Share
I wrapped a turkey withmeat this Christmas
Initially, Christmas dinner chez Swenson-Tiano was going to be all about beef. We’d already done the free range organic 18lb Turkey feasts for both Canadian and American Thanksgiving. And, I wanted to cook a prime rib, or Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon. Something roasty and delicious.
And then, Sandra came home with a great deal on a frozen turkey from Sobey’s, and put on her sad face when I explained my plans.
Since this one was smaller, say, 12 pounds or so, I thought it would be fun to try something a little riskier than my usual high heat roasting technique.
Browsing the recipes at FoodAndWine.com is one of my current favorite ways to spend a few minutes. When I stumbled across the Panchetta-Wrapped Roasted Turkey recipe, I knew I had to give it a go.
It starts out with a brine made of salt, jalapeno slices, and a whopping 1/2 cup of red pepper flakes. If you know me, you know that I like the spice. The hotter the better, actually. Well, after giving the brine solution a few stirs, I had enough hot in my lungs to make me have to leave the kitchen in a coughing fit. Cooper and Jackson quickly hid upstairs, and even Sandra chose to stay safely in the living room.
Undaunted, I slid the turkey into the brine and covered it with saran wrap to let it steep overnight in the fridge. I wasn’t sure that it would be edible, but it’d sure be interesting!
The next day, I mixed up a spice rub of chili powder – I used chipotle for the smoky heat – cumin, and fresh spices. After rubbing it over the turkey, I layered slices of regular pancetta to cover as much of the bird as possible.
Pretty stunning, eh?
Again, I was a little skeptical, though. The recipe advised cooking breast up at 325 for 4 hours; longer and slower than my usual methods.
And yet, four hours later, we enjoyed the most deliciously and subtly seasoned turkey I’ve ever cooked.
What makes this recipe not only beautiful but brilliant is the element of surprise. With that much spice in the rub and the brined, we’d expected the turkey to be quite spicy as well. So, that first bite that was just delicately flavourful was a happy shock. The pieces of meat just under the skin had a tiny bit of kick, but the rest was just tender and juicy. (How could it not be with a layer of fat locking in all the flavour?!?)
In any case, I highly recommend this recipe. Next time? I want to try the same technique with a maple brown sugar chili rub and layers of smoked thick-cut bacon.
Subscribe to my blog by email >
December 29th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Wow!! I have read about putting a turkey in a brine and how good it is, your turkey is making my mouth water….will have to try a small one someday, thanks for the great picture and recipe. Hope you had a great Christmas!!
December 29th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
That turkey looks amazingly delicious! Thanks for sharing the pictures and recipe. I now need a snack after reading this…
December 29th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
so weird… i wrapped our turkey in smoked bacon. i wasn’t knocked out with it.. i want to try the brine, and the pancetta. that sounds much better.
December 29th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
That is completely fabulous! Thanks for sharing.
December 30th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
I\’ve brined turkey and it has turned out delicious. The spices and pancetta…brilliant!! What a beautiful turkey!
Happy holidays!
Chelle
December 31st, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Looks and sounds absolutely delicious! Have a Happy New Year.
January 1st, 2010 at 3:37 pm
WOW that looks amazing! Thanks for the link to the recipe, I’m definitely trying this one!!
January 2nd, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Looks delicious! I think I will have to remember this recipe, not for Thanksgiving but because I’ve been wanting for awhile now to roast a small chicken…