It's that time of year again. Time to start thinking about the gluttony that is the holidays. But are your go to recipes getting boring? Tired of opening a can of cranberry "sauce"? Is your gravy dull? Maybe I can help with a few small things that are easy to change and can make big differences in flavor! We're going to talk about quite a few classic French techniques in this blog.
Let's talk turkey, and gravy. When I roast my Thanksgiving turkey I do a few cheffy things to kick up the flavor of the gravy when its all said and done. First thing I do is put a mirepoix in the roasting pan. What's a mirepoix? I'm glad you asked. Mirepoix is a French term for a flavor base made of diced vegetables. Generally onion, celery and carrots. Leeks are sometimes added and when making a dark stock, tomato products may be used. A close cousin to the mirepoix is the Cajun/Creole "Trinity": onions, celery and bell peppers.
Mirepoix is generally made in the ratio of 2:1:1 or 50%/25%/25%: onions, celery and carrots. So say you need 2lbs of mirepoix, you'd use 1lbs of onions, 1/2lbs of celery and carrots. I like to just chunk them up a bit and toss them in the bottom of the roasting pan. You will be surprised how this simple and cheap addition will make your gravy a whole lot better. Not to mention that I love to serve the roasted vegetables as a side dish.
Another thing I add to the roasting pan are fresh herbs. Specifically parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. It seems I've heard that phrase somewhere before. Now there are plenty of applications where dried herbs are fine. In fact I'll be discussing them later. But in the roasting pan I want fresh herbs. I also like to stuff them inside the cavity of the bird. They will perfume the bird nicely. Fresh herbs can be slightly less pungent than dried herbs. Also, when using them in other settings, you will want to throw them in near the end of the cooking process as they don't take as long to marry in with the food as dried herbs do. Not to mention they tend to discolor when subjected to a long cooking process. But one of the reasons I want the fresh herbs in the pan is that the stems can add a lot of flavor to the game as well.
I like to get my gravy kick-started. In the roasting pan I'll put a couple quarts of turkey stock if I can find it or have it on hand, if not, chicken stock will do just fine. Especially since the turkey is going to give up some of its natural juices during the cooking process. Also, what adding the stock at the beginning does is help keep the bird nice and juicy as the stock steams up a bit while cooking.
The next thing I add to the pan is about half of a bottle of white wine, generally chardonnay or pinot grigio. Nothing fancy. The general rule though is don't cook with anything you wouldn't drink. But use whatever you may have on hand or what you may be serving with dinner. The acid in the wine can add a nice contrast to the fattiness of the gravy.
Now let's talk fat in the gravy. The traditional and most delicious way to thicken the gravy is a roux. A roux is equal parts butter and flour cooked together to the desired doneness. The longer you cook a roux the darker it gets, but the less thickening power it has. A roux is more than just your thickening power though. It will add richness, body and a more intense flavor to your final gravy. This is the main difference in why some gravies taste so much better than others. There's a reason the French swear by this stuff! The easiest way to make a roux is to melt a stick or two of butter slowly and when its totally melted, start spooning in the flour, a couple spoonfuls at a time, all the while stirring or whisking to make sure you don't get any uncooked lumps of flour in your gravy. Because uncooked flour balls are decidedly not yummy. I usually go with a blonde roux for turkey gravy. A pat of whole butter swirled in at the end of cooking the gravy adds a nice sheen. This is a French technique called mounting.
It's at this point that I now use dried herbs. In my gravy, I like to use dried thyme, rosemary and sage. I put these in right before I mix in the roux. Dried herbs take a little time to bloom, so put them in early. Since the stock has had fresh herbs in it throughout the cooking process, you will probably want to strain the liquid as well as taste it to know how much of the dried stuff you want to put in. I finish the gravy with fresh, chopped parsley.
It's time now to talk about that side dish you've probably eaten since you were a kid but may be a little embarrassed to admit: cranberry sauce. You know the one I'm talking about. The crimson, gelatinous wonder that comes plopping out of a can once a year. There's a reason this stuff only comes out of hiding once a year! But it doesn't have to be that way! I mean, there's nothing wrong with it. I still enjoy it. I use it on post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. But if something is going to take a spot on my plate, its gotta be something yummy! At the end of this blog, you'll find my recipe for Cranberry Jewel.
And finally: stuffing. You do know that stuffing the turkey is a quick way to salmonella right? Generally when the turkey is at the right temperature, the stuffing that's been sitting in the cavity of the turkey has not yet reached a temperature that will kill off the bad stuff. And if you get the stuffing to that temperature, the rest of the bird is gonna be dry, dry, dry. In my family, my little brother prefers Stove Top Stuffing over homemade. And since making homemade stuffing is a process anyway, I cheat. What I like to do is saute up some small mirepoix (remember that from earlier?) and mix it in with the Stove Top turkey stuffing. Sometimes I will also add some small diced Granny Smith apples or dried cranberries to the stuffing as well. It could also benefit from some finely minced herbs: the Scarborough Fair group: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
One last pro tip for you, if you find that your turkey breasts always ends up too dry, try roasting ol' Tom upside down. Let gravity end keep those juices in the breasts. I mean, who doesn't like juicy breasts?
With all the fundamental French techniques used at Thanksgiving, its a wonder its an American holiday and not French!