November 24

Turkey Before Thanksgiving

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• Leftover Barbecue Chicken
• Leftover Pancakes
• Sautéed Greens
• Roasted Turkey Drumsticks [View Recipe]

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  Ingredients

  • 2 pounds turkey
  • 2 large carrots (peeled and quartered)
  • 2 medium parsnips (peeled and quartered)
  • 2 medium onions (peeled and halved)
  • 1 stalk celery (rinsed and quartered)
  • .5 tablespoon oil
  • 8 leaves sage (cleaned)
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • salt & pepper
  • .5 cup orange juice
  • .5 cup [object Object]

  Instructions

  We start by preheating the oven to <temp val="375"/>. We toss the oil on the carrots, parsnips, onions, and celery in a roasting pan. Next, we rinse and pat dry the turkey drumsticks and push the sage leaves under the skin. We rest the legs on the vegetables and smear the butter on top of them and a little under the skin as well. We wash our hands well and sprinkle the turkey and vegetables with some salt and pepper.

  We roast the turkey for 1 hour and 40 minutes, checking the temperature occasionally and rotating the pan after 45 minutes. We want the temperature in the thickest part of the leg to reach <temp val="180"/>.

  When the turkey is cooked, we remove the legs to a plate to rest. We put the stove-top safe roasting pan (with the vegetables still inside) on the stove over medium heat and deglaze with the orange juice and stock. We bring the liquids to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. We remove the vegetables to the plate with the turkey legs and strain the deglazing liquid into a measuring cup. We refrigerate the measuring cup, covered with plastic wrap, to be used for the gravy.

  We serve the drumsticks with the vegetables.

• Turkey Broth [View Recipe]

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  Ingredients

  • 1.3 pounds giblets (rinsed and patted dry)
  • .5 tablespoon oil
  • 1 medium onion (rinsed and halved)
  • 1 stalk celery (cleaned)
  • carrot peels
  • parsnip peels
  • 4 cups water
  • 3 sprigs thyme (cleaned)
  • 1 sprig parsley (cleaned)
  • 1 sprig sage (cleaned)

  Instructions

  We start by heating the oil in a medium pot, one that is wide enough to fit the gizzards in one layer. We add the gizzards and brown, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. This browning step will provide a roasted flavor and a deeper color to the broth.

  When the turkey innards are nicely browned, we add the vegetables, water, and herbs and bring it to a boil (we could have of course substituted homemade or canned chicken broth for the water for an even stronger poultry flavor). We lower the heat, and cook for 1 hour, skimming the "scum" with our skimmer as it appears on the surface.

  We strain the turkey broth into a large bowl, adding the gizzards to the bowl for additional flavor as the liquid cools. The turkey broth is refrigerated overnight.