"Behold! Beta Ray Thor, harbinger of cosmic justice and butter!"
Ah Thanksgiving, the mightiest of holidays as there's no gifts or religion required, only those you care about and you're expected to gorge and be gay (as in merry, do better). All my years of Food Network watching has prepared me well for the day as the turkey came out quite well once again. Since I don't brine or baste, I go with herb butter under and on top of the skin, a little trick one Tyler Florence taught me. Taking fresh thyme, rosemary and sage, I mashed the aromatic greens bits into some softened butter. From there, just run your hand gently under the skin to separate it from the meat and plop in bits of your fancy butter then coat the skin with it along with salt and pepper.
This year I got a bird just under 13 pounds after realizing 16 was too Damme big for only a handful of people like last year. I used chunks of carrots, onion, celery and apples as a roasting tray to keep the bird off the bottom and having it steam. Of course rinsing and patting the turkey dry is key so your butter and seasonings don't simply slide off. For the cavity it was a poultry blend of herbs along with some onion and apple. Genius struck as I realized I had a pack of uncured bacon in the freezer and used it to protect the breast instead of a tin foil tent. In hindsight I should have latticed the strips to form a blanket as simply draping the strips across the top and front resulted in many slices slipping off. No matter, the skin was nice and crisp, the meat juicy and moist.
Side dish wise I never get too crazy, mashed cauliflower along with some instant stuffing and mashed potatoes does the job. I was quite disappointed that Food Network was not showing Thanksgiving themed shows and specials all day but Jean-Claude Van Damme's drunk dancing in Kickboxer followed by snake punching in Hard Target saved the day. Hope you had a great one and are enjoying the leftovers!
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