For a moment, I thought I might be walking into a PDQ Bach celebration, with the soundtrack from his oratorio Angus Dei. But mint jelly doesn't usually go along with beef.
One comment above reminds me of a remark in one of Orwell's essays on his time in Burma, in which he says that the haunches of the local antelope variant as they sprang away fairly whispered "mint sauce" to him.
Just a couple of comments on the "brine v. basting" controversy:
(1) If you're in the Midwest outside of a major metropolitan area and not looking for a 19lb+ bird, you're probably stuck with a pre-injected one, even among so-called "fresh" turkeys, unless you spend the time and money to find an organic supplier. If the bird is pre-injected, do not brine it; your real spices, etc. will clash with the artificial stuff in the injections, and probably make for a waterlogged bird that takes an extra 10 minutes per pound to boot.
(2) Light olive oil for basting (or under the skin), rather than butter: This avoids both kosher/kashrut issues and problems with getting "browning" just from the milkfat solids while leaving a greasy residue behind.
(3) In any event, remember that basting only influences the outer 2cm or so of meat. (Remember, the fascia is not a one-way osmotic membrane!) That's why it works so much better for chickens and ducks than for turkeys.
Ah, the goofy things one learns cooking in a restaurant. Three other things to be aware of:
(1) Subtract 30 minutes for a bird over 10 pounds if you have allowed it to come to room temperature before putting it in the oven. This is the best way to do it, so long as you do it carefully (that is, you let it barely warm up, then stuff it and throw it right in the oven--if, that is, you're stuffing it at all). If you let it go the "full" time, you'll get overcooked breastmeat.
(2) If you're especially concerned about getting "perfect magazine-cover brown skin," pull the bird out about half an hour before you would otherwise, quickly remove any stuffing from the main body cavity, and throw the bird back in at about 425 after basting it with a 50/50 mix of oil or butter and wine. Watch it carefully, and the instant the bird is just slightly lighter in color than you want pull it from the oven and allow it to rest for a good 20 minutes.
(3) If the bird was not injected with "x% of a solution for juiciness," slip about 1 tsp of light olive oil (maybe with a little dried thyme and/or rosemary in it) under the skin on each side of the breast before putting it in the oven. Most people who complain that "natural" birds taste better but are too dry forget that the "directions" we're used to are not intended for "natural" birds, which need a bit more attention to sealing the breastmeat early on. A turkey's skin is too loose to keep the juices from seeping out through the fascia; the oil tightens the fascia and also helps trap water-based juices. (One doesn't usually have this problem with chickens, geese, and ducks, because the skin is tighter.)
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| 2005 | 2 |
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