Peace and Gratitude
For Thanksgiving this year, I decided to “spatchcock” the turkey (also known as “butterflying;” removing the backbone, so it lies flat while roasting) instead of whole roasted. This beast of a bird weighed 23 pounds! Roasting this huge turkey whole would have taken all the space in my home oven and about 4.5 hours of my life. Once I had decided on this process, I bought the biggest roasting pan I could find (it almost didn’t fit in my home oven!), but it was barely big enough for the turkey.
To spatchcock the turkey, I removed the backbone using heavy duty poultry shears. Once removed, I opened the back side of the turkey and then flipped it placing the cut side on the cutting board, breasts up, legs and wings spread wide. Then with a medium pressure, I pushed the breast down, breaking the breastbone so it laid flatter on the cutting board. Once this was done, my usual process for roasting turkey began: an overnight wet brine; patting the turkey dry the next morning; a dry brine with salt, brown sugar, and black pepper for 12 hours; compound butter stuffed under the skin and rubbed all over the inside cavity before roasting.
The wonderful thing about spatchcocking turkey is that it only took two hours to roast the 23 pound bird. Because the turkey was flat, all sides of the turkey cooked evenly at the same time, producing juicy meat and beautiful crisp skin all over the bird. The process also freed up more space in the oven; an entire free rack below, simply perfect for roasting vegetables and baking the mac and cheese. I rubbed the dry brine and compound butter on all the parts of the turkey since the entire surface of it was facing up and cut open, facilitating tons of flavor in each bite from the two types of brine and the butter. Serving the turkey was quite easy as well. The butterfly state of the turkey made it easier to transfer from the roasting pan to the serving board. There was no trussing twine to remove, and all parts of the bird was easily accessible during carving. It looked quite impressive, an all-around success! I was thankful to find an efficient and delicious solution to an overwhelming task. I took a moment to be grateful that the biggest problem I had to solve in that moment was how to prepare such a huge turkey!
I made the usual favorites sides: mac and cheese, creamy potatoes, ratatouille, gem salad, and roasted pear and carrots with whipped feta. To finish, I baked my signature cherry pie and served it with vanilla Chantilly cream.
We had a wonderful dinner with everything we wanted and so much more.
I am grateful every day for the life that I have and for the loving people who surround me. On Thanksgiving Day, when I was able to make great food for my family and spend time with them, when I received loving texts from friends, getting the much needed nap after the meal, having the convenience of Black Friday shopping without leaving the house, the privilege of long holiday weekend from work, and the peaceful quality time with my son and husband, I was reminded of how truly lucky I am. I am thankful.
While Thanksgiving has already passed, I still want to share with you my Spatchcock Turkey Recipe just in case you feel inspired to try it for your Christmas dinner or any family dinner celebrations you have coming up.
I have recently found a love for baking pies. When my weekends are not too full, I make time to bake pies. Some mornings, when I am up early and have 30 minutes to spare, I try to make pie dough, keeping them in the freezer for the exact moment I want to make pies. The great thing about my Pate Brisée (a fancy term for shortcrust) is that it is good for sweet AND savory pies. Recently, my favorite baking creations have been Cherry Pie and Quiche Lorraine. One crust, two very different, delicious pies.
Sometimes I make pies while I listen to my favorite classic-read-a-hundred-times books. Charles Dickens and F. Scott Fitzgerald have been good companions during these kitchen times. But there are those days when the lyrics of Kacie Musgraves, The Avett Brothers, Brandi Carlile, and Tom Petty set the right mood. No matter what I choose, music and novels always add a little something special to my creative moment. The sugary and buttery aroma of all the ingredients and baking crust mixed with contemplation on young Pip’s expectations, deeper understanding of Jay Gatsby’s belief of the American dream, or awakened emotions from the lyrics of Deeper Well or You and Me on the Rock have proven to be the perfect combination for a good pie. The entire process gives me peace and a feeling of gratitude for creating something good.
So, with that said, I am also sharing with you my recipe for cherry pie.
I hope you get to make these recipes as you listen to your favorite playlist. I hope the process gives you peace.
Bon Appetit.
Chef Mayet