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Posted on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 : 5:11 a.m.

Peggy Lampman's Thursday dinnerFeed: The road to roast turkey nirvana

By Peggy Lampman

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Roast Turkey

Peggy Lampman | Contribuor

The distance from Ann Arbor to Schmucker's Amish farm in Homer, Michigan is only a 75-minute drive. I visited this farm last week yet felt as if I were transported back decades in time. Here is a place where draft horses and human fortitude frothily combine with the DNA of a culture's determination to sustain an agrarian utopia.

My intention with this visit was to observe, firsthand, the source and centerpiece of my family's Thanksgiving dinner: The turkey.

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Amish, Pasture-Raised Turkeys

Peggy Lampman | Contributor

Horse-drawn buggies are the sole means of transportation in this, as in most, Amish communities. From the field, I watched two open-air buggies, filled with gleeful children, being led by horses clip-clopping down the nearby road. We waved excitedly to one another as the children jiggled along, returning to school from a field trip.

I, too, took a similar ride led by the family's beloved horse, Dolly, to visit the turkeys. "These turkeys are so flavorful because their diet is primarily the rich pasture grasses,” says Arbor Farm's Robert Cantelon. “The nutritious foods from these small family farms are created by the sun’s ultraviolet power, which is passed through the grasses, grains and animals to us.”

My experience has been that turkeys raised on small diversified family farms, like the Schmucker's, have the richest, meatiest flavor. Many turkey brands are free of antibiotics and hormones, but my family and I appreciate the flavor profile of turkeys that have been raised on grassy pastures in their natural environments.

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Peggy Lampman | Contributor

A turkey raised in conditions from a bygone era begs for a similar method of preparation and roasting. I've cooked turkey every way imaginable. I've grilled them, fried them, bagged them, brined them, slow-cooked and fast-cooked them. All of these methods have produced a very good turkey, but not a perfect turkey.

I wish I were the type of cook who could stick to one tried and true recipe and be done with it. Like Sisyphus, the Greek mythological figure, condemned to forever repeat the same task of pushing a rock up a mountain, only to see it roll down again, I try a different method of roasting turkey each year.

Cook's Illustrated (December, 2009) magazine features a recipe for "Old Fashioned Stuffed Turkey: Lost Technique Adds Big Flavor", the recipe inspired from James Beard's American Cookery (1972). Reading the article and recipe intimates turkey nirvana, promising a skin as "crackling-crisp as pork rinds" from a baking soda and salt procedure. I haven't tried this method before. Could this technique be the Holy Grail?

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Greta enjoying Thanksgiving

Peggy Lampman | Contributor

Unlike the Cook's Illustrated recipe, however, I did not "bard" my turkey with salt pork. The author explained that today's turkeys are milder in flavor and barding with strips of salt pork yields a welcome smoky flavor. The bird I'm roasting is unique and I'd like to savor the meat unencumbered, with only with a whisper of rosemary. If you would like to bard your turkey, cut 12 ounces of salt pork (equal parts fat and meat) into 1/4-inch slices and drape over the bird before roasting. Make sure you remove the salt pork before the final hot heat blast.

"My wife slowly roasts our turkey on top of our wood-burning stove," said Mr. Schmucker, smiling at the thought of the Thanksgiving dinner that awaits him, his wife and their 3 children. The Smucker family's pioneering spirit filled me with an impulsive urge to chuck it all and buy a little farm.

Then my eyes wandered to the animals, eager for my departure so they could be fed; the fields waiting to be plowed; the empty buckets by the water pump and the antiquated golf cart, whose wheels were being recycled to be used as part of a plow. I shivered at the tasks that lay before sundown, shook hands with David Schmucker, hopped into my Jeep and returned home.

Local options abound for free-range &/or local birds: Check out Jennifer Shikes Haines article about Local Turkey Buying Options in town. I purchased my bird from Arbor Farms, which is selling the birds I visited at the Schmucker Farm in Homer.

Here's are other recipes to whet your holiday whistle: Sweet Potato-Pear Soup; Balsamic Portobellas stuffed with Mashed Potatoes; Glazed Butternut Squash and Apples; Roasted Brussel Sprouts; Yogurt and Fig Cake with many more to follow on dinnerFeed.

Yield: 10-12 servings Turkey Cost: apx. $46.00 (@$3.49#)

Turkey Prep Time: Salt 24 to 48 hours in advance of roasting Turkey Roast Time: apx. 3-4 hours, depending on size of bird Turkey Rest Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 turkey (12 to 15 pounds), giblets and neck reserved for gravy, if making 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt* 2 teaspoons baking powder 16 small fresh rosemary sprigs Aromatics such as celery, carrots, onion and bay leaf (for stuffing turkey while roasting) Oven thermometer

* Table salt is not recommended for this recipe. If roasting a kosher or self-basting turkey, do not salt it in step one.

Directions:

1. Carefully separate turkey skin from meat on breast, legs, thighs and back. Rub 1 tablespoon of salt evenly inside cavity of turkey, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt under skin of each breast, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt under skin of each leg. Wrap turkey tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate 24 to 48 hours. 2. Combine remaining 2 teaspoons of salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Remove turkey from refrigerator and unwrap. Thoroughly dry inside and out with paper towels. Place rosemary sprigs randomly under skin of breast, thighs and legs. Using skewer, poke 15 to 20 holes in fat deposits on top of breast halves and thighs, 4 to 5 holes in each fat deposit. 3. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 250Ëš. Sprinkle surface of turkey with salt-baking powder mixture and rub in mixture with hands, coating skin evenly. Tuck wings underneath turkey. Fill turkey cavity with aromatics such as onion, carrots, bay leaf and celery. 4. Loosely tie turkey legs together. Place turkey, breast-side down, in oiled V-rack set in roasting pan. 5. Roast turkey, breast-side down, until thickest part of breast registers 130 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours. Remove turkey from oven and increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Flip turkey so it is breast-side up, leaving in V rack in roasting pan. 6. Once oven has come to temperature, roast until skin is golden brown and crisp, the thickest part of breast should register 160Ëš, and thickest part of thigh registers 175Ëš. (If turkey skin is dark, golden brown but not up to the correct temperature, loosely cover with foil. ) Transfer turkey to carving board and let rest, uncovered, 30 minutes. Remove aromatics before carving.

Visit me on dinnerFeed for more more seasonal recipes and local value. Mini-recipes daily fed to you on my dinnerFeed Twitters.

Comments

Peggy Lampman

Fri, Nov 13, 2009 : 4:07 p.m.

No problem, Mary. I will always pass on good tips that work for me and attribute to the person, restaurant, cookbook or magazine I tried them from. That's a great magazine and thanks for reading the column! Peggy

Mary

Fri, Nov 13, 2009 : 3:37 p.m.

Sorry, Peggy, I didn't read the whole article before I wrote.

Peggy Lampman

Fri, Nov 13, 2009 : 11:18 a.m.

Hey Lori--what kind of turkey do they have in Kenya? That Cook's Illustrated used a very traditional bread stuffing which looked great. I link to it on the site and maybe they have the recipe on-line. I, however, use a wild rice stuffing which will be monday's feed. Have a great Thanksgiving. Wish I were there! xox P

Lori B

Fri, Nov 13, 2009 : 3:07 a.m.

Sounds great! Can we also stuff the turkey with traditional bread stuffing or would that be a bad idea? I love stuffing, probably leftover from my Mom! I am going to try this out here in Kenya, can't get Amish turkey of course...but I think I can get one with no chemicals added. Thanks Peggy! xo

Peggy Lampman

Thu, Nov 12, 2009 : 10:44 p.m.

Anonamoose: (great name!)As you, I keep thinking of how delish this bird would be slowly cooked on top of a woodstove, too. I do think that flip technique is the way to go w/turkeys in general. Thanks for the comment! Mary: Inspiration for this technique was derived from several sources and attributed to Cooks Magazine(p.4) and James Beard(his American Cookery is a favorite), and, as well, from Mr. Schmucker. This recipe is a standard dry brine however I do not use the salt pork which was the defining ingredient in the Cooks version--I tried it and it interfered w/the flavor of pasture raised bird--too bacony--I couldn't taste the gaminess which I enjoy. I would defn. include the Cooks version of salt pork addition w/ a factory bird. Thanks for the comment--Peggy

Mary

Thu, Nov 12, 2009 : 6:32 p.m.

This recipe is very similar to the recipe in the most recent issue of Cook's Illustrated (some paragraphs basically word for word). I think you should provide attribution.

anonamoose

Thu, Nov 12, 2009 : 5:42 p.m.

I would love a woodstove, slow roasted turkey! We brine ours (recipe from Joy of Cooking) and then cook it breast down and flip it halfway through cooking. Always delish!! With cornbread stuffing, super yummy!!