Recipes and Reviews

I was unable to get a pasture raised turkey for Thanksgiving, so I decided to give a kosher bird a try. In kosher processing, they don't scald the bird to pluck it, so you are likely to get more pin feathers and skin rips. They coat the bird with salt, to draw out the blood, before rinsing it off, which makes it so it is unnecessary to brine the bird. I went with a really simple wet rub, applewood smoke, and no injected spices or liquid just to see how the kosher bird would come out.

This was my first Thanksgiving with my Masterbuilt electric smoker, and I was also anxious to try out my new Turkey Cannon. The The Masterbuilt smoker is insulated and has digital temperature control, a big bonus when smoking in the cool season. The Turkey Cannon is a gadget for making "beer can chicken" with a full-sized turkey. Since the base of the cannon sits several inches outside the bird, the liquid heats up much better, infusing the cavity with steam. The claim is that it greatly speeds up cooking, in this case I can verify that the claim is true. Normally I have to smoke a 14 pound turkey for at least 6-8 hours; this 17 pound bird was done in just over 3!

The result was a very moist and flavorful bird.

I made a large quantity of sweet potato soufle and garlic mashed potato for Thanksgiving this year with this dish in mind for leftovers. I made it in individual serving cassarole dishes but it could easily be done in a large baking dish like a more traditional shepherd's pie.

Be sure to use broiler safe baking dishes if you want to use the broiler to crisp the potato crust on top of the dish.

The cold weather got me in the mood for some chicken/turkey pot pie, but I didn't really want to do all the work making the crust. Out of nowhere, Laurie suggested that I could try using whole wheat tortillas. What a great idea to try! It turned out really well, though like making quicky pizzas on pita bread, it will never replace a pot pie with a homemade crust.

I also wanted to eat out of the freezer, and try to keep with local produce that is available in the winter. Does it really make sense to use celery in the mirepoix, when I'm making what I consider a cold weather dish? I suppose I could have used some celeriac in its place, if I grew some this year, but I didn't. The only things in this recipe that are not locally grown are the tortillas, the flour and the spices.

I give most of the credit for the incredible flavor to the homemade stock, and the heirloom, home-grown potatoes. Using other quality local ingredients made a difference, but it was the stock an potatoes that really stood out.

Since this dish cooks moist and slow, it is ideal for using up leftover frozen chicken or turkey. You could certainly use fresh meat, as I do in my regular chicken pot pie recipe, but this is one case where you don't lose much by using frozen leftovers.