So the setting for this years thanksgiving dinner is to be an apartment in greenwich village nyc, and its to be prepared upon return from watching giant inflatable underdogs and stuff. Since time and space are limited I decided to do a lot of prep ahead of time and to make things a bit non-traditional given the setting.

Last saturday and sunday I boned out two 11 pound fresh turkeys, sending about 6 pounds of dark meat to my new grinder for a batch of turkey sausage with dried tart cherries (from Ruhlman's Charcuterie).

The carcass went to the stock pot while the livers (almost a pounds worth) went to the fry pan for a batch of mousse (with a bit of flaming brandy)

Monday was spent making a chestnut stuffing for the breast. I based this on a Mario Batali recipe, so it had some prosciutto and parm in it.

here's the breasts butterflied, pounded, and brined:

Stuffed:

and rolled:

more to come.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: j biesinger,

One word "WOW'

J,
I'll bring the beer if you just give me your address!! VERY NICE!!!! You're gonna make people happy with that spread!

WOW indeed....please, please, please follow up with some pics and details of the cook....this is something I HAVE to try!

Thanks guys, but lets not get ahead of ourselves, I still got to cook the stuff.

The parade went surprisingly well, no trouble taking the train uptown or back downtown. and we had a reasonably good look at the balloons. no underdog though.

Here's the turkey liver mousse on toast. It came out very well for a first try, only wished it had been pureed a bit better. Lighting wasn't the best and I hate to use the flash (and I forgot my little tripod) so the photo's a bit fuzzy.

and the salad. Greens with apples, shaved parm, fried prosciutto, candied pecans, and maple balsamic vinegrette.

Turkey breast before they hit the oven:

Very nice, jb! It all looks great! That turkey sausage is catching my eye though. And the grinder looks like a Sausagemaker special (which I have one of). How well does the grinder work as a stuffer? In looking at the recipe, did you add pork fat?

Sounds like you’re having a great time!

Bill

quote:

Very nice, jb! It all looks great! That turkey sausage is catching my eye though. Smiler And the grinder looks like a Sausagemaker special (which I have one of). How well does the grinder work as a stuffer? In looking at the recipe, did you add pork fat?

you got it. I went there about a week ago planning to see if could get them to come down from the $120 that was listed since I found the same model elsewhere for $100. before I even said anything he had already dropped the price to $110. we ended up talking and he decided to charge me the full $120 but threw in a $15 can of food grade lube and a used copy of a newly issued, $20, book on dry curing sausage!

The grinder seemed like it will work well enough for grinding and stuffing small batches of sausage like this. I just got to get my technique down. This was my first try and the resulting sausage was a little grainy after cooking.

I used pork fat like stated in the recipe. The cinnamon and clove in the recipe, I felt, was too much. next time I plan to cut back about 50%.

Here's the finished plate: turkey roulade with chestnut stuffing, smash potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips, sausage and cranberry chutney.

Chestnut stuffing was nice, I'm definitely going to try it again.

and the sausage worked great with the chutney.

That looks great, jb but boy, does that plate clash with the counter top or what?



Was that Richard, the older gentleman that you worked with? And what's the name of the book?

Your sausage looks really good for a 1st run !!!

And, where did you get your pork fat? I can't seem to find it around these parts..

Bill

quote:

That looks great, jb but boy, does that plate clash with the counter top or what? Eeker Razzer

Wink

Was that Richard, the older gentleman that you worked with? And what's the name of the book?

Your sausage looks really good for a 1st run !!! Cool

And, where did you get your pork fat? I can't seem to find it around these parts..

yeah, I run with all white plates, I was gonna say something about the plate, but I was a guest so I slop the grub on what ever is offered.

not sure who I talked to. Its an older gentleman, he's been there both times I stopped by. I was asking him about dry curing and he hands the book to me saying that I could have it, it just came in but he had finished reading and he thought it might help me out. He had broken the spine and it had a few stains, so I guess it wasn't like they could sell it. I don't have the book with me, I'll get you the title when I'm back home. It provides a totally different perspective from the charcuterie book in terms of dry curing.

The recipe calls for fat back which I easily found at sloan, however the morning of the day that I intended to make the sausage (a sunday to boot) I realized it was "cured with salt and water." so I referred to the book and they specify that fat back should be fresh and not salt cured. Lets just say I wasn't a happy camper. I dialed just about any and every butcher I could think of and it wasn't until my wife came up with redlinski's did I hit pay dirt. They didn't have fat back but he said they had plenty of pork fat that I could get for .49 a lb. So I went over there for 2 1/2 pounds which the sold to me for a buck! I was thinking I would have to start hoarding fat off all the butts I cook, or special ordering it 12 pounds at a time from federal, not now. Redlinski's also looked like they had some interesting stuff. Their ribs looks really nice, they had some good looking sausages including some stuff that I had to google to figure out what it was (polish blood and liver sausage).

J/K about the plate .. I wouldn't have said anything either.

Richard is the only older guy there. He and Jon, who's moved on, have been very helpful and generous with me over the last couple years. Thanks, I'd like to check that book out.

Where's redlinski's? I've heard of them, obviously, but never been there.

Thanks,

Bill

It's a few notches above my experience, but I'd eat that, and seconds. Looks great, uptown non traditional.

I really like the cranberry chutney idea, I make fresh cranberry sauce, and I sneak some dried ones in my stuffing.

I'm just fixated on getting different fruit into my stuffing right now, I used pear and dried cranberries on my t-day. I'm gonna tried dried apricots, soaked, diced next. Maybe you'd like a fruit element in your stuffing for these turkey slices? It might add a touch more visually (not saying I think they need it or anything, I think they look great!).

its on walden about a block east of union. We spotted it going from sloan to the galleria mall and thought we should check it out some time. They claim their breakfast sausage is "world famous." I found they had some nice info at a website:

https://www.buffalofoods.com/home.htm

As far as dry curing goes, I can't wait to get going, but I'm just concerned about the right temp and humidity (this new book has got me worried, really worried). I'm a dry cured meat junkie, and I need a way to get my fix without having to drive 600 miles. today here in nyc I've purchased a stick of house made salami from pino's meat for $8, 2 oz of mojama for $40 a pound, 2 oz of jamon iberico for $90 a pound (I couldn't go for the $150 a pound jamon iberico bellota...but I wanted to), and a 1/4 pound of bresaola for $18 a pound. its going to be a salty and savory meal tomorrow night.

quote:

It's a few notches above my experience, but I'd eat that, and seconds. Looks great, uptown non traditional. Smiler

I really like the cranberry chutney idea, I make fresh cranberry sauce, and I sneak some dried ones in my stuffing.

I'm just fixated on getting different fruit into my stuffing right now, I used pear and dried cranberries on my t-day. I'm gonna tried dried apricots, soaked, diced next. Maybe you'd like a fruit element in your stuffing for these turkey slices? It might add a touch more visually (not saying I think they need it or anything, I think they look great!).

thanks for the kind words.

I didn't make the chutney, it was my mother-in-laws assignment. we love it, its got a great vinegar element, and it helped cut through the fact that the sausage was a but over spiced. golden raisins work nice and add a contrasting color.

as far as the stuffing went, if I do it again I'm going to cut way back on the bread (the chestnuts got a bit lost), and maybe go with bigger pieces and more prosciutto (or maybe bacon). I was hoping for some green in it with all sage, rosemary, and parsley. cranberries would be good too, but I was trying to avoid fruit since there was cherries in the sausage and with the chutney and all.

Candied pecans are always a nice touch, especially in salads.

I have used that same grinder before for the sausage I made at my dads house. He's had his for just about a year now, and seems to like it. We use a manual crank for stuffing though, Haven't tried to stuff with this one.

Great cooking ideas. I'm always looking to expand my horizons (as long as its not seafood) and try new things. That mousse looks interesting. Hopefully this doesn't sound lame, but is there something that can be compared to this flavor wise? I have had and enjoyed stuffing that uses the giblets for flavor, so I can swing that.

quote:

Great cooking ideas. I'm always looking to expand my horizons (as long as its not seafood) and try new things. That mousse looks interesting. Hopefully this doesn't sound lame, but is there something that can be compared to this flavor wise? I have had and enjoyed stuffing that uses the giblets for flavor, so I can swing that.

the best I can compare it to might be a liverwurst. with butter and cream, it emulsifies into a similar consistency (well if I had blended it better) and it had a similar liver flavor note. the neat thing was that it had an earthy, almost truffle flavor to it. if you have adventurous guests I recommend giving it a go, we got fairly good reaction to it, and my wife took a liking to it despite her dislike of anything liver.

I'd be happy to post the recipe since it came from a book that is out of print.

In case anybody other than me is interested, apparently what I made is correctly identified as a ballotine.

from wikipedia:

A ballotine is a piece of meat, fish, or poultry that has been boned, stuffed and then rolled and tied into a bundle. It is then usually poached or braised. Dishes include the breasts of chicken pressed between cling film and 'hammered' with a variety of stuffings. It is alleged that ballotine of turkey is a classic dish among high society England and is claimed to be the Queen's favourite Christmas lunch. The dish is becoming more popular with 'multi-bird roasts', which comprises a range of birds stuffed inside each other using the same technique.

A dish with its origins in Victorian and Edwardian excess, three and four bird roasts are common place with dishes of 12, 17 and 21 at the height of the skill, often created for festive occasions.

Im still waiting on the name of the book.

quote:

not sure who I talked to. Its an older gentleman, he's been there both times I stopped by. I was asking him about dry curing and he hands the book to me saying that I could have it, it just came in but he had finished reading and he thought it might help me out. He had broken the spine and it had a few stains, so I guess it wasn't like they could sell it. I don't have the book with me, I'll get you the title when I'm back home. It provides a totally different perspective from the charcuterie book in terms of dry curing.

quote:

Im still waiting on the name of the book. Cool

sorry Bill, but the truth is that I never made it home. I decided to take up residence on Christopher St in Greenwich Village and am now a purveyor of a different type of smoking equipment.

we walked Christopher St multiple times a day when we were there due to the fact that it was the fasted route to the subway. Luckily my daughter's not tall enough to look in to the shop windows, and she was pretty distracted running along hand in hand with her cousin. She did notice the shop with puppies but seemed to miss the others sell more outrageous novelties.

sorry to keep you waiting: The art of making fermented sausage, Marianski.

amazon link

rather than give you my review, I thought this one was the most along my thoughts:

Like other recent books by the Marianski's this one is self-published, through Outskirts Press, and it clearly has not benefited from the services of a professional editor or proofreader. The book is littered with grammar mistakes, typographical errors, and odd locutions. The way the text is organized, they end up covering the same subjects from multiple angles, with the result that they repeat themselves over and over. Sometimes the organization simply seems haphazard, with "notes" appearing at the end of a section which could be more accurately labeled "afterthoughts." The information presented is clear and accurate; just don't expect a gripping read.

This book is definitely a useful addition for any other meathead out there wanting to try and make fermented sausages at home. As a book dedicated to this subject, they go deeper into the issues of chemistry, microbiology, sanitation, and equipment (for smoking, fermenting, and drying) that all affect the quality of the finished product. The second part contains 50 detailed recipes, with precise measurements in grams, so that even a relative newcomer to this craft can proceed with confidence. This book usefully bridges the gap between simpler cookbooks and advanced textbooks such as Fidel Toldrá's Handbook of Fermented Meat and Poultry (which sells for $200). At $20, even with all its faults on its head, this book is a bargain.

Bill, I got the amazon link for you, and the review, both which I probably wouldn't have done if you hadn't asked for the name of the book again. Anyways, the reviewer mentions he has a website which I found with a little bit of snooping. It has some great info, and I 'm really glad I found it, so thanks for the persistence.

this little piggy