Turkey Stock.

I cook for leftovers.

Thanksgiving is the ultimate setup for a smorgasbord of leftovers.  After the stuffing is depleted, the green beans have gone bad and the turkey is well-picked of meat it's time for carcass disassembly.  By hand, I pick off the remaining meat into separate bowls for white and dark because I use them each differently to their advantage.  Giant pieces of fat and soft skin are discarded but the rest is put right into a slow cooker crock to begin turkey stock preparation.

This was my first Turkey roasting experience but I've had plenty of practice making chicken stock from leftover grocery store rotisserie chickens.  The process is the same but the time difference is noticeable   It took an hour just to deal with the carcass and another half hour to prepare the stock.

The slow-cooker method is the only way I have ever made stock.  Simply put in the poultry parts, onion, celery and carrots (only a rough chop is needed) then season with garlic cloves, whole peppercorns and a bay leaf or two.  At this point I put it in the fridge overnight.  The next morning all you do is fill the crock with water, set to low for about 4 hours then simmer a few more.  Because I am frugal and hate to waste, I have a covered tub in my freezer where I throw the ends of the aforementioned vegetables as I acquire them to use for stock.  They are only needed for flavor and are strained out and discarded anyway.

I have two programmable slow cookers, a large 6 quart and a smaller 3 1/2 quart; I love them and ended up needing both for the turkey which was originally 9 pounds.  Later in the day the tedious task of scooping and straining begins.  If anyone has a less time consuming method than mine and wants to share it, please do so.  I place a large mesh strainer (like this) over a large batter bowl and scoop out the solids with a slotted spoon.  When the strainer fills I press the contents down to extract as much liquid as possible and then put them in a plastic bag to discard.

(As I was straining this batch I found meat pieces I missed, or was unable to get to, that I set aside in bowl.  I used the meat to make turkey salad sandwiches which tasted okay, a little bland.  I felt great about salvaging every last piece though, it was very "frontier" feeling.)

With this turkey broth batch I filled not only my two quart batter bowl (which is what one rotisserie chicken generally yields) but also my 4 and 2 cup Pyrex measuring cups.  They went into the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap overnight to solidify any fat left on top which is scooped out later.  Usually I use most of the stock the following day for a soup, braise or other dish.  Any remaining stock is poured into covered plastic containers and then frozen.  Large yogurt tubs work great for this purpose.

In this Thanksgiving turkey's case, I made the stock yesterday and used 6 cups today for Turkey and Wild Rice Soup which is my next post.


[No photographs for this post because turkey carcass creates greasy fingers which is not compatible with a camera.]

3. something you held

2012.12.03.
[Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM]

22. grateful

The time surrounding Thanksgiving is very busy and tiring for me, as my day job in retail management keeps me running (literally) up to 12 hours a day this time of year.  On Thanksgiving day I am simply grateful for a day off.

This year I decided to cook a Thanksgiving meal for the first time on my own.  As good fortune winked my way a couple-friend of ours found an airline flight deal and came down to visit.  In hindsight I now know that a rookie Thanksgiving-day-meal-cooker should always have a veteran by their side.  As a team we successfully pulled it off.

Turkey:  I ordered a fresh heritage turkey, the farm recommended cooking it like this, Heritage Turkey Recipe.  The almost ten-pound turkey fit in my large Pyrex dish so I was not forced to purchase a roasting pan.  (I love Pyrex, another post altogether.)  I also successfully made gravy last minute without a recipe, I remembered the method for roux and tried to follow it as best as I could remember.

[Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM]

Stuffing:  Since the turkey farm recommends not stuffing a heritage turkey I tried this Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Pancetta Recipe which was incredible.  I am not sure if I will ever try another stuffing recipe and will likely make it again throughout the year.

Mashed Potatoes:  no recipe needed, of course.  I used redskin potatoes (leaving the skins on) and roughly mashed them (leaving good chunks) with real butter, sour cream, milk, salt and white pepper.  I love rustic mashed potatoes and white pepper blends much better than black.

Vegetable: I've never liked traditional green been casserole, but a number of years ago my newest sister-in-law made Alton Brown's Best Ever Green Bean Casserole and it really was the best ever.  His recipes are notoriously laborious and this one indeed had a number of steps but ended up wonderful.  The leftovers only re-heated well for a couple days though so it's best to consume quickly.

Pie: Thank you Whole Foods for a delicious pecan pie, a.k.a. "candy in a crust" -- I enjoy the art of cooking more than the science of baking.

[Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM]

Wine: lots.  Due to my work schedule I could not enjoy a glass of wine with each dish as I was hoping.  I did open a dry Riesling, a Beaujolais Nouveau (of course) and something else I don't remember.  In hindsight I should have taken some tasting notes.

The day was not without it's snafus of course.  I left the thermometer in the turkey only to find out an hour later that it was not a leave-in thermometer.  Then as I was basting the turkey I tapped the end of the glass baster against the side of the Pyrex dish and the tip broke off.

[Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM]

As a whole, Thanksgiving Day this year was fantastic -- a day spent with friends being grateful for what we have and, more importantly, who we have.

16. the view from your window

What I see when I'm sitting at my computer, not looking at the monitor:

About an hour later, while gazing through the window I saw the sun just setting behind the houses and took my camera out to photograph this:

2012.11.16.

[Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS UD]

15. in your bag

On the 15th I drove down to my nearest metropolitan area and visited the closest locations of two stores I don't get to very often, Whole Foods Market and World Market.  I make this trip about once a month, it aids in maintaining my sanity while living in a small (by my standards) town.  My excuse was Thanksgiving preparation, but any reason would suffice really.

I keep a running list of Whole Foods items so when I get there I can keep focus, otherwise my pocketbook suffers dearly.  Generally there are always a number of bulk food items needing replenishment in my pantry, this time they included botanical (naturally caffeine-free) tea and salt and pepper for my grinders.  Bulk herbs and spices are very well-priced at Whole Foods so when my small jars empty I refill them from there -- I love it!  I have discovered many styles of spices I never knew existed and I love experimenting with them, one being Spanish sweet paprika and Chipotle chili pepper powder.

Coarse salt and peppercorns were a priority because my grinders emptied a couple weeks ago and I was using my backup McCormick grinders I had saved from when we moved and hadn't received our household goods yet.  I selected pink Himalayan salt and a smoked peppercorn blend.  Honestly, I have no idea the difference between those and conventional table salt and pepper but I will soon learn.

For the photo of the (yester)day I am showing you what's in my bag, my spice bag.

2012.11.16.
[Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM]

13. where you slept

A cold front slipped in bringing last night's temperature below 30 degrees.  I spread the blanket over the bed and set up the space heater just in case.

2012.11.13
[Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM]

9. small

Keeping the original intent of this blog, today's photo from yesterday's challenge displays a creative example of a small change making a big difference.

For the past 6 years I have worked for the same company which requires it's employees to wear name badges on a company-issued lanyard.  As I am very active at work this lanyard is constantly flapping around getting caught on objects and is a general nuisance.  The standard clip that attaches the name badge is the worst offender due to the metal tabs you pinch together to open it (I have no idea what the technical term is).  After years of frustration I finally had the idea to do something about it.  I changed the clip --  a super simple solution that I embarrassingly never thought of previously, of course neither had any other of my co-workers.

During November and December we wear holiday lanyards so I had to switch that clip as well, which is the  one photographed.  I also adjusted it's length by taking apart the safety release, trimming the fabric and putting it back together.

My photo of the day shows my replacement clip attached to the lanyard next to the original one removed.  I did some rough cloning to remove the company name.  I am proud of my easy fixes and it makes a significant difference in my daily performance.

2012.11.10

[Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM]