Turkey
Tue Nov 15, 2011
Honey-Brined and Smoked Turkey
Thanksgiving has come to represent not just the tradition of my family coming together for a meal we're bound to eating for days, but also the pre-Thanksgiving meal I share with my friends where we enjoy the spoils of my seasonal recipe testing. While I'm keen on keeping a set of solid recipes I make every year with my family, the friends meal is consistently different, which breeds comfort in its own way. For one thing, there will always be a smoked turkey, but the need for a different variety each year makes this an incredibly fun part of the meal to experiment with, most which turn out great, like this honey-brined and smoked turkey.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Thu Sep 15, 2011
Turkey Shawarma
I just received a brand spanking new passport in the mail yesterday. I don't know what it was, but I some how felt odd that I was without a valid passport for over half a year. It's not that I had any plans to go anywhere, but not having that option always lingered in the back of my head. It was pure laziness that it took my so long to renew—who really wants to sit and measure a photo of them self to Department of State guidelines—but now that I have it, I'm fantasizing of all the places I've been and want to go. Looking through my previous passports while putting my new one away, I flipped through the visa pages of my most used passport, filled with stamps from Middle Eastern journeys, and all of sudden, more than anything, I just wanted some shawarma.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Wed Apr 6, 2011
Asian Turkey Burger with Sriracha Mayo
Those filling their Twitter and Facebook with meat probably have already noticed that this Meatmaster has broadened his horizons past grilling and into the world of condiments with the new column Sauced over at Serious Eats. So far I've been loving ditching the bottle and learning how to make an array of sauces from scratch, and was reminded of one of my favorite condiments of all times—Sriracha mayo.
My friend Blair introduced it to me when he served bison burgers that had a generous coating of mayonnaise mixed with Sriracha on the bread. Since then, I've always had a bottle of it made, in the fridge, providing insurance that there will never be a Sriracha mayo emergency in my house. Thinking of best uses for this stuff, I thought a turkey burger would be an excellent vehicle to let a lot of the great flavor of the mayo to come through by using a lighter tasting meat, but first, I had to make a turkey burger that didn't suck.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Wed Nov 10, 2010
The Turkey Soars
I always found the choice of turkey as a holiday centerpiece just a tad bit off. Sure it's big and impressive, but it's also all to often dry and flavorless. Why not a nice sweet ham or mouthwatering side of roast beef instead—something that better captures the richness of utter indulgence that makes the holiday season so sinfully superb. I just didn't get it at all, that was, until I discovered the ultimate joy of turkey, created when bird is brined introduced to smoke resulting in masterpiece for the eyes and the belly.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Tue Jul 29, 2008
Legs of the Beast
I grew up in a Shakespeare loving household, where my Mother whispered "Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night to let be morrow" as she closed the door after tucking me into bed every night. Yearly trips to the area's Renaissance Faire came with the territory, and while these, thankfully, did not end with me dressing in tights and speaking in Victorian English, they did leave me with two very important things: a ceramic pig shaped piggy bank won in a Ren Fest photo contest, and a taste for giant smoked turkey legs.
More and recipe after the jump >>
