A very good friend of mine gave me this recipe a few years ago. His uncle (long story) is Jeremiah Tower. If you're not familiar with him, he's an interesting guy:
Jeremiah Tower - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chris (my friend) worked at both Chez Panisse and Stars doing prep work and a bit of sous che****** before he went to art school and worked with some heavy hitters in the culinary world.
Now I've roasted turkey, fried turkey, smoked turkey and bbq'd turkey, all with very good results. But last year I wanted to try something different. I pulled out the recipe that Chris gave me, that he had gotten from Jeremiah. It was a bigger hit than any turkey I've cooked before and everyone has called me to make sure I'm making this version again this year. The instructions jump around a bit, but hey, that's Chris and this is verbatim.
"Hey Craig, here's Jeremiah's recipe, let me know how it turns out! Well, I brine it first, two days before. Submerse the turkey in water with about three cups of sea salt. Has to be sea salt. Then let it sit uncovered in your fridge overnight before cooking...
For even cooking, don't stuff the bird. It slows things down. You'll need a pan rack to keep the turkey out of its juices. Cook at 425-450. Start bird with it's back up for one and a half hours, On it's sides for an hour each. Then finish breast up. At each rotation, slather the bird with butter and thyme.
The roaster pan should have broth, celery, onions, garlic and carrots. And a whack of vermouth, if you got it. And some thyme. That's for the homemade gravy later on.
The Stuffing actually goes under the skin. So careful not to pop a whole in it, separate the skin from the breast with the dull end of a cooking spoon. Then down onto the legs and thighs if you can. Just be careful not the tear the skin...
The prosciutto stuffing is merely fine-minced proscuito, garlic, thyme and softened, unsalted butter. Mix it together and spoon it up under the skin, Then spread it out from outside the skin, getting it down onto the legs if you can.
The brining may sound like a sick amount of salt to use. That's what I thought too. But all it really does is seal the turkey meat, curing the outside. That and cooking on a rack makes the whole damn bird crispy. It also takes some of the gamey taste off the dark meet.
Save your gizzards, necks etc to make turkey broth. This is what I put in the bottom of the turkey pan with the vegetables. Maybe a cup and a half. But make sure they never dry out, so add stock as needed during the cooking period.
Your cooking time is greatly reduced by rotating the turkey and the fact that it doesn't have stuffing IN it. Do the stuffing in a separate bake pan. Use turkey broth instead of water, so make alot of it. After cooked mince up some of your giblets to add to your stuffing. It will taste like it was cooked inside the bird.
When the turkey's done, take it out of the pan. Skim the roasting pan fat and then process the veggies through a food mill, put them back in the pan with giblets and a shot of vermouth and some turkey broth. Mix down, then add some corn starch to thicken it up.
Happy Holidays, Man!"
If you have any interesting turkey recipes, post them up!
