Remains of the Day

Thanksgiving often includes one or more of the following: physical and emotional ups and downs, enormous changes at the last minute, and triumph snatched from the jaws of disaster.  Ours, this year, combined all of these sterling attributes.  I'll draw a tasteful veil over several of the ups and downs, sufficing with the story of my aged father, who, after having agreed to come to Manhattan, began waffling about going out of the house.  A barrage of phone calls between his household, mine, and my brother's occurred as I was up to my elbows in the makings for pie, stuffing, turkey, etc., in an apartment that resembled the seventh circle of hell due to a 500F oven and the apartment's customary state of extreme disorganization.  My dad was finally persuaded to come out.  He had, however, already stolen G's thunder for the day by trumping him in the role of cranky-guy-who-didn't-feel-like-leaving-the-house.  Finally the first round of crises were resolved.  Souffléed pumpkin and toffee-apple-crumble pie were cooled, turkey tested at the correct temperature, and we prepared to go downtown with our many bags and boxes.

What had been planned as a quiet dinner for five in the suburbs had turned into a merry roistering evening for fifteen on the Upper East Side.  This was no problem, since we probably had food enough for thirty.  People brought wonderful dishes and conversation was as effervescent as the sparkling Flag Hill cyder.   Everything was going just swimmingly; all were imbibing and nibbling the savory cheese dollars I'd baked right before leaving the house, and exclaiming over the gorgeous smoked trout paté made by my brother.  Everything that needed heating was in the oven. 

Suddenly there came an urgent call.  I was needed in the kitchen.  I walked in to find my brother wielding a carving knife and looking askance at my lovely herb-roasted, crisply brown 18-pound natural free-range high-roasted turkey, which he had carved enough to reveal a rather reddish-pink center.   That meat thermometer had lied to me.  What to do?  I felt my ego collapse more quickly than my popovers, but this was no time for pride.  The day -- and the turkey -- had to be saved.  We shoved our poor, semi-butchered bird back into a high-heat oven, and decided that since we had almost everything else out on the buffet already, we'd serve, and turkey would come out a bit later.  This plan worked well, and the bird, when it was finally ready, was absolutely delicious. 

So all turned out well despite the dire warnings of Christopher Kimball, who made a point of calling in to Radio Open Source when I was on the Thanksgiving 2.0 program on Wednesday night.  Chris had called to tell me that roasting at 500F would be a disaster; he predicted the turkey breast would come out like cardboard.  I had entertained visions of a perfectly roasted, juicy bird that would stand up on its hind legs and say "Take that, Christopher Kimball!"  Don't get me wrong about the monarch of America's Test Kitchen -- after all, I wouldn't want to be un-American on this particular holiday.  I'm actually rather fond of his publication and website,  Cook's Illustrated, which can be a great reference.  For me it usually serves as a starting point rather than as the final word, however.  My problem with Cook's is that it sees itself as THE answer, operating on the premise that there's one right way to do everything.  I actually think there are at least as many ways to roast a bird as there are good cooks.  That can be the only reason why so many accomplished cooks each swear by their own method. 

In any case, our bird finally emerged still juicy and succulent, with an incredibly crisp brown skin.  While it wasn't picture perfect, due to its premature butchering, we found that the high-heat roasting had promoted a heavily seared exterior, and locked in the juices.  Our problem was due to the fact that the meat thermometer didn't give an accurate reading, perhaps because it was such a large bird.  And, interestingly enough, I've already encountered two other experienced cooks-cum-food-bloggers who ran into the exact same problem this very Thanksgiving.  So I do feel better about it all, and I'm still willing to give high heat roasting another go. 

Our leftovers were excellent last night, still moist and yummy upon reheating.  And consider what you see in the photo at the top of this post.  The frame of this turkey produced the richest, brownest poultry stock I've ever seen, which in turn produced a turkey-vegetable-barley soup which has all the deep flavor of the most divine turkey gravy imaginable, savory with vegetables and aromatics.  Can't wait for tonight's dinner, either --  especially since there's still some toffee-apple-crumble pie for after the soup and sandwiches...

Comments

[FMS]

Hiya. I have a blog too, just started recently. I saw that you wrote about food and I am also planning a food/recipe area for my blog. I'll read more later - just thought I'd check in. Also, take a look at my blog if you want.
stacy

[Moira]

Good God, Julie- you went against ST. CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL's advice and prevailed? Brilliant! Bravo! You rock! What a Thanksgiving to remember!

If you're not getting it yet, I'm very proud of you. In spite of your hiccup with the turkey, everything was perfect in the end. And we have to have a *little* excitement on Thanksgiving to make everything taste better, dont' we? ;-)

[pj]

For the past 4 years, I've roasted a smaller turkey (15 pounds and under) at 400 using the exhaustive tests from the San Francisco Chronicle with incredible results. Bird done in 2 hours and a few minutes, mahogany skin, perfectly moist meat. They found that if you cover the breast for the 1st hour, then baste every 20 minutes after that, all is gravy. I agree. I also agree with you about Cooks Illustrated - a great place to jump off from, but they tend to be a bit boring in the end.

Every festive meal has some type of snafu. This year, my husband turned the oven off, right after I placed all the side dishes in. This wasn't discovered until we were carving the turkey and getting ready to place dishes on the buffet!!!

[Joe C]

I probably rely on Cooks Illustrated more than the mistress of this site, and I think Chris Kimball is a genius. However, my sister the radio star correctly insists that the high-heat method can work well. So can slower roasting, as we discovered in Nantucket on Saturday afternoon when we had our SECOND Thanksgiving. My father-in-law had put his 20-pounder in a 350-degree oven, early in the morning. It was succulent and falling off the bone by 1 pm.
Thanks for mentioning the trout pate, which is one of the world's easiest recipes. But you forgot to praise the bwussels spwouts...and Sainted Mother's cranberry sauce was a huge hit in both New York and Nantucket, especiallly made with all organic ingredients.

[Dr. Biggles]

Yeah yeah, but what about the gravy? You mentioned something about gravy at the end, was that it?
Thanks for doing your own thing and biffing Kimball. I'm sure he's a fine man, but after receiving two years of the magazine I can't do it any longer. Their BBQ expert suggests to not use a wood fired pit due to the fact the lid imparts a bitter flavor to the food. That would be creosote due to an improperly maintained fire, his fault, not the pit's. And even if it does? Clean it and reseason it! They did an article a year ago or so about the fact their Cook's knife didn't do such a great job of slicing a roast and decided to do a whole article only to find out they needed a slicer. They also did a review of kitchen scrubbies, sigh. Although, I have to say their Mile-High Biscuit recipe RULES !!!
When do you think they'll have the show up for download? All the other shows are up, except ours. Pleah.

Biggles

[Julie]

Hi FMS -- thanks for stopping by, and happy blogging.

Hey Moira dear, great to see you here again. I know I'm bucking the Mob here, but I've always been a non-conformist...

Hi pj -- it's always a comfort to be reminded that holiday meals have their strengths -- and their challenges, so to speak. Glad to know that high heat roasting works for others, too.

Oops, I didn't mention my brother's fabulous balsamic-roasted brussels sprouts -- or the fact that he was the one who made Sainted Mother's Cranberry Sauce this year. Well, there were lots of dishes I didn't mention -- like my creamy Potato-Leek Gratin -- otherwise this post would have been miles long.

Dr Bigs! Always a pleasure when you stop by! Honestly, the gravy from that high-heat bird rocked. I roasted it in a pan that wasn't too much bigger than the bird, so that the juices wouldn't burn, and they made a gravy from heaven. Simple -- pan juices, turkey stock, slightly thickened with a roux and seasoned up. Good stuff.

Yep, I can never really be in agreement with the world's foremost experts on anything. There are too many variables -- everyone's situation is slightly different, and these things need to be taken into account. I'm gonna have to try the Mile-High biscuits, though -- we're big biscuit fans, here. I too am waiting for the download...

[Dr. Biggles]

Hey Julie,

Heh, I noticed a few hours after I sent Chelsea an email the link for the show's download showed up. Someone dropped the ball. I figured they didn't want to spread the meaty alcoholic message I spread. At least now the truth will be told.
My beef with CI is that many of their articles have to deal with technology that's been dealt with as far back as Mr. Beard's books. I have a small library of cookbooks spanning maybe 100 years and am expecting another book that goes back about 300. If people would just take the time and effort to look, read and listen, it's there. But I suppose with today's technology it never hurts to rehash what someone might have missed over the years.

Biggles