Hello Recipe Club,

Is the turkey ready? A question you might hear next week. When the whole meal has to be ready around the bird, it helps to have some guidelines. I hope these help.

Thermometer Readings:

Insert your instant read thermometer between the body and leg into the meaty part of the thigh. Look for a reading of 160 - 165 degrees. When you remove the thermometer, the juices should run clear. If you must test the turkey in the breast, which I don't recommend, look for 160 - 165 degrees on a whole bird. Remember that the breast will be done before the thighs, so watch for this critical period in the cooking time.

Pound per Minute Method:

All ovens cook differently, so these times are approximate. On an unstuffed turkey, figure 15 - 17 minutes per pound at 325 degrees. On a stuffed bird, figure 20 - 23 minutes per pound.

14-16 pounds…about 4 hours unstuffed

18-20 pounds…about 5 hours unstuffed

22-24 pounds…about 6 hours unstuffed

Resting Period:

Allow at least one minute per pound before carving. That turkey is still cooking when it first comes out of the oven.

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Chipotle Cranberry Sauce

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon adobo sauce from chipotle chilies
1 cup sun-dried cranberries
1/4 cup brandy or bourbon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup water

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer 15 minutes, covered. Turn off heat and let sit, covered for 15 more minutes. Put ingredients in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency. Texture may range from somewhat coarse to smooth. 

Serve with turkey or mix with 1 stick of butter and spread on rolls.

Makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups.

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Roast Turkey with Corn Bread-Chorizo Stuffing

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

12 pound turkey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Stuffing:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 onions, coarsely chopped
5 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 pound chorizo, broken up
6 cups day-old corn bread, crumbled
3 cups day-old white bread, cubed
2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper; to taste
3 cups chicken stock, or as needed
1 cup white or rose wine

Preparation:

Wash turkey under hot water. Pat exterior and cavity completely dry with paper towels. Smear turkey with 4 tablespoons butter.

Sauté onions and celery in butter over medium heat until translucent. Remove with slotted spoon to a very large bowl. Sauté the chorizo in the same pan until lightly brown. Remove to same bowl and add remaining stuffing ingredients. 

Toss to combine completely. If mixture seems dry, add chicken stock or apple juice.

Salt and pepper the turkey's cavity and loosely stuff the cavity and the neck with the bread-chorizo mixture, leaving some room for expansion during cooking. Extra stuffing can be refrigerated in a covered casserole and baked at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes.

Sew up and truss the turkey. Place turkey on it's left side on a rack in a roasting pan. Add 1 cup stock and wine to pan. Place in preheated 400 degrees F oven for 20 minutes. Turn turkey onto its right side and continue roasting another 20 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Turn turkey breast-side down and roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Baste every 15 minutes or so, adding stock as needed. Turn turkey breast-side up and continue basting every 15 to 20 minutes for an additional 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

For a 12 pound turkey, cooking time will be from 15 to 20 minutes per pound, the internal temperature should reach 165 degrees F. The juices in the thigh should run clear when pierced with a fork.

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Stuffed Acorn Squash

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

4 small acorn squash, preferably orange skin
vegetable oil spray

Stuffing:

1/2 cup currants
1 cup warm vegetable broth, or as needed
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Granny Smith apples, cored and diced
1 1/2 cups corn kernels cooked, optional
1 1/4 cups very coarse fresh bread crumbs or finely diced bread
5 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, including flat-leaf parsley, basil, tarragon, thyme and/or sage
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
salt and black pepper, freshly ground

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut squash in half widthwise. Cut a slice off the top and bottom, so the halves sit straight without wobbling. Scoop out the seeds. Bake the squash, cut side down on a baking sheet oiled with cooking spray until soft, about 40 minutes Transfer the squash to a cake rack to cool.

Stuffing:

Plump the currants in the stock in a bowl for 10 minutes. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan. Sauté the onion, celery and garlic over medium heat until soft but not brown, 3 to 4 minutes.  

Add the apple and corn (if using) and cook until the apple has lost its rawness, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the bread crumbs, herbs, lemon zest, currants with the stock and salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be highly seasoned and moist but not wet. Add stock or salt as needed. 

Spoon the stuffing into the baked squash halves. The recipe can be prepared ahead to this stage.

Just before serving, bake the stuffed squash in a 375 degree oven until thoroughly heated, 15 to 20 minutes.

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Orange Flan

Ingredients:

Caramel:

1 1/4 cup sugar

Custard:

3 cups whole milk
3/4 cups sweet potato purée, room temperature
3 large eggs
6 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons triple sec or any orange flavored liqueur

Preparation:

Caramel:

Place sugar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium-high heat and cook while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heat proof plastic spatula until mixture in a light amber color, about 20 minutes. Pour the caramel into 1 1/2 or 2 quart casserole dish. 

Tilt dish to let caramel cover the bottom and slightly up the sides quickly so caramel does not harden.

Custard:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Bring 3 cups of milk to a near boil in a sauce pot. Whip eggs and yolks until thick and lemon in color. Remove the milk from the heat and whisk in the pumpkin purée. 

Continue whisking while adding the eggs. The milk should thicken slightly. Add the vanilla extract and triple sec.

Pour mixture into casserole and place casserole in roasting pan. Add water to roasting pan, enough to come halfway up the sides of casserole. Place in center of the oven and bake 45 to 50 minutes until mixture is firm, but a little shaky.

 Insert a pairing knife in the center and it should come out clean. Remove from roasting pan and let cool.

When ready to serve, run a pairing knife around casserole dish. Dip dish in a hot water bath for 1 minute. Place a large slightly lipped serving platter over casserole and invert to unmold flan. Cut portions and plate.

Source: Chef Jim Coleman
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