Twas the Eve Before Thanksgiving
It’s Wednesday, “erev Thanksgiving”. I’m in the process of spatchcocking a 6 kg. turkey and preparing to brine it in a sealed bag for the next 18 hours. And of couirse, things are not going hunky-dory: The baking bag I’m using is so thin that it pierces upon minimal contact with one of my fingernails. Then, brine starts spilling on the floor. I could go on from there. But I won’t.
What I do want to do with this piece is perhaps jumpstart a list of wisdoms regarding this holiday, things that, if aggregated, might have some value. So please, go ahead, add your own insights. Here’s my modest list:
Turkeys are bigger than you think. No, really. You know that old salt: Measure twice, cut once. Same with Turkeys. I was expecting that brining a spatchcocked turkey would take up a lot less room in my fridge. Which is true. But it is still like trying to place an elephant into a VW Beetle.
Cutting the backbone of a Turkey in order to spatchcock it, is kinda like file chiseling your way out of a maximum security prison. Sounds pretty easy and straightforward. Not. But the so-called detritus makes for an amazing poultry broth/stock.
Most pies you probably are considering for Thanksgiving have significant moist content. Which means you probably should blind bake the crust first. Be prepared, however, that the look of the crust post blind bake will rival any surrealist painting out there. That may be a good thing in a museum of modern art, but not so desirable to place on the dinner table. So: be prepared.
If you blind bake a crust, be prepared to get creative with how best to make it all look really amazing despite the dipsy-doodles of the crust (see above). Meringue is a fail-safe way to turn ugly into wow.
Blanche any veggie that is remotely green.
OK: your turn. And wishing you a wonderful holiday, wherever you are.
