Ask the A2K cooks!

@msolga,

I don't follow this all the time - as in posting photos of cakes for a2ker's birthdays - anyone who wants to know can click on the URL and usually find the site, but for recipes I think it's a good idea.

I had a horrendoma episode of my own bad behavior, yammering about Izzie's lack of referencing a source for her photos on the beautiful animals thread. Egads and little fishes, it took me forever to understand that she was the particularly fantastic photographer. Cripes. And Izzie is the nicest person in the world.

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@msolga,

I will, I will. My friend Richard of Bakersfield (maven of many realms, food, ecology, city planning, politics, architectural history, gardening) got two, if I remember, at thrift shops. Only one good one around here, but I need to go there more often.

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@ossobuco,

No, but I try to.
Sometimes I forget.
Or get lazy.

Quote:

I had a horrendoma episode of my own bad behavior about Izzie's lack of referencing a source for her photos on the beautiful animals thread. Egads and little fishes, it took me forever to understand that she was the particularly fantastic photographer. Cripes. And Izzie is the nicest person in the world.

Agreed.
Iz is a fantastic photographer!
And I don't need to add anything about her, personally.
Everyone knows that already! Smile

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@sozobe,

Thanks for sharing your clay pot turkey suggestion, soz.
And for the link.
I will go there in just a minute & see what tips I can pick up.

I am really unlikely to ever attempt to cook a whole turkey in my Romertopf (I'd be eating it for a year! Smile

Besides my clay pot is too small) but maybe a turkey breast or something like that?
I'll see what recipes I can find.

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@sozobe,

Quote:

Made several things ahead of time (cranberry nut bread, cranberry sauce, step one of fiery sweet potatoes [thai red curry, coconut milk]). Then the turkey was done right on time (2 hours in my trusty clay pot), once it was finished I put the stuffing and sweet potatoes in the oven and made carmelized corn with mint on the stovetop. Half-hour later, everything was ready to eat (at the same time!).

This is very unusual.

Excellent work.
Well done! Smile

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@msolga,

Any turkey roasting experts here?
I need a little help if you are ....

I just bought a de-boned & stuffed turkey leg for roasting.
It weighs 1.736 kilograms, the equivalent of 3.83 pounds.

The wrapper says " cooking instructions on the back of the label"...
Trouble is, I can't remove the label from the plastic to read it. Smile

So I've been doing a bit of Googling & I gather it should be cooked at around 220 C degrees (425 F). In a pre-heated oven.

The problem is, I can find lots of information for whole turkeys, but very little on what I actually have here.

Suggested cooking time, anyone?

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@msolga,

It's OK.
I used brute force & finally got the damn sticker off! (Now to get it off my fingers, where it appears to be permanently stuck!)
According to the directions: around 1 hour & 40 minutes @ 180 C.
Sounds a bit low to me, but oh well, I will plough on & see what happens!

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@msolga,

The hour and forty minutes sounds close to right. It might be a bit longer to account for the stuffing. But the absence of a bone might cancel that out. If 180 C is close to 350 F, that's about right.

Last night I have turkey thigh--bone in. I cooked it for an hour and twenty minutes at 350.

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@Roberta,

Ah. Thank you, possum!
I feel reassured! Smile

I am quite clueless about just about all things turkey.
It has been cooking away for about 45 minutes now.
No major catastrophe to report ... yet! Wink

According to my online conversion enquiry: 180 C , moderate = 375 F

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@msolga,

BTW, I always braise turkey parts to account for the absence of moisture from the whole bird. And be sure to baste often. (Once every fifteen minutes or so.)

Thinking: A turkey leg is much denser than a thigh. Check for doneness at about 90 minutes, but don't be surprised if it's not done. To check for doneness with a turkey (assuming there's no thermometer embedded), stick a thin knife far in and see what color the juices flow. There should be NO PINK.

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@Roberta,

Thanks again, Roberta.
Yes, it took a bit longer than recommended & I even let it "rest" for 10 minutes before carving. (A first! Smile

)
It turned out pretty well, though there's enough left over for quite some time! (I wonder if it freezes well? .... haven't frozen roasted meat before.)

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@msolga,

Turkey freezes very well. Just make sure that there is no stuffing/dressing in what you freeze (freeze it separately from the turkey).

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@ehBeth,

Thank you!
Will do.
Thank the goddess I don't have to eat all that this week! Razz

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@msolga,

I'd never even heard of a stuffed turkey 'leg' before, but I looked it up and sure enough got plenty of hits! Gordon Ramsay has an interesting recipe but it requires a 'very sharp knife' for deboning the leg. I'd probably cut off my hand lol.

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@Irishk,

Quote:

I'd never even heard of a stuffed turkey 'leg' before

Either had I, Irishk!

But there it was on sale. De-boned & stuffed with apple, supposedly cranberries (though I'm a bit doubtful about that!) & other things ....

Quote:

Gordon Ramsay has an interesting recipe but it requires a 'very sharp knife' for deboning the leg. I'd probably cut off my hand lol.

Oh I wouldn't attempt it, either!
Do you think I'm mad or something?
I'd be missing a finger (at least!) in no time! Razz

Just one last thing ...
As some of you may have noticed, cooking turkey is not exactly something I'm familiar with.
So, if I wasn't roasting a leg next time, any other tried & true suggestions?
Not for a whole turkey, please.
I am pretty certain I'm never going to do that! Wink

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Freezing pesto for winter:
I've done this before & not been 100% happy with the results.
I've been Googling to see whether leaving out the olive oil, or the cheese, will improve things.
Opinions are divided on both.
Some people leave out the Parmigiana & add it later when cooking, others leave it in.

Quote:

If you want to freeze the pesto you make, omit the cheese (it doesn't freeze well). Line an ice cube tray with plastic wrap, and fill each pocket with the pesto. Freeze and then remove from the ice tray and store in a freezer bag. When you want to use, defrost and add in grated Parmesan or Romano.

Fresh Basil Pesto:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fresh_basil_pesto/

Apparently (from what I've read, anyway) Italians prefer not to freeze olive oil.
What's worked the best for you?

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@msolga,

Some of us wonder why you would cook a turkey, it's a famously dry and relatively boring bird.

The best turkey I've ever cooked, a quite small one, was butterflied, also know as spatchcocked, and I'm sure I've posted on this somewhere on a2k. I remember I got the particulars, after I'd previously had success with a butterflied chicken (that via Giuliano Bugialli) from a Mark Bittman column in the New York Times, no link (I watch my links re NYT, we non payers get only twenty a month).

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@msolga,

I've read somewhere not to add the cheese if you are going to freeze it. I always freeze it, past what I use for one meal - so I add cheese later if and when I do.

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@ossobuco,

Thanks, osso.
Yes, I often freeze hard cheese with no problem (on it's own) if I have a large quantity, but in something like a pesto sauce, not so successfully.

But then I was wondering if it was just the cheese, or the combination of the cheese and the olive oil .....

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@msolga,

What turkey parts can you buy individually?

1 Reply

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