Turkey and Stuffing / Dressing Part2
- Dec, 21 2010
- By Shawn
- Simple Seasonal
- No comments
A few days ago I started a post about turkey and dressing. A subject that comes to mind in late October or November either dreaded or relished for its deliciousness and then remerges in mid-December. Well it is now mid-December and everybody is thinking turkey, I know you have questions so lets try and clear up a few. What kind of turkey, fresh or frozen? If I buy frozen how do I thaw the bird? Should the turkey be organic, free range, or conventionally raised? What’s the difference? Finally, how do I cook my turkey, covered or not, breast up or down?
Turkeys are natural to the Americas, one of the few domesticated animals from this continent, joined by the Alpaca, and the Guinea pig of South America. The turkey has a place of honour in American celebrations both North and South. While Thanksgiving is the traditional feast so closely associated with the turkey, Christmas is definitely a close second. The turkey rose in prominence as a Christmas feast after the publication of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carole in 1843. A prominent scene and a turning point in the change of heart experienced by Scrooge was a gift of a roast turkey for the family feast towards the end of the story. The story of Scrooge and his rehabilitation helped propel the turkey as the meat of choice for sharing at a large celebratory feast with friends and family at Christmas.
The turkey from its humble beginnings as a forest bound bird has changed dramatically so that todays domesticated bird barely resembles the wild turkey still found in many pockets of North and South America. Today’s birds have been bred to form large breasts in response to the publics demand for a greater portion of white meat over dark. Turkeys are often labeled ‘young’ which designates the bird to be less than 24 weeks or 6 months old. Turkey is and can be raised using several methods, the conventionally raised turkey, organic, free range and pasture or naturally raised are 4 classifications you may find in stores.
Conventionally raised birds are in fact a recent ‘inovation’ using the rules for mass production turkeys are bred in large numbers, packed densly into large vented barns and fed on a constant cycle for very rapid growth. A conventionally raised turkey can be ready for market in as little as 14 up to 24 weeks. Packed so densely in barns without sunshine and often with tainted feed and water, disease in these situations can be a problem. Using a low dose of antibiotics to fight the prevalence of disease led growers to realize that a little antibiotic can in fact speed the growth of a turkey. Not all growers use antibiotics in these sub therapeutic levels and is a question you should definitely ask your butcher or meat manager about.
Free range is the second method for raising turkeys. In free range birds the turkey is raised in the same fashion as the conventional bird, with the addition of bird gates in the barn providing access to an outdoor yard or ‘range’. The theory is that providing the turkey access to an outdoor range allows the turkeys better living conditions, more space to move, fresh air and sunshine. The practice does not quite live up to the theory. Again the turkeys are densely packed into raising barns, and growers are of course naturally cautious about introducing disease to their flocks. Young birds are susceptible to disease as there immune systems are still week in the first few weeks of life. To prevent disease the flocks are confined and the range doors left closed for the first 12 weeks. The doors are then opened but of course the habists of the birds are formed and few if any are brave enough to venture outside. Free range like there conventional counter parts are brought to market in as little as 14-24 weeks.
Organic turkey is raised following ‘Organic” principles as codified by the USDA and other world government organizations. Organic in the case of turkeys will guarantee the birds are antibiotic free, and fed on a diet of grains produced using ‘Organic’ methods. In this case it means the grains are grown using natural fertilizers, and soil additives, without chemical or traditional manufactured herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Organic does not guarantee a better quality bird or prove it is raised in a safer or more humane way but does ensure less antibiotics and fewer chemicals are used to raise the bird.
Finally in response to consumer demand a fourth category has arisen in the last decade; Pasture or naturally raised turkey. The last method is in fact a return to older traditional methods of farming, used for thousands of years before the rise of today’s factory farms. Turkeys are not kept in barns but may still be confined in moveable structures called a poultry tractor. A tractor; if used has an open bottom and poultry netting around the sides, the device holds a small number of turkeys and are moved daily. This daily move provides the turkey with fresh grasses and seeds, insects, constant fresh air and sunshine, better exercise and prevents a build-up of disease. Pasture raised turkeys are by far the superior bird, with firmer flesh, more complex flavours and a more humane growing method.
So now we know the categories what about fresh versus frozen. Fresh turkeys are harder to find, and cost more due to the logistics of growth demanded by planning for a specific to market date. Are they better than frozen? A frozen turkey can and often is frozen for as much as two years before it is sold to the public. As freezing prevents the meat from spoiling it does not prevent enzymes in the flesh from breaking down the muscle fibres. The enzymes, not slowed by the sub-zero temperatures will attack and break down the tissues, resulting in a loose and watery meat, that dries out quicker when cooked. Not all frozen turkeys have been sitting for two or more years but few producers put a frozen on date on the packaging so we can never be sure how long it has been sitting around.
If you buy a frozen turkey be sure to plan ahead, give yourself at least 24 hours to thaw the bird…in the cooler. Never thaw a turkey on the counter; it will start to rot on the outside while the inside is still frozen. Ok so you need your frozen turkey thawed in a few hours; grab a large pot or pail that will hold the turkey completely submerged. Place it in a sink under a slow trickle of water. The current of slow water will pull the cold from the bird quickly and thaw the meat in a matter of a few hours. Again do not use warm or hot water, use cold to prevent the spoiling of the outside before the inside is thawed.
So now we have decided on the type of turkey, next comes the easy part…but that will have to wait until tomorrow. My turkey needs basting.
Turkey and Stuffing / Dressing
- Dec, 15 2010
- By Shawn
- Simple Seasonal
- No comments
So here we are just a week and a half before Christmas. So many of you are getting apprehensive about cooking for a small (or large) crowd of friends and family. What kind of turkey should you buy, should it be organic, free range, fresh or frozen? Does it matter that it says young or not? What temperature and, how long to cook it. Do you stuff the turkey or serve dressing, whats the difference between the two.
Ok well I understand that these are all pertinent questions, and the more aspects of turkey selection you look at the more complex the whole idea becomes. So lets take them one at a time and then decide what is important and what is not.
First let me just say that no matter if you cook a turkey well or cook it poorly it just doesnt matter. What matters is the social gathering, surrounded by friends and family, people that you love and who love you. The food is certainly a great excuse to gather, to celebrate, but in the end it is the gathering and celebrating that is truly of value. So please dont fret if the turkey is a little over done or under seasoned. The best seasoning is great company.
So first lets tackle the stuffing / dressing and reserve the whole of the next post just to turkey. Stuffing and dressing are essentially one and the same, the difference is in well, whether you stuff it in the turkey or not. I recommend dressing, cooked in a casserole dish rather than stuffing. Cooking a turkey has its own complications that need not be further complicated by densly packing it full of bread and seasonings. The risk is in overcooking the turkey, which stuffed is (almost) guaranteed or in under cooking the stuffing now full of raw turkey drippings. Trying to keep the turkey breast moist yet fully cooked, and cook the stuffing fully is difficult at best, and impossible at worst. So for those reasons alone I recommend dressing over stuffing.
Dressing comes in so many styles, variations and guises it at times no longer resembles dressing. At its most basic dressing uses stale bread, turkey or chicken stock, fresh or dried herbs and a few other flavourings such as celery or mushrooms. We can always add further to this most basic of dishes with the addition of walnuts or chestnuts, cranberries and even cheese.
Lets start with the basics, using stale bread versus fresh bread. The bread is the platform or foundation for building flavour, it works as the scaffolding to hold everything else together so why use stale, isnt fresh always better. Sure it is when talking about vegetables, meats and poultry, fresh bread from the oven slathered in creamery butter is a true delight. But it is the water content in fresh bread that inhibits the addition of flavours to the dressing. Chefs worldwide understand that water has little flavour and so reduce all thier stocks, and sauces, dry thier meats and poultry and reduce water content whenever possible. It is the loss of water that makes stale bread desirable, besides what else are you going to do with all that old bread that accumulates. The second step is to toast your stale bread, not only does this reduce the water content even further but develops beautiful caramelized flavours by browning the bread a little, delicious.
The second layer of flavour comes from the stock. Once again stock is made from water, and suspended solids that give it flavour. Reducing the water content intensifies the flavour making it rich and decadent, perfect for a truly sumptious dressing. When reducing stock all the flavours are intensified so start with a well made stock, without to much salt. Some decent premade products are available but look for the ones made from real products not fillers and additives, and please the top ingredients should not be salt or yeast extract ( a salt substitute).
Next come the flavourings, start with a great base, finely chop onion, carrot, and celery, sauteed till soft in a little butter. To this add further dimension such as button or shitake mushrooms, dried cranberries and walnuts, lightly toasted for deeper intensity, (toasting removes water and caramelizes the sugars and protiens). Finish with fresh or dried herbs, the classics are thyme and sage but use your imagination and have fun with the dish.
Combine the toasted stale bread with the flavourings then add the stock, only enough to moisten everything, you dont want it soggy. Remeber that you can add more stock but once added you cant take it back out. Press this mixture into a buttered casserole dish let it rest a little to totally hydrate the mixture, then bake with the turkey for about 45 minutes. I have included a decadent recipe based on a savoury bread pudding, using the basics for making a dressing the addition of eggs and cream makes this a truly sumptious delight.
Decadent Holiday Dressing
500 g Bread, stale, cubed
30 g Butter
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
2 stalks celery
100 g Shitake mushrooms
100 g walnuts
1 bunch Thyme
1 bunch Sage
100 g Cranberries, dried
300 ml Stock, chicken
50 g Blue cheese
250 ml cream, 10% or higher
2 yolks
Spread the cubed bread on a tray and toast at 350* until lightly golden, set aside.
In a separate bowl combine the yolks and cream.
Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery and sauté in butter slowly until just soft, add the mushrooms, cook a few minutes then add the walnuts. Add the cranberries, herbs and stock and reduce the liquids by 1/3. Take off the heat and strain the liquids slowly into the egg and cream mixture so as not to cook the yolks. (This is called tempering the yolks)
Crumble in the blue cheese with the flavourings and bread then pour the strained stock, egg and cream mixture over top. Let it sit at this point for at least a half hour or in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking.
Bake for about 45 minutes at 325* and again let sit a few minutes before serving.
Next we tackle the turkey…stay tuned and as always
Eat well