Dry Brined Thanksgiving Turkey

This year the task of roasting the Thanksgiving Turkey has been delegate to us. For the past 7 years we have shared Thanksgiving Dinner at the home of our dear friends with about 50 other Americans Canadians, Europeans and Ticos (Costa Rican). We have always contributed to the feast with side dishes. This year finds our friends in the middle of the construction of their new home, without an oven, so we will be preparing the turkey.

Since I haven't cooked the bird in several years, I decided to research techniques for getting a juicy turkey with crispy skin, and opted for a dry brine method 24 hours before roasting. Rounding up the traditional herbs required some effort, but a friend of ours came through for us with some fresh sage from his garden. I dried the sage leaves in the oven at 210°F. for about 5 hours, until the leave crumbled between my fingers. Then I put all the dried leaves in my spice grinder to come up with the best fresh rubbed sage ever.

Dry Brine Ingredients: (for 18-20 pound turkey)
10 sprigs basil
6 sprigs rosemary
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons rubbed sage
1 tablespoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
½ cup salt
3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
Brine:
Use a food processor to mince the basil, rosemary, garlic and lemon zest.
Mix the remaining ingredients in a medium size bowl.
Add the minced herbs to the bowl of dry.
Rinse the turkey with cold water and pat it dry, inside and out.
Rub the dry brine mixture all over the turkey, inside, outside, and into every little crevice.
Let rest, uncovered, in the refrigerator 24-36 hours.

Roasting:
Put the oven rack in the lowest position and preheat oven to 325°F
Rinse the brine off the turkey and pat it dry.
Mix two stick of softened butter, with a tablespoon each of parsley, sage, rosemary, 1 teaspoon of coarse ground pepper until combined.
Reserve about 4 tablespoons of the butter.
Rub the rest of the butter mixture under the turkey skin on the breasts and legs.
Rub 2 tablespoons of the reserved butter on the skin.
Save the rest of the butter mixture for gravy.
Let the turkey rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting.
Put the turkey breast-side up on a rack in a large roasting pan lined with several stocks of celery, tucking the wing tips under.
Fill the breast cavity with sprigs of fresh rosemary, thick slices of lemon, and a quartered onion.
Tie the drumsticks together with twine.
Roast until the skin is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165°F, about 20 minutes per pound.
Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 30 minutes before carving.

Cranberry Relish

This is a wonderful accompaniment for turkey or pork roast. It can be made up to 5 days in advance for a dinner party. Just keep it chilled in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

• 20-24 ounces of fresh/frozen cranberries (or a 12-ounce package of fresh cranberries + 3 cups dried cranberries)
• 2 large oranges (not navel)
• 1 cup of raw sugar (more or less to taste)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 ounces (or more) of Triple Sec, or other orange liquor
• 1 cup chopped pecan pieces

Directions:

• Using a zester or grater, remove all the zest from the orange, being careful to not get any of the pith. Set aside 
• Peel the orange removing all the pith, stem, membrane, and seeds from each of the wedges.
• This is called Supreming and there are many YouTube videos that show how to do it. Here's one. Supreming an Orange
• Dice the orange pulp wedges and add them to the saucepan with any of the remaining juice.
• If using frozen cranberries, let them thaw first.
• Rinse the fresh/frozen cranberries and discard any bad berries
• Using a meat grinder on the coarsest setting, grind all the cranberries. If you don't have a meat grinder, you can use a food processor on the pulse mode just until the fruit is coarsely chopped. You don't want to turn it into a paste. 
• Add the cranberries to the oranges in the saucepan, add ½ the sugar and all the remaining ingredients. 
• Bring the mixture to boil, lower the heat and simmer on medium/low for about 30 minutes
• Stir to blend and taste. If it is too tart, add more sugar to your liking.
• Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Note: If you make this a few days in advance it may be a little dry when ready to serve. You can add about ¼ cup of orange juice, or cranberry juice, to moisten it before serving.

Chorizo w/Pork & Turkey

This is a recipe for Chorizo we developed that is lower in fat than standard recipes. We like our Chorizo hot and spicy. If you want a milder version, just cut back on the cayenne pepper. It will still be delicious...

Ingredients for 15 Lbs.

• 5 tablespoons coarse ground sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups of white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons smoked hot paprika
• 2 tablespoons smoked sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon annatto powder or achiote
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 5 1/2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 6 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oregano
• 3 tablespoons black coarse pepper
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 12 lbs boned pork butts
• 3 lbs lean ground turkey

20 - 1 3/8" (35 MM) natural or collagen casings

Grinding and Mixing:

In a medium mixing bowl, blend all the garlic herbs & spices with the water and vinegar and set it aside. Grind all the pork buts through a 3/8" grinding place into a large mixing tub. Mix in the ground turkey. Pour in all of seasonings and mix until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Stuff into casings. Hang sausage on smoke-sticks or drying racks and let it dry overnight.

Baked Penne Pasta with Italian Turkey Sausage, Zucchini & Mushrooms

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
  
• 1/2 (16-ounce) package penne pasta
• 1 pound Italian Turkey sausage
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 1 cup yellow sweet peppers diced
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 2 cups fresh Roma tomatoes diced
  
• 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons concentrated tomato paste
  
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms chopped
• 2 cups zucchini squash cut in 2-3 inch shoestrings
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat with a tablespoon of canola oil and 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. It should be a little less than al dente; it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain it and set it aside.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the Italian Turkey sausage without the casing and saute until browned. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Add the onion and peppers to the skillet and saute until slightly tender, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the fresh and canned tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, red wine, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Bring it to a boil, then simmer on low for about 30 minutes. Add the mushroom and zucchini and cook an additional 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add the penne pasta to the prepared baking pan. Pour the tomato sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and lightly browned , about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Yield: 8 Servings