Another Cut of Turkey

Gretl · November 2005

We had our usual Thanksgiving with Jim's relatives near Boston. Sadly, no Egg. There were 20 of us, and Jim's brother did the prep work for the turkeys. He cut two big guys up the day before, and boned the thighs. He made excellent broth from the backbones, wingtips, and thigh bones. This was used for the gravy. We made a "simon and garfunkel" mixture with garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme chopped in a processor with butter and oil added to make a paste. The two breasts were done in a standard roasting pan (paste under and over the skin) and the other pieces were covered with the paste and placed on racks on foil-lined pans. This way we were able to get it all in the oven on two racks. We dusted all with flour, salt and pepper, and let 'em rip in a 350 oven. The pieces were done before the breasts, and these were kept foil-wrapped until the breasts finished. The result was very good; carving was easy (since it was needed on only the breasts) and the gravy was easily made from the dark meat drippings while the breasts were finishing. Now, of course, this could have been accomplished and tasted even BETTER on the Egg(s) which is why I'm posting. Think of it. Dark pieces on one Egg, breasts on another. Just another way of lookin' at Turkey Day.
Cheers,
G.

thirdeye · November 2005

<p />Gretl,[p]Geez, I thought I was the only one who does that. I do chickens like that also. Not only are they easier to handle, but I start the dark half before the white half so they finish the same.[p]If you like the seasoned flour, try using seasoned corn starch, it makes the skin even crispier. You can even poke holes through the skin (not touching the meat) to allow for more grease drainage.[p]Here are before and after pictures of some chicken thighs dusted with cornstarch. I used roasing temps of 375 or 400 (dome)[p][p][p]~thirdeye~

BigT · November 2005

thirdeye,[p]Damn, you got skills. [p]Nice knife work, and the cornstarch idea sounds interesting- piercing the skin too.[p]Big T[p]

J Appledog · November 2005

Cornstarch? Hmm....

Gretl · November 2005

thirdeye,
AWESOME pix. If it wasn't raining like Noah's flood today, I'd whomp up a mess o' thighs tonight. Today's not a BGE kind of day, but I can't wait to try the seasoned cornstarch. Thanks for the pix.
Cheers,
G.

egret · November 2005

thirdeye,
That looks fantastic! I'm a little confused, though, about the procedure. How do you season the cornstarch? And, with what? Do you make a butter/herb rub like Gretl did before sprinkling with cornstarch?

thirdeye · November 2005

egret,[p]I season the cornstarch with at least salt, but you can add a little white pepper or cayenne or garlic powder too. I have even used a rub first, then dusted with cornstarch. It only takes a few tablespoons of cornstarch as you are just dusting the skin. Thighs are good to experiment with since they are fattier.[p]Cornstarch is used in a lot of Oriental type frying so it kind of made sense to try it for roasting.[p]This goes for anyone trying this: Be sure and post any improvements!![p]~thirdeye~[p]

egret · November 2005

thirdeye,
Thank you for that. That is definitely on my 'to do soon' list (make that 'to do very soon' list). Any tips on how to 'dust' this thing. I assume this doesn't mean dredging. I'm sorry, thirdeye, for being a little slow......

thirdeye · November 2005

egret,[p]You're right, dredging would be too heavy (I guess). I just do a light roll and call it good.[p]~thirdeye~

Cornfed · November 2005

Gretl,[p]I really like this idea. I've been thinking along the same lines, except much wimpier. Specifically, I've now bought turkey parts 3 times in the last 2 weeks, and that's not including Thanksgiving. Twice I bought thighs and once breast cutlets. It was something about seeing it on FoodTV, and also just the whole idea of having something much more manageable to work with. I'm into searing everything then roasting until done for all meats these days (you could call it a TRex sans 20 minute roast via the use of two cookers or one cooker and the oven). That's how I did both the thighs and the breasts, and you get that nice turkey flavor with the added flavor from the browning sear, and you don't have to stumble around and dirty your kitchen with a huge bird.[p]Make no mistake, I also love stumbling around and dirtying my kitchen with a huge bird, but this is a nice change of pace.[p]I have the first of my free turkeys in my freezer right now. A wee 14 pounder whose fate I'm currently contemplating. I may just have to hack this guy up and do him in parts...[p]Later,
Cornfed

Another Cut of Turkey

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