods, thyme leaves, crushed garlic cloves, and….

Broth. Boil those things in a pot until the salt dissolves. THEN — LET IT COOL!! Do NOT put that hot water mixture anywhere near your bird. Go out to eat; Take a shower; Hang out in a hot tub; go to the springs; watch a movie; take a nap; entertain a girl/boy friend; whatever. Let it cool!

Slice an onion and 3 or 4 oranges — fresh slices fennel if you have any — apples too. Crush some garlic with a knife. Whatever aromatics you like.

Take out any giblets stored inside your birds cavities — check the neck, too! Then, put your DEFROSTED turkey into *something* you can drown it in. Over the years, we ‘ve used a trash bag, big bowl, cooler, etc. I have found that the BIG ORANGE drinking coolers that sport’s teams use is the most effective, but you do you, boo.

Put that turkey in a vessel. Pour the COOLED liquid over it, and add the sliced onion, oranges, apples, and garlic. Add fresh herbs — rosemary, sage, and thyme — the poultry mix of herbs…and more garlic. Then, add a bottle of dry Riesling — doesn’t matter the brand — just dry Riesling. AND top it all off with Apple Juice until the bird is covered.

Dead birds float. So, you’ll need something to hold it down. See how its sticking out – we use a bowl of ice to hold it down and keep the bird cold overnight to prevent nasty bacteria. Works well!

THEN — let is brine, let it brine, don’t look/touch any more – Let it brine, OVERNIGHT! Turn away and leave it alone! I don’t care what others say — let the bird alone — the wet cold is best for it anyway! (If you didn’t sing that, I’m dissapointed….)

The next morning….

Take the bird out of the brine — and pat it dry. Get all the water out of its nooks and crannies. Inside, outside, the pits, and cavities. Pat it dry and let it rest. It roasts better closer to room temperature so let it come up from the icy bath it spent the night in.

Then, preheat the oven to 325.

Yes, we have tried all the ways — and encourage you to experiment too — but, every time, I come back to 325F degrees. Once you preheat the oven (because depending on what time you plan to eat, these steps may be the first things you are doing very early in the morning), consume some caffeine. Get your brain engaged, and start cutting up the stuff you’re going to put inside the birds cavities.

More oranges, apples, garlic, herbs, and BUTTER sticks — whole sticks!!!

Shove it all inside. Bend em if you have to, but put the butter, herbs, and a handful of garlic cloves inside that bird with quartered oranges, and apples too.

Stuff a half orange in the end to hold everything in and keep it in place with some toothpicks. Now, let’s dress the breast.

Squeeze a lemon over the skin. Squeeze an orange over the skin. Rub a stick of butter over the skin. Sprinkle with thyme and rosemary. Don’t be shy. Rub that breast!

Shove more herbs, more garlic, and another stick of butter in it’s neck. And, here comes the controversial, rebel part of this recipe…

Flip the bird….onto the breast you just rubbed. So, it’s belly down….

Treat the back like the front — squeeze lemon, and an orange, rub with butter, and sprinkle with thyme and rosemary sprigs.

ADD BROTH to the pan. With garlic, oranges, apples, and onion, peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel — whatever you want, but make sure there is liquid in that pan!

Put it BREAST DOWN in the oven at 325F — and roast it for all but 30 min of the roasting time. (Roasting time is 13m/lb of an unstuffed bird — this one was 15lb so total cooking time was 3 to 3/5 hours — so I roasted it breast down for 2.5 hours.)

The beautiful part of roasting it breast down is that you don’t have to baste it.

After 2.5 hours, your dad flips it for me and I put more herbs, acid (fresh squeezed orange and lemon), and added butter sticks — I’ve never done this before, not sure why I did this time?!?! Blame the ADHD???

After a half hour, I checked the temp and it was 155 so I decided to ‘crisp’ up the skin by turning the broiler on for 5 min.

SO BEAUTIFUL — now, my darlings, you will want to carve it immediately, but resist the urge – it needs a 20-30 minute nap to rest and reabsorb all that melty liquid so….leave it alone and focus on the gravy while you put the sides and rolls in the oven for 30 minutes.

Pour this juicy mess into a bowl or big measuring cup or something. Then, scrape the tasty bits on the side and add them to your gravy pot.

Pour a jar of pre-made gravy from the store — yes, we are totally taking a short cut and starting with something basic that we add stuff to that makes it amazing — pour that jar (or 2/3) in a pot and add these tasty bits. Scrape all around the roasting pan to get as much of that gummy flavor you can from that brown fond!!

Then use the juicy mess liquid you have in that bowl and pour some of it (as much as fits) into a gravy separator. Pour the bottom half into the pot with the fond and the jarred gravy. (Do that again until all of your pan drippings are separated and used.) Add a gravy package to that mix and whisk it all together.

Most of the time, I add mushrooms too, but this time I used them all in the stuffing…

Heat to boil while stirring and then serve HOT.

By now, your turkey should be rested. The sides should be ready to pull from the oven. Your dad should carve the turkey and be ready to sit down, say thanks, and eat.

Every year, I am grateful that we can spend this week together — talking, laughing, skiing, snowboarding, hot springing, eating, fighting, playing board games, making inappropriate jokes on jackbox, and enjoying the dream your dad and I had years ago about a family that gets along over the holidays.

Remember, there is always room for you at any table I’m sitting at. I love you all so much — never forget that YOU are what I’m most grateful for…

Gobble. Gobble. With love, Your Momma