The Turkey Diaries
Thanksgiving at her family’s farm in Goldendale, WA is a tradition for GCB Cuisine Director Piper Davis. Surrounded by siblings and a mother who are all excellent cooks, Piper took charge of the turkey for last year’s Thanksgiving feast…
October 25th, 2009
From… Mark@Champoegfarms.com ..subject Thanksgiving Turkey. I didn’t hesitate. This year I’m going to cook the turkey! I quickly typed backed…I’d like a large turkey 20-25 pounds please, check’s in the mail.
Mark and Catherine from Champoeg Farms produce our pastured eggs and I’d been down to their farm in the early fall. In addition to the hundreds of happy hens I’d seen their batch of Thanksgiving turkeys trotting around on green grass. I knew one of these was the bird for our family who would number 18 for Thanksgiving.
Champoeg Farm turkey biding time...
Friday, November 20
Today I brought home my 27 pound bird. Frozen, because this big bird was fat and ready to eat weeks ago… I put in the fridge in my garage and then joined my esteemed colleagues from the Food and Farms program at Ecotrust for a gala dinner to benefit the Oregon Agribusiness Council. This close to Thanksgiving it wasn’t long before the conversation turned from food policy to turkey. Ericka Carlson (Marketing & Sales Manager Ecotrust Food & Farms) starts to tell us about her plans for the next day. She was headed down the valley to kill and pluck her own bird. We hardly had time to process what a culinary student she was before she asked, “So how would you guys cook it?”
Of course, I’m the first to offer my opinion. “I’m done with brining - it takes up so much room. I’d just salt and season my bird”.
Coincidentally, Dianne Morgan, author of The Thanksgiving Table and The New Thanksgiving Table, was seated to my left. A dedicated “briner”, Dianne thoughtfully and carefully explained the science behind brine and how easy and space efficient it is to brine turkey in a plastic oven roasting bag.
Saturday, November 21
I checked on my turkey first thing this morning and it was still frozen hard! So now it’s sitting on a sheet pan in the garage garage. Mulling over what Dianne said, I’m thinking about driving to Fred Meyer in search of a turkey bag.
Sunday, November 22
24 hours of defrosting at about 45 degrees and the turkey was still very frozen, so I brought it in from the garage and plopped it in the sink in the laundry room. As if expecting it to twitch, I saw David look at the turkey askance as he folded his stacks of t-shirts and Carhart work pants.
I never made it to Fred Meyer to buy a brining bag, so I cleaned out the cooler thinking I could use that. By evening my bird was defrosted and I moved it to the kitchen sink where I gave it a nice shower with the spray nozzle and patted it dry. The bird, by the way, was great to handle. Firm, absolutely no smell, very little fat and legs bigger than the breast!
I still have brine on the brain but don’t feel like facing Freddy’s on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. So I called my friend and colleague Laura Ohm whose opinion I trust in all matters of food. “Brine or rub, what should I do?”
“Just rub it with salt” she assured me. “A teaspoon per pound just like the Zuni Cafe chicken”.
I rubbed a little over a half a cup of salt and quarter cup of brown sugar inside and out of the bird along with sage and rosemary and cracked black pepper. Wrapped tightly in a plastic garbage bag I lugged it back into the fridge in the garage.
Monday, November 23
I’m usually pretty sure of myself in the kitchen but this magnificent bird has me fretting. What temp? How long? Covered? Butter, olive oil?
Tuesday, November 24
The Eastbank Farmer’s Market is Portland’s the last chance to buy farm direct produce before Thanksgiving. It was a lovely day to go to the market, the sun was out and so were many of Portland’s culinary superstars. People do come to shop but also talk and the chat was about Tastebud’s wood fired porchetta and, of course, turkey.
One well know local chef told us he was planning to break his bird down and grill it. Another planned on low, low heat for a long time while he made rounds visiting friends. Yet a third was going to roast her bird fast and hot to get it crispy.
When I got home I just had to take a look at my bird. I pulled off its plastic cloak and saw that the rub was completely absorbed. The meat had taken on a lightly cured look… all good signs.
Wednesday, November 25
We headed out the gorge to our family farm in Goldendale Washington. It was grey but the long evening light was lovely as always. When we arrive the refrigerator was packed, so we take advantage of the 40 degree weather to turn our garage into a walk-in fridge. I placed my bird on top of the chest freezer, shoed out all nine dogs, and closed the door.
Thanksgiving Day 6:30a.m.
David grumbled, “Why are you getting up? It’s so early”.
I whisper, “My turkey, go back to sleep”.
With a family full of able and enthusiastic cooks who gamely (and sometimes competitively) collaborate on the big meal, I have to get in there and stuff my bird before somebody else does.
I made stuffing with big chunks of Grand Central Como and Peasant dried in a low oven. Then I sautéed two pounds of farm raised ground pork, caramelized onions and leeks, garlic, sage, rosemary and added some excellent chicken stock Mom had in the freezer. I stuffed the bird front and back and had plenty to bake on the side as extra dressing. As I trussed the bird, I noticed a package of bacon - pulled from the freezer for breakfast. Without giving it a second thought, I fashioned a sort of bacon cape over the birds breast.
Piper and her "bacon cape".
Thinking back to all the turkey talk I heard over the last week I was unsure about what roasting approach to take. My challenge, to find what was right for me and this turkey. I went back to Zuni Café’s Judy Rogers and her rule-that the smaller the roast the higher the heat and the bigger the roast the lower the heat. This is a big bird … so I set the oven for 325 degrees.
I put the turkey in the oven and let it be and after an hour started a basting routine every 20 minutes. The bacon was slowly dripping fat over the bird as it roasted and the juices that collected in the roasting pan were lovely amber color. The whole kitchen started to smell great. I calculated about 10 minutes per pound and 3 hours later my bird’s internal temp is hovering below 160. I pulled the bird from the oven and covered it with foil.
While the turkey rested, I busied myself with making gravy and dodged my siblings as they churned out the rest of the meal… roasted butternut squash, sautéed chard, smashed fingerling potatoes, braised cippolini onions, clover rolls, cranberry sauce and my favorite - sautéed breakfast sausage to set around the turkey.
A bounty of side dishes.
When we sat down to tuck into the turkey, all my worries slipped away. This was a truly yummy bird. The dark meat was tender and robust and the white meat was moist and flavorful. If I “get” to roast this year’s turkey maybe I’ll try another technique… maybe not!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Champoeg Farms still has some amazing turkeys left for the 2010 season. Please check their website for ordering details.
Posted by Piper Davis, Grand Central Bakery Cuisine Director / Portland