For many years now, Thanksgiving has been a big deal at the Roediger House. The glory of it is the power of combination: food and fellowship. I like trying to work up some magic in the kitchen, when I can, and this house can be a marvelous gathering spot for good friends enjoying good times together. Perhaps the 2021 Thanksgiving was more special as a contrast to the troubled fall of 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic raged and left us all sequestered and hunkered down. Last year's quiet Thanksgiving occurred still in a stance of gratefulness but in the quiet of an unpopulated table. Interestingly, the 2019 affair was also a variation from the norm, given the absence that year of the most regular cast of characters thanks to the pull of their own families elsewhere.
The piled-high plates on my mother's wedding china included pretty incredible roasted whole turkey, which I am clueless about artfully carving:
Apple and bacon stuffing, based on my college chum David Venable's recipe:
The layered green bean casserole recipe from my sister Allison, although I mix it all together instead of attractively layering it:
Saving me a spot in the oven is the slow-cooker version of sweet potato casserole that I might love just a little too much:
And I must say: this year's golden roasted turkey gravy was especially spot on:
Its tastiness might be due to the extra steps I took to create a savory homemade turkey stock from the giblets and neck and backbone of the turkey:
Backbone, you say? Yep: that's because I tried something new with the turkey...spatchcocking it:
...that led to a garlic-and-buttermilk brine for 48 hours. But boy howdy did it roast perfectly, all juicy and flavorful and awesome:
So, as Thanksgiving celebrations go, I will lament the treasured few who were not at the table this year while feeling enormously grateful for those who were, and for the terrific outcome of the kitchen labors that left us with happy and full bellies when the evening meal concluded.
Buttermilk-Brined Spatchcocked Whole Turkey based on:
- "Want to Make a Wonderful Flavorful Roast Turkey? Brine It in Dairy," by Nik Sharma. Features "Golden Garlic Roast Turkey" and "Golden Turkey Gravy." Published in This Is a Cook Letter, 20 November 2021.
- "Samin Rosnat's Show-Stopping Buttermilk-Brined Turkey Breast Recipe," by Samin Rosnat in GoodFood: Autralia's Home of the Hats. [Published 30 November 2020]
- "Crisp-Skinned Spatchcocked Roast Turkey with Gravy," from J. Kenji López-Alt, former Culinary Director and current Culinary Consultant of SeriousEats.com. [Updated 21 October 2020]
- "This Thanksgiving, Let Science Help You Roast a Tastier Turkey," by Maria Godoy. From National Public Radio's Short Wave. [Published 21 November 2021]
"Layered Green Bean Casserole," from my sister Allison in Rossville, Indiana.
"Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping," from Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook, (Oxmoor House, 2006), p. 234-235.
"Cornbread Stuffing with Apples and Bacon," from David Venable. Found online.
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