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| The Joy of the Feast -- Deep Fried Turkey and Trimmings with the Brew Chef |
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| Written by Tim Schafer | ||||||||||
| December 01, 2008 | ||||||||||
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Drunken Fried Holiday Turkey Smashed Potatoes with Beer, Bacon, Cheddar and Sour Cream Sweet Corn in a Tarragon Scented Blonde Ale Cream Sauce Mushroom and Roasted Shallot Stuffing with Toasted Walnuts and Goat Cheese This is truly my favorite time of the beer. (Oops, I meant year.) Besides all the fabulous food, beer and holiday cheer, spending valuable time with dear friends and precious family is what really matters most. I think most of us have experienced a tough year, financially at least, so the chances are spending may be even more budgeted than usual. Gifts may be sparser (who needs them anyway), the beer may be cheaper no don’t do it) and the table might be barer — but not when the Brew Chef is in the kitchen! For this final grand slam holiday issue we are putting out a spread that is going to blow you and your guests away, without blowing the last few bucks you managed to preserve. The first time I ever heard of frying a turkey I thought they were pulling my drumstick. But, if you have never fried a turkey this is the year you should give it a try. This scrumptious Southern favorite is now popular all over, and there are so many variations. While the spices, seasonings and marinades may be more of a personal taste, we are going to rub it down with flavor and pump it up with beer. The actual cooking method shouldn’t change much, just good old down home deep frying. It’s simple, delicious and fun to prepare. Now, what will top a fried turkey? Absolutely nothing, but what goes on the side is a whole other thing. I am including a few of my personal beer enhanced favorites to serve to family and friends as they gather around the holiday table to share in “The Joy of the Feast”. Enjoy and have a hoppy holiday, cheers to all and to all a good night! Drunken Fried Holiday Turkey I hate to admit this, but I’ve probably been called that a couple of times in my life! Frying a turkey takes a couple of steps and procedures. First of all, we need a turkey and a turkey fryer. The turkey should be fresh and weigh 14 to 20 pounds; the fryer needs to be large enough to accommodate the bird. For flavoring we use two techniques — an outside rub and an interior injection. The rub consists of salt, dry spices and herbs. The juice is made up of a liquid, in this case beer, and other tasty ingredients. You must use a good quality oil, preferably peanut oil, unless you have a peanut allergy, in that case, any vegetable oil will do, and plenty of it. I don’t want to be sexotypical or stereotypical, but frying a turkey is an outside beer drinking, guy kind of thing to do. For one thing the turkey is heavy, and when injected with the additional juices, it is awkward to handle. When the turkey hits the hot oil there will be splattering and a little bit of mess. Proceed with caution. Set up your fryer, which is typically a large pot with a stand to support the turkey and fired by propane. Once you fry a turkey, you may never roast one again. Prep here is simple and short. However, the bird needs to soak and cure in the marinade for at least 24 hours to absorb all the good flavors. The cooking time is fairly minimal. Three minutes to every pound the turkey weighs. You can count on a pound of meat per person. Ingredients: Rub 1 14-20 pound fresh turkey ¾ cup of kosher salt 2 tablespoons of store bought Cajun spice Marinade A bottle and a half of pale ale (adjust the amount of liquid to the size of the bird, an ounce of liquid per pound of bird weight is standard) 1 stick unsalted butter, melted 4 ounces of soy sauce 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 teaspoon fine ground black pepper Method: Mix ingredients for Rub together and set aside. Mix ingredients for Marinade together in a bowl. Using an injection syringe, inject all parts of the turkey with the marinade. You’ll have to place your finger over each spot of entry to keep the juices from escaping for a few seconds. I advise massaging the bird after injecting to get the marinade to spread throughout. Rub the bird down with the rub mixture inside and out; this can be made easier by putting the rub in a shaker. Place the bird in a kitchen sized double layered trash bag. (Make sure the bag isn’t scented.) Place the bird in the refrigerator to hang out for at least 24 hours. The longer the bird cures in the marinade, the tastier it will be. A turkey fryer typically comes with a thermometer that can be inserted through the lid. Heat up the oil to 375 degrees. The temperature will drop significantly after the cold bird is lowered into the oil. You’ll want to maintain the temperature of the oil between 350 and 375 degrees. Cook the bird for approximately three minutes per pound or until the thermometer injected in various areas of the bird registers a temperature of 180 degrees. Carefully remove the bird from the oil. Let rest on the stand to cool, until you can handle it. Remove from the stand and proceed to slice and serve. Smashed Potatoes with Beer, Bacon, Cheddar and Sour Cream These ingredients deserve each other. All that is missing is a grilled steak, roasted meat, or in this case a deep-fried turkey. Use any boiling potatoes you prefer, I use Yukon or Carolina Gold. You should be able to serve six and you’ll spend about 45 minutes to finish. Ingredients: 12 ounces hoppy pale ale 8 large boiling potatoes, peeled and diced 1x1” 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated 2 ounces unsalted butter 4 tablespoons sour cream 8-10 ounces sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon white pepper Method: Place the potatoes in a pot with half of the beer and enough water to cover, adding 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Drain and pass the potatoes through a food mill or ricer. Return the potatoes to the pot and stir in remaining ingredients. Garnish with chives. Serve hot or refrigerate and reheat in microwave. BREW CLUE: If you don’t have a food mill use an electric mixer, just don’t over whip. Sweet Corn in a Tarragon Scented Blonde Ale Cream Sauce If fresh sweet corn is out of season or not available substitute frozen ears or kernels, I recommend a strong full bodied beer such as Duvel Belgian blonde ale for this recipe because of its complexity and high alcohol content, the same reason I suggest drinking it. Make sure you have an extra bottle to enjoy with dinner. Tarragon adds an interesting anise flavor to this dish but go ahead and give any fresh herb a try, that goes for the beer as well. As a side dish you’ll feed at least six with this amount. Give about 30 minutes or so to prepare. Ingredients: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 shallot, minced 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 3 pounds corn kernels 1/2 cup Belgian blonde ale 1 cup heavy cream 1 or 2 bunches tarragon 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper Method: In a 2-quart sauce pot, over medium high heat, melt the butter, then add the garlic and shallots, stir and cook for two minutes. Add the flour and cook for three minutes stirring almost constantly. Incorporate the corn, beer and cream using a whisk. The mixture will begin to thicken, add the tarragon, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. A splash of ale at the end rounds this side dish off perfectly. Serve hot or refrigerate and microwave later when ready to eat. Mushroom and Roasted Shallot Stuffing with Toasted Walnuts and Goat Cheese The combination of sweet, savory and earthy flavors welcomes brown ale with open herbs, if you know what I mean. This versatile stuffing is most excellent with turkey, but lends itself perfectly to mushrooms and as a topping for casseroles. Feel free to experiment with different nuts, cheeses and beers. This recipe will take about an hour or so to put together, but it makes a lot! Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 4 shallots, roasted and peeled 5 ounces white button mushrooms, brushed and quartered 4 ounces brown ale 1 cup chicken broth 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped a bit ½ cup walnuts, toasted 6 slices pumpernickel bread 6 slices rye bread with caraway 2 teaspoons kosher salt ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 3 ounces goat cheese Method: Using a 2 quart heavy bottom sauce pan heat the olive oil for 1 minute over medium heat. Add the garlic and roasted shallots stir for 30 seconds then add the mushrooms stir and cook for an additional minute. Carefully pour in the beer then the broth, simmer for five minutes. Next using a wire whisk incorporate the butter. Stir in the herbs and walnuts, then coarsely tear up the bread and fold it in. Once the bread has absorbed the liquid, season and finish by stirring in the goat cheese. Serve hot or chill and microwave when necessary.
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