Comments (1)

By zach, January 26, 2010 7:25 am

This turkey nacho is a great snack and a good way to use up some of those turkey leftovers. The jalepeno cranberry adds an awesome spice level to this nacho.  Simple to make and tastes even better.

Turkey and Jalepeno Cranberry Nacho

Ingredients

• 1/2 can cranberry sauce with whole cranberries
• 1 jalepeno, diced (keep seeds to increase heat)
• 1/2 bag round tortilla chips
• 1 cup turkey, diced
• 2 cups mozzerrella cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

• Add cranberry sauce and jalepeno to a sauce pan. Heat on medium for 5 minutes and reduce to low for another 10.
• Pre-heat over to 375
• Place 1 layer of chips on a baking dish or pizza stone.
• Top chips with 1/2 turkey and 1/2 cheese.
• Place another layer of chips on top.
• Again, top chips with 1/2 turkey and 1/2 cheese.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

To serve top with jalepeno cranberry sauce and sour cream.

Comments (0)

By zach, December 29, 2009 12:35 pm

I love making batches of stock and storing it in small containers for later use. It’s a great way to use all the parts of a chicken, turkey or cut of beef. This recipe is for turkey stock and the stock can be interchanged with recipes that call for chicken stock.

• turkey carcass + neck
• 5 carrots, rough chopped
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons peppercorns
• 12 cups water.

Directions:

• Put all ingredients in large pot and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low and cook for 4 hours.
• Pour through a strainer and remove fat. I use a fat separator to remove the fat.
• Store in freezer in 1,2, and 4 cup containers for later use.

Comments (1)

By zach, February 28, 2009 3:54 pm

Thanksgiving is a big event in my family. In 2008 I was the host and I wanted to do something very special with the turkey. I decided to braise the turkey and create a real flavorful gravy.

This turkey is cooked by braising cooking method. Braising is a great way to cook. It is relatively easy, produces great tasting food, and the meat is always moist. The basic idea for braising is to slow cook a piece of meat with some liquid in the oven. Check out this wikipedia article for more detailed information on braising.

Purchasing a turkey from a grocery store is fine. There are lots of free range and organic options if that is preferable. When choosing the size of the turkey it is suggested to get 1.5-2 lbs of turkey per person. Err on the high end of that range to have additional leftovers.

Turkey Dinner with Guinness Gravy

Ingredients:

• 1 turkey
• 1 cup salt
• 3/4 cup poultry seasoning (improvise with pepper, salt, parsley, thyme)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 cup Guinness Stout
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt to taste on turkey and gravy

Prep work the day before:

Brine the turkey. Brining is a process to add moisture to your turkey by soaking the turkey in a salt water solution. This can be done the day before.

• Use a big bucket. The turkey should fit inside the bucket and be able to put a cover over the top.  Note that the turkey will need to go back in the refrigerator so check on the space availability.
• Add a cup of salt to the bucket.
• Add 1/4 cup poultry herbs. This will have a marinade effect and add more flavor to the turkey.
• Add some cold water to the bucket. Fill the bucket a 1/3 to 1/2 full. Remember the turkey still needs to be added.
• Stir in the salt and marinade ingredients. Stir until the salt has dissolved.
• Place the turkey in the bucket.
• If needed top off with some more cold water to cover the turkey.
• Cover the bucket and place in the fridge overnight.

Brine the Turkey Overnight

Prep work the day of:

• Cut the turkey into pieces. This will create more surface area and cook the turkey faster. It’s not an easy thing to cut up a raw turkey so if you want to cook the turkey whole that’s fine too.
• In a bowl, mix the canola oil and 1/2 cup poultry seasoning to create a wet rub.  Rub all over the turkey and under the skin.
• Put all the turkey pieces in a roasting pan skin side up. Now add the braising liquids (Guinness and chicken broth)

Cooking the turkey:

• Cover with tin foil and cook in the oven @ 325 degrees for about 2-3 hours. Use a meat thermometer in the thigh and breast to determine done-ness. If the turkey is being cooked whole follow the directions on the packaging.

Guinness gravy:

This gravy is really deep in flavor and goes great with turkey.

To just make this gravy (No turkey) use this recipe

• Saute the mushrooms. It’s ok to saute them up early. If done early, store the mushrooms in the refrigerator.
• When the turkey is done cooking, pour or spoon the pan juices into a bowl.
  • There should not be much fat but you may want to separate the fat. This gravy separator from Amazon.com works really well.
• In a large sauce pan, on medium-high heat add flour and butter. Stir frequently for 5 minutes.
• Add 4 cups of the pan juices.  Continue stirring.
• Bring to a boil and reduce to low, add sauteed mushrooms.
• Cook on low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add salt to taste. (Note — may not need salt; taste first)