Thanksgiving. The time where we Americans celebrate our harvest by killing poor, flightless birds. Ah, the horror. But they do make fine eating. This year, Amy and I joined a multicultural Turkey Day feast at Shon and Alonzo’s home in Decatur. We contributed our turkey (recipe follows), two types of cranberry sauce, whole wheat & chestnut stuffing, and my Alsatian Turkey Gravy. Yum!
Alsatian-Brined Turkey with Riesling Gravy
* 5 quarts plus 2 cups cold water
* Kosher salt
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
* 1/4 cup dried chopped onion
* 2 tablespoons caraway seeds
* 2 tablespoons black peppercorns,lightly crushed
* 2 tablespoons juniper berries, lightly crushed
* 6 bay leaves
* One 10-18-pound turkey, neck and giblets reserved for stock
* 2 1/2 cups Riesling
* 1 large onion, quartered
* 1 head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 1/2 cups turkey stock
* Freshly ground pepper
The Turkey
1. In a large pot, bring 4 cups of the water to a boil. Add 1 1/4 cups of kosher salt, the sugar, mustard seeds, dried onion, caraway seeds, peppercorns, juniper berries and bay leaves. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar completely. Remove the pot from the heat.
2. Line a large stockpot or bucket with 2 very large, sturdy plastic bags. Put the turkey into the bags, neck first. Pour the warm brine over the turkey. Add 1 1/2 cups of the Riesling and 4 quarts of the cold water. Seal the bags; press out as much air as possible. Refrigerate for at least 1 day, but 2 days will develop more flavor.
3. On Thanksgiving morning, preheat the oven to 400°. Drain the turkey, scraping off the spices, then transfer it to a large roasting pan and let it return to room temperature. Discard the brine.
4. Add the quartered onion, the garlic, 1 cup of chopped onion, 1 cup of chopped celery and 1 cup of the water to the pan.
4.1 Brush the turkey with 4 tablespoons of melted butter first the breast, then the underside, and place on a v-rack in your pan covered with foil and pierced with a skewer 30-40 times. Roast the turkey for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, and with towels protecting your hands, rotate the turkey breast-side up. Reduce the temperature to 350 and add the remaining 1 cup of water to the pan and roast for about 1 1/2 – 2 hours longer, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into an inner thigh registers 165°. Cover the breast loosely with foil during the last hour of roasting to prevent it from browning too quickly.
5. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest for at least 30 minutes. Save the pan juices and vegetables if you are making gravy – instructions below.
Alsatian Riesling Gravy
1 medium onion chopped
Giblets and neck from Turkey (liver discarded)
1 cup flour
1 cup riesling wine
4 tbs butter
1.
Strain the pan juices into a measuring cup and skim off the fat. Return the vegetables to the pan.
6. Set the roasting pan over 2 burners and heat until sizzling. Add the remaining 1 cup of Riesling and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom and sides of the pan.