Thanksgiving Turkey: It's in the Bag
Winter cooking is a challenge. The variety of ingredients to choose from is limited, and one can't simply rely on the freshness of the produce itself to carry a dish, so you're forced to be creative. We have to think of multiple ways to serve squash and find ourselves scouring the few remaining booths at the farmers markets, hoping to discover some new type of root vegetable we haven't cooked before. It's a great time of year for those seeking cook a challenge. But for the less adventurous culinarians out there, don't throw in the towel yet! Thanksgiving will surely provide a break from any cooking ruts you've found yourself in.
It's the time of year to dust off all the food-splattered and water-stained family recipes and carry on the tradition. Thanksgiving is the one time of year when we aren't permitted to deviate from the standard. When it comes to holiday cooking, creativity and innovation are generally frowned upon. Thanksgiving is a holiday full of memories, both good and bad, and most of us look forward to it. The dishes are very traditional and the recipes have often been handed down for generations. Even when making such a seemingly small change as switching from canned cranberry sauce to cranberry sauce made from scratch, one must be prepared to meet resistance and not be surprised if the dish is a complete miss. Fully understanding that food is an aspect of an individual's life in which one isn't likely to be open to change, we are proposing it anyway.
A turkey simply can't taste its best when it's cooked whole. It doesn't matter whether you brine, rub, or deep-fry it. If we could cook an entire cow in an oven we wouldn't do it, though we would be intrigued by the possibility. Breasts and legs need to be treated differently, you can quote us on that. We propose that you break down the bird before you cook it. Remove the breast and leg meat from the rest of the body, which can be used for stock, and cook them separately. Sous vide cooking is a great option that can easily be adapted to the home kitchen without purchasing any expensive equipment. Yes, this all sounds a bit crazy, but if you're still with us perhaps you'll be willing to view the video featuring Alinea's Grant Achatz demonstrating the method. Check it out, it's sacrilicious.
Filed in Food and tagged Thanksgiving, turkey