boatingonthehudson.com HOLIDAY 2013
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boatingonthehudson.com
Holiday Issue 2012
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bottom; it is easier to whisk the gravy
that way. I double them up for strength.
You should support the bottom too; a
baking sheet works nicely. You will need
3, 1 for marinating and 2 for the cook-
ing. (Tripling isn’t such a bad idea either,
since you have ‘em ya know.)
If you have a roasting rack, use it. If
you don’t, try this trick; carrots, celery
and onion cut into large pieces at the
bottom of the pan for the bird to rest on.
Not only will it flavor the bird but it also
adds to the pan juices for the gravy.
Do not stuff your bird!!!!! I know there
are a million years of nostalgia here but
trust me; your bird will cook faster and
more thoroughly with nothing in the
cavity. Besides, haven’t you heard about
bacteria breeding grounds????
No basting!! Another tradition
debunked. Basting only re-wets the skin
making it more difficult to crisp up again.
Once in the oven, juicy comes from the
inside out, not the other way around.
And don’t forget, opening the oven really
screws with your temperature.
For the Marinade
Combine in a large bowl………
4 Cups white wine (1 bottle)
4 Onions - chopped
1 Cup Soy Sauce
1 Large bunch fresh Sage – roughly
chopped
1 Large bunch fresh Thyme – roughly
chopped
1 Cup Magic Oil (Sub Veggie Oil)
2 Large lemons – juiced and peel cut
up
Place bird in a disposable roasting pan,
breast side up. Take the giblets and the
neck and put them in a zip baggie for
later use, keep ‘em in the fridge. Discard
the liver, unless you enjoy it; I fry it up in a
pan with bacon fat right then and there.
Pour the marinade over the top of the
Turkey and refrigerate overnight. In the
morning, turn the bird over, breast side
down. Repeat this process for two days.
Here’s a few creative tricks to help you
turn the bird. Now that I’m in food ser-
vice, I have an abundant supply of dis-
posable gloves, but before that, I used
small zip baggies on the drumsticks and
left them there throughout the whole
marinating time. Another good one was
wrapping the ends of the drumsticks in
plastic wrap. Wednesday night before
Thanksgiving, remove the bird, throw
away the marinade, discard ANY hangers
on, use paper towels to lightly pat the bird
dry, put it back in the now rinsed dispos-
able pan and let it air dry in the refrigera-
tor over night.
Roasting the Bird
Use your smartphone to scan this code
to see our video on how it’s done!
Take your bird out of the fridge and pre-
heat your oven to 500°. Yes, I did say 500°
– MAKE SURE YOUR OVEN IS CLEAN OR
YOUWILL GET SOMEVERY FUNKY SMELLS.
Thanksgiving is not the night to spend
dealing with small fires in your oven.
Remember that zip baggie with the
neck and giblets in it? Go get it. Put them
in a saucepan, cover with lots of water,
and throw in an onion, celery and a carrot
or two. Let it simmer on the stove while
the bird is cooking. You will need 4 cups
of liquid when you are finished. It is ok to
add water if the liquid gets too cooked
down.
Place the bird in the disposable roasting
pan on a roasting rack (or use the veggie
trick).
Take a large piece of heavy-duty tin foil
and fold it in half into a triangle. You are
making a breastplate for the bird so form
it to the shape and set it aside for later.
Lightly coat the bird with Magic Oil
(sub with veggie or pure olive, not extra
virgin.)
Put the uncovered bird in the 500° oven
for 25 minutes.
After 25minutes, take the bird out, cover
the breast with the already formed foil
breastplate, place the meat thermometer
in the thickest part of the thigh – make
sure it is not touching any bone- and set
it to 175°. (Between the thigh and the
wing is the best place) If you are partial to
breast meat, penetrate the thermometer
right through the foil, into the thickest
part of the breast. Set it for 165°
Put the bird back in the oven.
Reduce oven temperature to 375°
DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR until the ther-
mometer beeps! When it does, double
check by first waiting at least five to ten
minutes, then inserting the probe into the
breast meat, 165 - 170 is your goal temper-
ature for juicy whitemeat. This means that
your bird is officially no longer dangerous
to eat. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean
that it’s ready for you to eat. I have found
that I like my bird cooked just a little past
that. That’s why reheating works out so
well. The reason it is important for you to
wait the resting period before removing
the probe, or re-inserting it for that matter
is that the turkey, like most meat, requires
a resting time to literally redistribute the
juices. Also, the internal temperature
rises after coming out of the oven for at
least five to temminutes. Fifteen minutes
is my safe time, anything sooner and I end
up with dry meat and a platter full of juice.
That’s also why no pricking during cook-
ing. You want the skin to tighten around
the meat and seal in all the juices. If you
wait the correct amount of time to check
it or to cut into it, you will be left with an
incredible juicy bird.
I always make my turkey first so that
it is finished (achieved non-dangerous
temperature) long before dinner. I put it
back into a 475° oven right before dinner
is served, to warm it through and crisp up
the skin a little more. I have not dried out
my meat yet.
Yummy Home
Made Gravy
There is nothing better than home-
made gravy, especially when it’s this easy.
Remove turkey and any veggies from the
pan, leaving all of the pan juices. If you
are squeamish about fat, remove some of
it. I don’t.
You will need:
6 Tbs. flour
4 Cups giblet broth
1 Tsp. kosher salt
1 whisk
Gravy Master (Just a splash for color –
read the bottle)
Place the roasting pan on top of the
stove, removing the Turkey obviously,
and scrape well, over med-high heat. I
like using a strong wooden spoon. You
want all those little baked on bits to come
up, whisk in the flour for 2-3 minutes. You
want the flour to cook until it’s a caramel
colored brown. Add the giblet broth,
whisking the whole time. Bring it to a
brief boil, lower and simmer for 5 more
minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve imme-
diately with Stove Top Stuffing and can-
shaped cranberry sauce!
Enjoy!
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