Gobble, gobble, gobble...

(To the melody of Deck the Halls....)

'Tis the season to eat turkey. Gobble gobble gobble, gobble gobble. 

As you might imagine, at this time of year, the focus of our classes turns to all-things-holiday. I've already taught two Thanksgiving themed classes, and there are several more to go in the next 10 days. By the time we get to Thanksgiving Day, we'll have roasted 5 turkeys, mashed 50+pounds of potatoes, and made 50+ pies in the various classes we have on our calendar.

I get asked a lot by my students about what I'm planning to cook for Thanksgiving dinner. Many of them expect that I've got an elaborate, multi-course meal in the works, complete with heritage turkeys, exotic spices, and high-end pastries for dessert. I shock them when I tell them that I'm not cooking at all. By the time Thanksgiving Day arrives, I'm all turkeyed out. 

But, those questions from my students got me to thinking....if I was going to make Thanksgiving dinner this year, what would I cook? My family is in Texas, and given that I work in retail, traveling and taking vacation during the holiday season just isn't going to happen. So, roasting a whole turkey for just me and maybe a couple of friends is just too much food. I decided on a turkey breast instead.

Now, I'll be honest, I usually prefer the dark meat of the turkey. It has so much more flavor and is so much moister than the white meat of the breast. But, there are things you can do to make the breast just as flavorful and moist. Probably the most important thing is to not overcook the meat. Get a good meat thermometer and roast your turkey to no more than 165°F. By roasting just the breast, it's actually easier to manage the temperature. When roasting a whole bird, you have to roast until the interior thigh meat is at proper temperature, which usually means the rest of the bird is over done.

The other way to add flavor and moisture is to brine the turkey breast. The simplest brine solution is just salt and water, and it works through the process of osmosis. If you remember from high school biology, osmosis is the process where cells try to attain chemical/molecular equilibrium with their surroundings. The fluids found in the turkey cells have less salt in them than the brine solution, so the turkey cells will draw in the salt to achieve that equilibrium. 

The great thing about the process is that the cells will draw in other things beside the salt. So, a good brine solution will have sugar and spices dissolved into it as well as the salt. But, why sugar? Sugar is the secret to keeping the meat moist. Sugar is hygroscopic, which means it absorbs water. Because the turkey meat will pull in some of the sugar from the brine solution, the meat will actually stay moist during cooking because the sugar will help it hold on to the juices.

(Who knew there was so much science going on with your Thanksgiving dinner?)

The next question is, to stuff or not to stuff? Growing up, my mom always stuffed our turkeys with a bread based stuffing. Man, it was good--the stuffing absorbed all of the juices from the turkey, it was so flavorful and moist. Of course, I never remember her checking the internal temperature of the stuffing to make sure it was 165°F. (As I recall, she would just put the turkey in the oven and let it cook for hours and hours.) But, that's the rule--in order to avoid salmonella, the you need to measure the temperature of the stuffing at the very core of the bird to make sure it's reached temperature. But, I was roasting just a turkey breast, so the question of stuffing really wasn't on the table. Or was it?

I hope you enjoy the following recipe. I also made a simple turkey gravy and mashed potatoes, and you'll find those recipes included as well. Whether you're going traditional this year, or ordering Chinese (which is my current plan), I hope you have a great Thanksgiving Day!

Roasted Turkey Breast Stuffed with Apricots and Almonds, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, and Brandied Turkey Gravy

The brine solution will also work for a whole turkey, but you'll need to at least double if not triple the recipe. When brining a whole turkey, you probably won't have enough room in your refrigerator or even a large enough bowl to hold the turkey and brine. I recommend using a brining bag and a cooler. Place the turkey and the brine in the brining bag (a large plastic bag), press out the air and seal it closed. Place the bag in a cooler and pack with ice.

Serves 6

For the Turkey Brine:

2 quarts cool water
¹/₃ cup Kosher salt
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon whole coriander seeds
¼ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 lemon, sliced

5 to 6 pound bone-in turkey breast

For the Apricot Almond Stuffing:

1 cup dried apricots
1 cup hot tap water
1 cup toasted almonds
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
½ bunch parsley
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Place the water, salt and brown sugar in a bowl large enough to hold the brine and the turkey breast. Whisk until the salt and brown sugar are completely dissolved in the water. Add the spices, bay leaf, and lemon slices.

Remove the turkey breast from it's packaging and discard the "gravy" packet if present. Rinse the turkey under cool tap water, and pat it dry with paper towels.

Using a sharp knife, carefully remove the turkey meat from the carcass. You should be able to see where the edge of the breast meat meets the rib cage, using the tip of the knife, "shave" the meat off of the rib cage. Save the carcass for making turkey stock.

Place the turkey meat into the bowl of brine solution, cover and refrigerate. Allow the turkey to sit in the brine solution for 12 to 48 hours.

Place the apricots in a small bowl and cover with the hot tap water. Allow the apricots to soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Place the apricots and their soaking water to the bowl of a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients for the apricot almond stuffing and process until a coarse paste is formed.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Remove the turkey from the brine solution and pat dry with paper towels. Carefully remove the skin from the turkey breast. Save the skin.

Place the skin side of each half of the breast down onto the cutting board. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice through the breast, keeping your knife parallel to the cutting board, and open up the breast like a book. Cover each breast with a sheet of plastic wrap and using a meat mallet, gently pound the turkey to flatten the breasts and even out their thickness.

Season the breasts with salt and pepper. Top each of the breasts with half of the apricot almond stuffing mixture and spread it into an even layer.

Roll the turkey breasts into cylinders, tucking in any flaps of meat or bits of stuffing as you go. Season with salt and pepper.

Take the reserved turkey skin and cut it into two equal pieces. Lay a piece of skin over the top of each rolled breast and secure with kitchen twine. Transfer the breasts to a sheet pan fitted with a wire rack, then drizzle the breasts with extra virgin olive oil and rub into the skin.

Place the turkey breasts into the oven and roast for 15 minutes. This initial blast of heat helps the skin to brown and crisp. Drop the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to roast until a thermometer inserted into the center of the breast reads 165 degrees F, about 1 ½ hours.

Carefully transfer the breasts to a cutting board and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Remove the string, slice and serve.

For the Brandied Turkey Gravy:

1 turkey breast carcass

2 small onions, roughly chopped

4 stalks of celery, roughly chopped

3 carrots, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

10 cups of water

3 stems of thyme

1 bay leaf

½ bunch of parsley

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons all purpose flour

¼ cup brandy

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Using a cleaver or large chefs knife, chop the turkey carcass into 2 to 3 inch pieces. Place the turkey pieces, onions, celery and carrots into a large sauce pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and stir to combine. Place the sauce pan into the oven and roast until the turkey pieces and vegetables are browned, about 60 to 90 minutes. Stir the turkey and vegetable pieces every 15 to 20 minutes as they roast.

Remove the saucepan from the oven and place on the stove top. Add the water, thyme, bay leaf and parsley. Heat over medium high heat until the mixture is boiling, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 2 ½ hours. 

Strain the turkey stock through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl. Discard the turkey pieces and vegetables. You should end up with about 5 cups of stock. Measure out 3 cups of the stock for the gravy.

Add the butter to a saucepan and melt over medium heat. When the butter is melted, whisk in the butter to make the roux. Once the butter and flour are completely mixed together and bubbling, add the brandy and whisk to combine. Allow the mixture to cook for about 30 seconds to boil off the alcohol. Slowly pour in the 3 cups of turkey stock, whisking continuously. Continue to cook, stirring,until the gravy begins to bubble and thickens. Season to taste with Kosher salt and pepper.

For the Creamy Mashed Potatoes:

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup heavy cream

Kosher salt and black pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2 inch chunks. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cool water. Set the pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. (I actually prefer to use a cake tester, you can really feel the texture of the potatoes when you insert it. Any hint of grittiness indicates that the potatoes are not fully cooked.) Drain the potatoes into a colander, then using a potato ricer, rice them back into the hot saucepan. Using a potato ricer will insure lump-free, creamy potatoes.

Mix in the butter and cream and season to taste with Kosher salt and pepper. Serve immediately with the Brandied Turkey Gravy.