What did I cook this weekend.....

[Robert65]

Turkey day at my house this year. I’m thinking about roast spatchcock turkey. Maybe doing a brine but I’m on the fence with that. I‘ve never spatchcocked a turkey but have always liked the result with whole chicken on the grill and think it should help even out cooking. I don’t stuff the bird so I’m not missing anything there.

See, that's what I'm talking about. Somebody who knows how to cook and can anticipate and avoid the pitfalls of roasting a whole turkey. How about spatchcocked on a bed of mirepoix, and you're well on the way to some gravy and dressing?

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

I feel bad for getting a chuckle out of this. Sorry for your loss, but dang looks like you made out well in replacing it. Beautiful. Did you have the old weber silver genesis? (i think that is what they were called). I have one I got on craiglist, its amazing. My evil plan is rebuilding it when the time comes(cause I wont splash out on a new one).

Following the egg nog recipe i thought of my buddy. His wife retired and is selling pampered chef. He wont stop talking about his blender. It heats up to make bechamel and hollandaise. But I thought of the egg nog reading how you made it. Kind of spendy, but I love egg nog and bechamel. I might have to look into it.

Don't worry I was busting my b@lls.

I think it was called a silver. I knew it was a Genesis 3 burner. That thing could crank up the heat. This new one has nice shiny stainless steel flavorizers down in the burner well. Man the smell of pure steak for the first use was awesome.

Since the surface area is greater it seems to diffuse the heat more. I bet it could cook a couple dozen burgers without an uneven burn. Maybe it was because it was so cold out last night but I don't think I could have burned the steak. The next model up has an extra burner to sear to really crank up the heat in one location.

I got lucky and this one is going out of production . Got it for $650 plus they assemble, deliver and dispose for free.

As for the eggnog I use the Bulleit non rye which u can get at a good price. The big kicker was the vanilla beans. You can use extract but I figured the sous vide would really extract flavor.

 

[davidabcd]

So in other words, in order to make turkey inedible it has to be injected with a ton of salt, sugar and other flavors? Sucks indeed

Still funny. Good laugh.

 

[passedpawn]

I like turkey. I'll be making two of them for Thanksgiving.

Yes, it's better covered with gravy and mashed potatoes. I'd say the gravy and potatoes are improved by the turkey Dark meat is far tastier, but I like the way the white meat can be slabbed like a steak. I'm equal opportunity I think.

Thanksgiving around my house wouldn't feel right without the turkey. It's a tradition around here - we're big on that kind of thing.

 

[davidabcd]

Dark meat is far tastier,

No truer words were ever spoken. Dark meat has a bad rep--witness how much cheaper it is.
Two more words: turkey sandwich.

 

[passedpawn]

No truer words were ever spoken. Dark meat has a bad rep--witness how much cheaper it is.
Two more words: turkey sandwich.

The turkey sammy with tons of Helmans mayo and black pepper and some lettuce. Oh man, that's just right for Friday afternoon.

 

[jimyson]

See, that's what I'm talking about. Somebody who knows how to cook and can anticipate and avoid the pitfalls of roasting a whole turkey. How about spatchcocked on a bed of mirepoix, and you're well on the way to some gravy and dressing?

I wouldn’t go as far as knows how to cook, but I’ve been around plenty of dry turkeys on thanksgiving. This year it’s my turn and I’m going to do everything that I can to have a good turkey.

I think the mirepoix would definitely add some necessary flavor and aroma. I think I’m just shy of a bigger roasting pan to handle a 19lb spatchcocked turkey.

 

[Robert65]

I wouldn’t go as far as knows how to cook, but I’ve been around plenty of dry turkeys on thanksgiving. This year it’s my turn and I’m going to do everything that I can to have a good turkey.

I think the mirepoix would definitely add some necessary flavor and aroma. I think I’m just shy of a bigger roasting pan to handle a 19lb spatchcocked turkey.

Sheet pan?

 

[jimyson]

Sheet pan?

Thought about that but concerned about juice and if there is an additional bed of something, the space would be further decreased.

 

[riceral]

The turkey sammy with tons of Helmans mayo and black pepper and some lettuce. Oh man, that's just right for Friday afternoon.

And a slice of tomato.

Possibly some cranberry sauce---the real stuff, not the canned crap.

 

[passedpawn]

Leftover turkey: Canned, with water and a little salt. I've opened after years, no problem. You can shred and use like canned tuna. You need a pressure canner (15psi).

 

[aharri1]

My wife turns 40 tomorrow so I made her a chocolate cake from scratch, with homemade buttercream icing using fresh strawberries in a wine reduction.

 

[brewbama]

My wife turns 40 tomorrow so I made her a chocolate cake from scratch, with homemade buttercream icing using fresh strawberries in a wine reduction. View attachment 654038

You’re a good man.

 

[schematix]

Dark meat is far tastier

Very true. Same goes with the superior tasting chicken too.

Unfortunately it's very difficult to get properly cooked dark meat while still having juicy white meat. Unless you cook them separately it's pretty much under-done dark meat or overcooked white meat.

 

[applescrap]

The giada turkey is nice as is high heat. I got the idea for cooking the turkey at 500 degrees from Americas test kitchen. They claimed to have cooked Turkey every which way but loose and the high heat won. I have to agree it is awesome (i dont like Turkey either, but tradition wise I do, well I do like left over Turkey sandwiches). But the high heat makes not burning the drippings hard and it smokes the house out. The breast must be covered with foil at some point, but it produces a turkey that glows a rich brown.

The giada turkey is butter and evoo mixed with herbs Provence and it is rubbed under skin and on top. Then inside it is stuffed with oranges and lemons, onion, fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme?, and oregano. I squish and muddle it in there and let it sit wrapped in fridge over night. Its legit if you like that kind of thing. The gravy is memorable with the citrus and fresh herbs. Fresh herbs are added below Turkey as it cooks.

The other staple in our house for special occasions is tyler florences green bean casserole. He makes it look easy to make, but it takes me longer. It is homemade croutons with italian bread, evoo, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme and parmesan cheese. Those are baked and set aside. Then a variety of mixed wild mushrooms are sauteed with shallots, more fresh herbs iirc and then cream added. Blanched green beans are put in dish. Cream wild mushrooms shallot mixture poured on, topped with homemade croutons and then more parmesan. It is really good and from experience better the next day. Kind of sad i am not cooking this year. Edit seems i was off on herbs and recipes a little, here are the recipes. Iirc this will mark my 4th year sharing this recipe, hope someone gives it a go. Btw i use more oil and butter then her recipe calls for.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/green-bean-casserole-recipe-1943501



https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes...-herbes-de-provence-and-citrus-recipe-1943593

 

[eric19312]

Turkey day at my house this year. I’m thinking about roast spatchcock turkey. Maybe doing a brine but I’m on the fence with that. I‘ve never spatchcocked a turkey but have always liked the result with whole chicken on the grill and think it should help even out cooking. I don’t stuff the bird so I’m not missing anything there.

Mound of stuffing on sheet pan and spatchcocked turkey on top. Be careful with amount of brine if you want the stuffing to be edible.

 

[TwistedGray]

Curried chicken with coconut rice and random sides.

 

[bob1852]

Moo shu chicken with fermented thai pepper hot sauce. The key to good moo shu is dried lily blossom and wood ear mushrooms!

 

[eric19312]

And a slice of tomato.

Possibly some cranberry sauce---the real stuff, not the canned crap.

Tomato? No way! Fresh tomato in November just doesn’t happen in my area and even if I got some hot house on the vine frankentomato it’s a summer taste...doesn’t belong.

Cranberry is always welcome on a turkey day leftovers sandwich though.

 

[Jezeari]

So far 100 gallons of gravy, 100 pounds of vegetarian stuffing, 100 pounds of sausage and chestnut stuffing, 16 gallons of cranberry sauce, 250 pounds of turkey breast... Tomorrow will be giant batches of Brussels sprouts, green beans, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese. Working large batch catering over the past three years is making me start to hate what used to be my favorite holiday.

Wow imma impressed mostly with the 100 gallons of gravy!!

 

[S-Met]

I could care less about turkey on Thanksgiving. But I usethe leftover white meat to make turkey laab or boiling the carcass forstock and make turkey&dumplings. Wife and I always get the dark meat too because of the weird dark meat stigma.

 

[S-Met]

Trial run for December dinner party:
Wild rice stuffed cornish game hen. Still working on the other courses. Trying the same thing next week but SV the hens then crisp in the oven.

 

[paulthenurse]

Cooked a nice eggplant parm today while the biblical flood raged outside.

Enjoyed it at halftime. It was the best part of that dumpster fire of a football game in Foxboro.

 

[Staestc]

Cooked a nice eggplant parm today while the biblical flood raged outside.
View attachment 654066View attachment 654067
Enjoyed it at halftime. It was the best part of that dumpster fire of a football game in Foxboro.

Lovely Paul!! Mouthwatering!

 

[bleme]

+1 to what Mike said about keeping the cabbage under the brine. Still taking a peek once in a while and removing anything resembling mold is a good practice. Was it in a warmish area? My last batch was in the crock about 8 weeks, not because it took so long, but that’s how long it was until I had the time to jar it up. Too much salt will slow or inhibit the fermentation too... I suppose you know that already.

When it was started, it was 100F+ so my house was running in the 80's. The last several weeks it's cooled way off so the house is 55-68F. It is probably over-salted as the recipe I used was very vague about the amount of salt - I think it said 1-3Tbps per cabbage and I went for the middle, 4 Tbsp for 2 cabbage.

 

[bleme]

My SIL and I have a friendly competition every Thanksgiving. She always "deep-pits" hers, then shreds with margarine. I always brine, roast and slice mine. Last year I smoked mine and thought it was the best bird yet. This year I am going to try a 3-day dry brine then smoke. Mine is always better but not everyone agrees...

I just realized I was going to try the baking soda trick this year, but I forgot

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

@bleme Yes, I think it is best practice to weigh the cabbage. I use 3 Tbs per 5 pounds of cabbage, and yes I know it would be even better to weigh the salt too.

 

[brewbama]

Frankfurter wurst und Pommes. Mit ein Dunkel.

 

[imasickboy]

Frankfurter wurst und Pommes. Mit ein Dunkel.

View attachment 654141

For someone on the keto diet, that plate is something most missed!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Chili