Quart of Brandy and Currant Glazed Turkey: A Piece of Cake #42
Quart of Brandy and Currant Glazed Turkey: A Piece of Cake #42
It's giving... It's giving Thanks.
I have always been a planner when it comes to holidays. Blame the subscriptions of Gourmet and Martha Stewart Living my house received when I was growing up. Poring over back issues was my childhood obsession. Normal kid stuff, you know? “Holiday Cocktail Party for 75,” or a “Rib Roast Dinner for 12.” Maybe a “Caroling Party for 25?” It all seemed very plausible to my 10-year old brain.
Well, here we are in 2021, and Gourmet is no longer with us. And even if it was, most of us—myself included—do not often entertain in the way magazines would have us think we should. While I still love the big undertaking of a holiday meal for 12, I also have realized that I also like to enjoy myself when I’m entertaining. A beautiful menu does not need to be a back-breaking menu. This week you’ll get three recipes, with an extra little salad suggestion tossed in, too.
The star of the meal is today’s turkey recipe. Tomorrow, you’ll get a make-ahead (and make-again) squash dish. And finally, you’ll get my best, tried-and-true apple pie recipe. Make this whole package of recipes. Or make one, or two. The point of this menu is just to inspire you. We’ll talk about what you can make ahead, what you can’t, and how you can enjoy some of these recipes on a non-Thanksgiving day. Now, without further ado, please welcome to the stage, The Turkey.
“Mrs. Richard Weld always bastes her turkey with currant jelly and 1 pint of brandy. Spoon this over the roasting turkey, a small amount at a time, often, during the time the turkey is roasting. One amateur I knew poured the whole amount over the turkey at once and the alcohol in the brandy blew the oven door off the hinges!!” (sic)
Peter Hunt’s Cape Cod Cookbook, 1954
I need to begin this write-up with a confession: I absolutely misremembered Mrs. Richard Weld’s ratio of jelly to brandy when developing this turkey recipe. And I’m so glad I did. The recipe you’ll find here uses a full quart of brandy (instead of her pint). It’s so damn good, and the extra volume gives you all the glaze you need to achieve a succulent bird. Now, please, don’t blow up your kitchen.
This turkey is truly a flavor bomb. One of my most cherished and revered taste testers was standing in the kitchen eating a next-day leg when she exclaimed, “Damn! The b***h is seasoned to the bone!” I really toyed with incorporating that into the recipe name.
I developed this recipe for an episode of Epicurious’ YouTube show Pro Chef vs Home Cook, but I was inspired by the currant-brandy glaze mentioned at the top of this writeup. This bird is sweet and salty and makes me want to drink wine surrounded by friends. There are a million recipes for “the best'' roast turkey out there, and I’ve tried a bunch of them. But after years of following other people’s wet brining, spatchcocking, and basting advice, I really stand behind this one. Thank you, Mrs. Richard Weld.
The only labor-intensive part of this menu is fully breaking down the bird. This not only cuts the roasting time by hours, but it really delivers on a juicy end result. Dry-brining with a ton of salt really digs that flavor deep into the meat of the bird. And glazing throughout the roasting gives the finished product a real punch. This skin is fully snackable.
Here’s how I know this recipe works: When we shot this turkey for Epicurious, the crew used an organic, heritage, bird with thick skin that soaked up the glaze like Peking duck. I was over the moon. And when it came time to shoot this recipe with Hunter, the only bird I could find in the five boroughs was a single, thin-skinned turkey at our local grocery store. Not “the only bird” as in, there was only one brand to buy, but like, the only bird to be had, anywhere. I was so worried that it wouldn’t translate; that the luxurious feeling of the Epi video turkey was just due to its pedigree. But reader, “The b***h [was] seasoned to the bone!”
