Turkey, Not Just For Thanksgiving

For some reason we in America have an aversion to eating turkey if it isn’t Thanksgiving or Christmas. In October, November, and December there are turkeys in every grocery store. And they are there in abundance.

But try to buy a turkey in March! The grocery store had one large, twenty pound turkey and about seven or eight of the smaller breast only turkeys. So I bought the smaller bird.

Basically the legs and wings had been removed. So I had nine pounds of just white meat. But, it was still on the bone - I could still stuff it - so it worked.

I stuffed the bird with the Rice Dressing. You can look at yesterday’s post for that recipe - it was delightful!

The vegetables were laid around the bird. So, they didn’t really cook evenly. Some of the turnips were perfectly soft, some were still hard. It was the same for the carrots. Mostly it was okay. Honestly, I don’t love cooking vegetables with roasting things. I would rather just boil them and add them to the roasting pan at the last minute for a little browning.

The stock helps keep the meat moist. And it really works. The turkey was the perfect level of moistness.

It didn’t even need gravy!

I don’t know why we don’t eat turkey more often. Maybe I can help break to winter only turkey trend. . . .

BRAISED TURKEY

1 Turkey - 8 Pound

Stuffing

1/2 Pound Salt Pork

1/2 Cup Chopped Celery

1/2 Cup Chopped Carrots

1/2 Cup Onion

1/2 Cup Turnip

Salt and Pepper

4 Cups Stock

Stuff the body and breast of the turkey with desired stuffing and truss. Spread thin slices of salt pork over the breast and legs. Cover turkey with a sheet of heavily oiled paper, fastening paper by passing string around the body. In a large double roasting pan, spread sliced salt pork and chopped vegetables. Lay the turkey breast side up over vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover pan tightly. Roast in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes per pound. Add stock after 30 minutes. Remove cover and paper for the last 30 minutes.