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So, How'd Your Thanksgiving Cooking Go?

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For myself, it was just Donna and I , and it was simple. We had a garden salad, Boneless Roast Duck with Cabernet Sauce, and a side of egg noodles. The duck, the skin/fat for cracklins and the stuff for the sauce was all butchered/prepped on Wednesday, so yesterday was a breeze.

 

And trying to be humble here (NOT! ;)), I have made this entree over 100 times over the past 30 or so years (3-4 times a year), but for some reason, Donna told me that it was the best I had ever made, and I had to agree. :)

 

The skin cracklins were done just right, the Cabernet sauce was rich with a great texture and a good mouth feel, the flavor strong but not overpowering.

 

And the duck itself was pure heaven. Leg thigh portions cooked perfectly to about 145, tender and juicy. The breast portions were done to about 130, the slices a beautiful light pink with rosy juice, tender as butter and full of flavor. And the remaining skin on both items was perfectly, pleasantly crisped and seasoned without being charred (that is difficult to accomplish in the oven.)

 

I went to bed happy last night. :)

 

How bout you?

 

 

"You know the Bill of Rights is serving its purpose when it protects things you wish it didn't."

 

"You can no longer be oppressed if you are not afraid anymore - Unknown"

 

SOL Member #174

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Oh, forgot the bonus part......

 

Had been spying the ducks all week in the case at Stop and Shop. Sunday I noticed they had a sell by date of 11/24. Knowing they would not sell them all (for some reason duck is not a great seller at this Stop and Shop). I figured I would go back on Wednesday, as they were to be closed on T'Day the 23rd and they would have to sell the rest the day after or trash them, so I expected they would be marked down by maybe as much as half on Wednesday.

 

Happened to stop by there on Tuesday for something else, and lo and behold, they had already marked them down...........BY 75%

 

So I got a ~$20 duck for ~$5, and it turned out to be the best one I ever made!

"You know the Bill of Rights is serving its purpose when it protects things you wish it didn't."

 

"You can no longer be oppressed if you are not afraid anymore - Unknown"

 

SOL Member #174

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Sounds great SIM. I’m almost pining for a small celebration myself but we have done the family gathering for the past 20years or so now. We had 20 this year which is a bit smaller than usual. Sons came by to help with the prep. We worked the kitchen for two days ahead. Ladies do the cleanup after the meal and the guys were able to catch some football. Then today we had an annual oyster roast for the family that stayed over. Just finished with that and feeling a bit tweaked to be honest. A few of us Heading out now to a local micro brewery to throw a few back. Glad this only comes once a year but always a great weekend. Hope all had a wonderful one as well. 

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My new favorite things

 

The Kosher Turkey at Trader Joes.  It does not seem to be a ball of water when it thaws, its an actual bird.  Cooks up nice.

 

And I buy a boned out Turkey Breast, the one in that weird hair net.  Take it out of the hair net and lay it out.Herbs and spices as you wish, then lay a couple strips of bacon in there.  Roll it back up and tie it well.  Salt pepper on the outside and lay a couple strips of bacon on top.  Back in the fridge to firm up.

350 on the smoker and a couple wood chunks.  Right before you put it on the cooker, (Im not kidding) inject an entire stick of melted butter into it.

Just a hint of smoke and a nice herby flavor (no heavy duty BBQ rub flavors)

 

Damn nice.

“My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.”

 

Ayn Rand

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only 4 of us this year as the son / wife & the new addition ( 2 weeks old grand Daughter )  stayed home & we took a complete dinner to their house . We axed appetizers this year for the the small family setting .Dinner is always at 1pm 

18 lb Butterball turkey ( stuffing goes inbetween the skin & the white meat  , not in the bird ) 

sweet potatoes

Yukon Gold mashed potato 

creamed spinach 

Boneless Spiral ham 

corn 

Stuffing my wife makes from day old rolls ( 24 ) 

Cranberry Sauce

gravy

home made biscuits

 

Red wine Ruffino Reserve  

Apple pie 

Pumpkin pie 

fruit salad 

Watched March of the Wooden Soldiers & the Macy's parade on the tube w/ my grandson .  It was a traditional day  Yes I did the dishes as the Mrs. did a great job as always 

 

  

 

  If it has fins i want to catch it 

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We got a dartangian this year. I wound up sick and only came down to eat then right back to bed. My wife has become a fan of the bag, which I feel is the safe way to get a decent turkey but not the best. Hard to tell how it tasted as I was blowing crap out of my nose every 10 seconds.

the human race has proved darwins theory of evolution wrong. we let the dumb survive. 

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Visited my wife's bro and his family in Boston, the new (3rd year) regular thing. We brought and cooked the turkey. It was a bit overdone, doesn't bother me but bugs the wife. The thermometer in the thigh was still reading 155 but the breast was 190!  I'm developing this theory about a microclimate in the bottom of a smallish roasting pan. The juice there is evaporating at 212 creating a zone of low heat, and if the pan is small there's not enough air movement to bring hot air to the bottom of the bird. I think we'll both use a bigger pan and go back to flipping the bird from it's breast to back halfway through. 

 

Also blew the family chestnut and ginger stuffing recipe the worst I've ever done. Just not enough broth, and it was a bit dry. Made my own bread for the croutons but it was very fluffy and fooled me about how much liquid it would need. Also damn bird had no skin flaps in the cavity and neck at all.  Rest of meal was great and my 15 year old daughter rocked her 1st ever sweet potato pie.

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This was the 7th year of Psychedelic Turkey on the Egg and it did not disappoint. I changed up the cavity stuffing by omitting celery and swapping in Anjou pears. While this may be "daring", all this talk of  spatchcocked turkey looks really awesome.  

Just imagine how happy you would be if you lost everything you have in life and then suddenly got it back
SOL Member #101

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Normally I host Thanksgiving at my house, but this year an Aunt from Queens NY could not travel to NH. So we moved the family Thanksgiving weekend to Bethpage NY along with the 50 people. A couple Turkeys and a Prime Rib helped feed the crowd. I was able to supply the apple pies from Manns Orchard in Methuen MA. My family was able stay at my sister's house 10 miles away, but the best part I wasn't hosting and had some free time. We arrive in NY Tuesday night and left Saturday. So I planned some Striper fishing time out of Captree with my son and we fished Wednesday and Friday. We had a great time jig fishing for some Stripers and Blues.

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I bought a farm fresh turkey last year for thanksgiving. Spent somewhere around 65-75 dollars on it for 21-22 lbs. This year I bought a 25 lb butterball. Cooked it the exact same way and nobody could tell the difference; including myself. This bird only cost 22 dollars so I think I will be sticking with butterballs next year. I am fairly new to cooking turkeys for thanksgiving but I have done surprisingly well. They have come out much better than most of the thanksgiving turkeys I have had at families and friends. I just rubbed it with kosher salt inside and out; along with pepper. Then I stuffed it with chopped onions carrots and whole cloves of garlic. Brushed the bird with melted butter. Cooked it for 2 hours on 325 covered with tinfoil. Took the foil off turned it to 350 brushed it one more time with melted butter. Then basted it with pan juices every 30 minutes. Cooked it this way for another 2 hours. Then cranked it up to 400 and finished the final 30-40 minutes. 25 lb bird took around 4.5 hours and came out crispy moist and delicious at 160 internal temp at the thigh and around 170 breast.

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Edited by CcCstriper89

The Best Day to go fishing is any day that ends in Y

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