Four students tame the fearsome turkey, using their tutor's tried and true method: brining, trussing, basting and roasting.
By JANET K. KEELER, Times Staff Writer
Published November 16, 2005
[Times photos: Scott Keeler]
Wishbone U. students Myra Mistler, left, Christy Mistler, Gloria O'Keefe and Carrie Kirkpatrick sample the gravy they made under the direction of Dawn Sullivan, a former catering manager.
Christy Mistler, left, and Gloria O'Keefe prepare the onions and apples that will go into the turkey's cavity.
TARPON SPRINGS - If you don't think roasting a turkey frightens the heck out of some people, read Gloria O'Keefe's pitiful tale.
"I'm 49 and I have never made a turkey, unless you count the time I bought one of those from-freezer-to-oven birds that tasted like cardboard. I don't know how to make one, and I am terrified of ever having to take on such a project."
Yes, the star of Thanksgiving can be a hard-to-handle diva. Even days after Thanksgiving, the big bird is showing off in soups, salads and pot pies.
Look out, though. If the diva doesn't live up to expectations, family and so-called friends will be whispering behind its back - and yours - until next year.
That's what O'Keefe and three other Wishbone University students want to avoid this Thanksgiving. They were so concerned about not serving dry, tasteless turkey that they shared their insecurities with Taste editors. We, in turn, introduced them to Dawn Sullivan, home cook extraordinaire, who spent a recent evening in her home schooling them in the art of turkey and gravy.
Joining O'Keefe were Myra Mistler and daughter Christy, who is newly engaged and will host her future in-laws and her own family for Thanksgiving dinner, and Carrie Kirkpatrick, just married and just determined to roast the perfect bird this year. O'Keefe also wants to entertain new family; her daughter is recently engaged.
Sullivan is the kind of cook who makes everything look easy, and that's because she is a make-ahead queen. She tells us that many of her techniques are "just stupid-simple" and asks us not to comment when we see that she alphabetizes her spices.
"Okay, nobody laugh," Sullivan says, quickly closing the cabinet.
Laugh? We're in awe. She swears the folks at Williams-Sonoma know her by name.
"One thing about the bird, girls," she says. "There is something in the neck cavity and the body cavity. Take it all out."
A small tip, but very important. Sullivan has plenty of them.
There are many ways to roast a turkey, and each one is a keeper - for someone. The trick is to perfect a method and stick with it. For Sullivan, the path to a burnished, flavorful turkey is brining. Plus, she's a baster, using a mop made of fresh herbs to swab the bird with a roasted garlic-oil mixture every 30 minutes. To make the herb brush, wrap sage, rosemary and thyme sprigs around a skewer or chopstick and secure with kitchen twine.
"Once you've done the bird and everybody is oohing and aahing, you'll wonder what all the fuss is about," she says.
And gravy? Make it a couple of days before Thanksgiving, she recommends. No need to wrestle with the lumps and turkey drippings just before dinner. That's hot, sweaty work and stresses out novice cooks.
More turkey tips from Sullivan:
- Buy a fresh turkey. Frozen ones are less flavorful. Fresh turkeys should be roasted within two days of purchase, so don't buy them earlier than the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Most grocery stores stock them, and you can order one from a meat market. Figure on 1 to 11/2 pounds per person, depending on whether you want leftovers.
- Remove the aforementioned innards, rinse the turkey inside and out and pat dry. "Just like a baby."
- Stuff the main cavity with sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary and sage. (At this point, the students make like Simon and Garfunkel, singing "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.") To the herbs, Sullivan adds orange peel, a quartered onion and apple. She doesn't stuff the bird with a bread mixture, but not because of the health warnings about cross-contamination.
"Stuffing draws moisture from the bird. It makes the bird dry and the stuffing moist," she says. She doesn't like either.
- Brining a turkey keeps it moist and flavors the mild meat. She uses large brining bags from Williams-Sonoma because it can be difficult to find a pot big enough for submerging the turkey. Brining bags look like heavy-duty clear trash bags. She likes the Williams-Sonoma turkey brining mixture but also has her own recipe, which accompanies this story.
- It is important to truss the bird with kitchen twine to bring its wings close to the body, otherwise they will burn and dry out. "If you keep the turkey nice and tight, it'll cook evenly," Sullivan says.
- If you have time before Thanksgiving, practice brining, trussing and roasting a chicken. The principles are the same.
- Buy a meat thermometer and use it. To gauge internal temperature, push the thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, without touching bone. Dark meat is done at 180 degrees. That's what the food safety folks say. Sullivan suggests a lower point, about 170. The turkey continues to cook after it's out of the oven, raising the internal temperature.
- Be prepared, she warns, for the turkey to be done sooner than you expect. Don't panic; it needs to rest for at least 20 minutes so that the juices draw back into the meat. It can sit longer and will stay hot; tent loosely with foil.
Turkey's best friend, gravy, is problematic. "Lumpage," as Sullivan calls it, is one of the biggest issues, though pesky lumps can easily be strained out. Another issue is the drippings, the basis for many a messed-up gravy.
Turkeys have become leaner over the years, and they don't always give off a lot of natural juices, especially fresh birds. If you baste, the drippings are often mostly butter or oil, which can make the gravy greasy. Sullivan has developed a delicious gravy that can be made in advance. If you want to add the turkey drippings, after the fat has been skimmed off, go ahead.
Sullivan throws out advice faster than her students can scribble it down, writing in the margins of her helpful handout sheets. Tell us that again, they say.
Has she saved Carrie Kirkpatrick from ordering one of those "Instant Thanksgiving Dinners" that the grocery stores prepare?
We'll know in a week. Until then, there's time to practice on that chicken.
INSTRUCTOR: Dawn Sullivan, 43, Tarpon Springs, former catering manager and mother of six, including two sets of twins.
STUDENTS: Carrie Kirkpatrick, 31, Tampa, studying for elementary education degree at Unversity of South Florida.
Gloria O'Keefe, 49, Tarpon Springs, retired mortgage banker, mother of two children, 23 and 12.
Myra Mistler, 52, Palm Harbor, a nurse, and daughter Christy Mistler, 24, Tampa, a pharmaceutical sales rep.
Brined and Roasted Turkey
Brine:
1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
11/2 cups sugar
4 ounces cracked black pepper
Turkey:
1 12- to 14-pound fresh turkey
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch each rosemary, sage and thyme, divided use
Peel from 1 orange
1 medium onion, quartered
1 apple, cored and quartered
1 tablespoon Williams-Sonoma turkey herbs or poultry seasoning
8 large sage leaves
For basting:
1 stick light butter, melted
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon roasted garlic (see *)
Herb brush (optional):
Wooden skewer or chopstick
To prepare brine: Bring all ingredients to a boil in large pot then simmer 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
To prepare turkey: Remove contents in main and neck cavities, reserve for other uses if desired. Rinse turkey with cool water. Place bird in cooled brine, fully covered, for 12 to 24 hours in refrigerator.
Remove from brine and rinse turkey, inside and out, with cool water and pat dry.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a rack in a roasting pan and coat with nonstick spray.
Place 2 sprigs each of thyme, rosemary and sage into the main cavity with orange peel, onion and apple. Next, loosen the skin on the breast by gently pushing a spatula between the skin and flesh. Place 8 sage leaves between the skin and flesh, four on each side.
To truss the bird: Lay it on its back, breast side up, with the legs toward you. Lay kitchen string under the turkey and wrap once around wings. Pull toward you, around the legs, and tie at the end of legs.
To make herb brush: Secure sage, rosemary and thyme sprigs to wooden skewer or chopstick with kitchen string. (This step is optional. You can use a conventional basting brush.)
Melt butter and mix with olive oil. Stir in garlic. Brush the turkey with butter-oil-garlic mixture and sprinkle with turkey herbs (or poultry seasoning), salt and pepper. (Set aside rest of garlic mixture for basting.)
Roast, uncovered and breast side up, 30 to 35 minutes; reduce heat to 325 degrees and baste with garlic mixture. Cover with lid or aluminum foil. Cook about 2 to 3 hours more, basting every half-hour until thermometer reads 170 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh. If turkey is not adequately browned, remove lid for last 30 minutes. Let rest at least 20 minutes before serving. Serves 12 to 14, with some left over.
* To roast garlic, cut about 1/4 inch off the pointed sides of two heads of garlic. Pour olive oil over the open end and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a garlic baker or heavy-duty aluminum foil wrapped tight, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Let cool, remove the soft garlic and store in air-tight container for use later.
Source - Dawn Sullivan.
Make-Ahead Pan Gravy
3 tablespoons butter or light butter with canola oil
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 tablespoon roasted or unroasted chopped garlic
1 tablespoon each roughly chopped fresh sage, rosemary, thyme and parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet, if desired
1/2 cup flour
1 cup water
Turkey drippings skimmed of fat, if desired
1/2 cup chicken stock or white wine for deglazing if using drippings
Saute celery, onions and carrots in a pan with butter on medium heat until clear and tender. Add herbs and garlic and saute another 2 minutes; add salt, pepper, chicken stock and simmer 15 minutes. Strain and discard vegetables and herbs. Add Kitchen Bouquet, if using. Return stock to pan.
In separate bowl, whisk flour with water until all lumps disappear. Add to strained herb stock. Cook over medium heat, stirring until thick and smooth. If gravy is watery, make more flour-water and add in small amounts until desired thickness is reached.
Gravy is done at this point and can be cooled and frozen or refrigerated. If you want to add turkey drippings, thaw (if necessary) and reheat gravy.
When turkey is done, remove from the pan and deglaze it with 1/2 cup chicken stock or white wine, and scrape brown bits up from the pan over medium heat. Strain and skim off fat then add to gravy. Makes about 7 cups.
