#drybrine

Turkey Overlord

One Turkey! Four Ways! Sixteen Meals! Trippin’ on tryptophan for daze!

1. On Christmas day itself we had already dry brined our turkey the day before, we followed this recipe (Bon Apetite can suck it after they were outed as a racist organistion). We popped some oranges and rosemary up its chuff. We religiously basted it and let it rest when it was done and it was the best turkey we have ever cooked! 

The sides, the sides, let us tell you about the sides! Braised red cabbage, spiced parsnips, polenta encrusted roast potatoes, orange and chili fried sprouts, posh stuffing we got from a packet, blob of cranberry sance and gravy made by Bob. The latter being a contentious event due to Bob being super sloshed on a bevvy of beverages. Look buddy, I do my best. I ended up taking a hand blender to it, but I think it worked out ok. The resultant platter that mattered was brilliant, again taking the top spot for best turkey dinner we ever did dinner.

2. Turkey Chili with a stuffing top. The photo looks like a dirty pond, but it sure didn’t taste like one. It’s just a chili, it was pretty good - the show stopper was the stuffing topper. I made it combining a hard bagel chopped up and mixed with some paxo, chopped up chorizo and some spring onions - and some hot water. Baked that and popped in on top like a crusty hat - splendid!

3. Turkey burritos. These were actually intended to be fajitas, but I got too excited on the accoutrements that they just ended up being massive burritos. What we have going on here is pan-fried peppers, onion, turkey leftovers, and fajita seasoning, all smushed together into a tortilla alongside homemade guac and a zingy slaw made from shredded sprouts, orange juice, and a quarter of chopped red onion. I threw a bunch of cheese on top and some sour cream too! We ate two of these for dinner and two for lunch the next day ala fajita style, but they were so massive that a single one would’ve been a fine dinner. What can I say? I go big, and I go home.

4. Thomas Yum Turkey, I loosely followed this recipe, using turkey and tofu as the protein. Total banger, I used white fungus for the first time. It kind of looks like tripe and has a fun slimey lacey texture. No idea what tripe tastes like, I probably never will because it freaks me out. I can still smell early morning meat as I walked through Dalston to get my train to work back in the day.