Cured and Smoked Thanksgiving Bird

Thanksgiving Bird...

 

 

Every year my employer provides us with a voucher for a 10-12# turkey, which I am very grateful for.  This year I decided to do something different.  Something besides the dry and boring oven roasted turkey.  You can throw pineapples or cherries on it, slather it with a way too sweet glaze, or stuff it.  At the end of the day it's usually dry and not very special to me.  This year I cured it by injecting a pickle solution then smoked it on a kettle smoker and I have to say, it came out better than even I expected.  First we start with the curing process.

This pickle solution can be changed up using different quantities and different products and certainly produce a great bird.  This is what I used:

   

• 3/4 cup Morton Tender Quick - a combination of mainly salt, sugar, nitrite, and nitrate
• 3/4 cup honey - I used Bernard's 
• 3 cups water - filtered water

I injected the meat with this solution on Thursday evening and smoked the bird Friday starting around 11:30.  I feel that a longer duration of soak would have yielded a much too salty bird.  You can certainly decrease the amount of Tender Quick if you would prefer a less "hammy" flavor. 

On Friday I lit the smoker around 11:00 and proceeded to wash down my turkey.  I trimmed the extra skin from the butt and neck region and saved that for the gravy.  After a wash down with water I rubbed it down with olive oil and seasoned with garlic powder and fresh crack black pepper.  Be careful NOT to salt the outside.  There is plenty of salt already in the meat from the pickle solution.  My smoker can only hold a really consistent temperature around 225 F, which is why I used the Tender Quick.  When cooking at low temps the meat is often in the "danger zone" for prolonged periods.  This turkey took me around 6 hours to cook and you don't want any bacteria to grow out of control during that time.  You can also use pink salt #1 instead of Tender Quick if you would like to regulate how salty the flavor will be.  Trying to maintain a temp around 225-240 and using a hickory and cherry mix I began to smoke the turkey around 11:30.  I inserted a temperature probe into the thickest part of the breast being careful not to rest the probe against a bone.  Make sure and put some kind of pan under your turkey to collect your drippings, those will make a great gravy.

 

 

While the turkey was getting up to temp I started on a few other things.  

The gravy - I browned the neck, butt, neck skin, heart, gizzard, and a small piece of liver in a saucepan.  I added chopped garlic and onion for about 5 minutes.  I then deglazed with chicken stock and added a couple Rosemary sprigs.  I simmered this for the entirety of the turkey cook.  After the turkey was cooked I made a roux using the turkey drippings from a dripping pan and flour.  Combined the roux and hot broth and added lots of crack black pepper for a delicious light brown gravy.

 

 

 

 

The mulled wine - Mulled wine is a warm mixture of red wine, brandy, citrus, and spices.  This can be made several different ways, but here is what I did. 

• 2 bottles red wine
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup honey
• cloves
• anise
• nutmeg
• cinnamon sticks
• 2 sliced oranges

Add all ingredients to a stock pot and bring it up to a simmer for several minutes then keep it warm on the burner serve.  I found it helpful to put all the spices into a cheesecloth to keep small pieces out of the serving glasses. 

 

 

 

 

You really have to resist the urge to check the turkey too frequently.  Remember, if you're lookin' then you ain't cookin'.  Around this point I loosely wrapped the wings and legs with foil to prevent them from turning too black by the end of the cook.

 

 

 

 

Of course, at times like this the food isn't the most important thing.  Sharing with friends and family is by far the highlight of the holidays.  Some good beer and bourbon were definitely shared as well.

 

 

 

Finally, after a cure time of 18 hours and smoke time of around 6 hours at 225 it reached 160 internal temp.  I removed the turkey at 160 and let it rest for around 1 hour with foil tented over the top.  After removing the IT still climbed a few degrees to approx. 165.  Here is the final product carved up.  It was one of the best turkeys that I have every had - juicy and just the right amount of salt.  The two most important things to nail are the internal temp and brine or cure time. 

 

 

I hope the you have enjoyed the latest addition of Coonass Cuisine.  Be on the lookout for the next post - Homemade Bacon.  Until next time, keep your guns clean and dogs fed!!

Makin Tasso...

Its gumbo time and one of my favorites is a good ole chicken and tasso, hell, anything and tasso for that matter, so I figured i'd show you guys and gals how I make my tasso at home.

I like to start with a nice thick cut Pork Shoulder/Butt Steak.

 I get mine custom cut to 1-1.5" steaks at Southend Country Mart in Lafayette, La.

 I then debone the steak. You could leave the bone in but this would increase the curing and smoking times. But trust me, the bone will not be wasted.

 Coincidentally enough, the bone is my dog Tasso's favorite part.

 I then cut the steak up into about 4-5oz pieces since this is the size I usually use for cooking at home. Notice that I did trim off the fat cap but will treat it just like the meat, this "tasso fat" will be very flavorful and a great addition to beans or greens.

 Next is the cure. This is a very simple cure made up of Kosher salt, Pink salt #1, and White sugar, all measured by weight.

  Ratio:
1) 450g Salt
2) 225g Sugar
3) 56g Pink Salt

 I store my cure in a Mason jar, make sure that if you are storing cures including pink salt in your house that you label the container and make sure everyone knows not to eat this mixture.

 I then put a layer of cure down into a non-reactive container and place my pork on top.

 Then pour more cure on top of the pork and begin to completely coat every inch including all nooks and crannies.

 Once completely coated, place the pieces into a resealable bag and store in the fridge for 4-5 hours.

 While the pork is curing, I like to get my seasoning together. This is how I season my tasso but by no means is this the only way. Feel free to change the ingredients and ratios to suite your liking, I will say that this ratio produces a rather spicy sample, so cut back on the cayenne if your scared.

   Ratio:
1) 1 Tbsp White Pepper
2) 1 Tbsp Paprika
3) 1 Tbsp Black Pepper
4) 2 tsp Cayenne
5) 1 tsp Garlic
6) 1 tsp Marjoram
7) 1 tsp Allspice

Mix these ingredients thoroughly. This will make enough seasoning for two pork steaks worth of Tasso so I like to store my seasoning in a shaker for later use.


Once you remove the pork from the fridge, rinse it thoroughly with cold water and pat dry.

 I sprinkle the seasoning into the bottom of the container before placing the pieces in.

 Then I add more seasoning to the top and rub it into the pieces.

 Once its completely coated, its time to smoke.

 I smoke my tasso depending on the thickness and how much smoke  flavor I want. For this batch I will be using hickory and smoking at roughly 225° F to an internal temperature of about 155° F. If you don't have a smoker or a thermometer, this can be done on a grill. I would recommend setting one of your burners to as low as it will go and cook using indirect heat. You can then visually and physically tell when the tasso is done by the firmness and watching for when the fat is beginning to render. Keep in mind that you are not trying to sear, brown, char, etc, you are merely trying to add some smoke flavor and reach a safe internal temperature.

 If all goes well, this will be your final product, give it a chance to cool before cutting into it.

 Time to give it a taste. Here I made a quick hash with tasso, potato, onion, garlic, parsley, and a fried egg. Enjoy!

Introduction

My name is Taylor Hargrave and I was born and raised in South Louisiana.  The goal of this blog is to help preserve the culture that I was raised in and that I have grown to love.  Residents of this region do not merely live here.  This is our home and it is who we are.  We love the Saints, the Tigers, our dogs, cold beer, and food.  As a means to reach my goal I will be concentrating on the Cajun and Creole methods of cooking.  I have never attended any type of culinary school so many things on this blog may contradict what you have previously learned.  Every time I cook something it always tastes a little bit different than the last time, and that my friends, is what makes cooking so unique.  Each time I prepare a dish I will be taking step by step photos and explaining a little about the cooking process.  Please feel free to change up the recipes and let me know the results.  Enjoy - Taylor

Hen and Sausage Gumbo

Hello everybody, this will be my first recipe posted on this blog.  A basic hen and sausage gumbo with potato salad and garlic butter bread.  I've chosen this recipe for two reasons: 1 - it a good chance to explain the roux making process 2 - it is prefect gumbo weather outside.


THE GROCERY STORE
Let us start with the grocery store trip.  You can always add or omit some of these items, but like I said we will keep this basic.  So go to your favorite grocery store and pick up the following items: a whole hen, gizzards and hearts, chicken necks, andouille sausage, tasso, onion, celery, bell pepper, parsley, green onion tops, garlic, flour, vegetable oil, carrots, potatoes, eggs, mustard, mayonnaise, French bread, and last but not least your beverage of choice.  Now that we have all of our supplies on to the prep work.


PREP WORK
I like to get everything ready before I fire up the burner because nobody like to chop veggies while stirring a roux.  First let's prepare the meat.  The hearts need no prep work so we can throw them into our chicken bowl.  The gizzards on the other hand do need to be trimmed a little bit.  If you look at the gizzards closely you can see the blood red meat (the good stuff) and the rubbery white connective tissue on one side.  We are going to slice the rubbery part off so that when we eat our gumbo all the gizzards will be nice and tender.

trimming gizzards

  You can always skip this step if you like chewy gizzards.  So now we have our hearts and gizzards in our chicken bowl.

gizzards and hearts

Now on to the hen.  Try to buy a nice fat motherly looking hen, because we got mouths to feed.  Quarter up your hen trying not to butcher it too bad. We will come out with 2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 wings, 2 drumsticks, and a back. 

cut up hen

Now get as much meat off of the back as you can then throw the bones into your favorite stock pot.  Season the meat with your favorite blend of spices.  I'm using a seasoning blend, garlic power, and paprika, but use whatever your taste buds like.  Once you have seasoned the front and back throw your cut up hen into your chicken bowl. Don't short change your hen and just season the front either, that's not nice.  Now the meat is all prepped up and hopefully we didn't cross contaminate anything because salmonella don't play and I'm runing short on sick time.  Lets get back to our stock pot and add the chicken necks, very roughly chopped carrots and celery, minced garlic, salt, and whole black peppercorns. 

stock pot

Make sure not to use all of your garlic because we have a few more things to do with it.  This will be the chicken stock that we will use later.  On to the Cajun trinity.  What is the Cajun trinity you might ask.  It is a combination of chopped celery, onion, and bell pepper.  Nearly all gravies or sauces incorporate some form of this holy mixture into the process.  Nothing smells as good as cold chopped veggies hitting the black pot once you've browned a little meat in it.  So chop up your celery, bell pepper, yellow onion, and throw some mined garlic on top of that.  So now we have our chicken bowl, stock pot, and veggie bowl.  Open up your sausage and tasso and thinly slice the sausage then chop up the tasso.

tasso and sausage

Now all of our  prep work is complete, so open up your brew and let's take this party outside.


A FEW THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

1. Black cast iron pots are usually the way to go when cooking Cajun dishes because they retain heat well, they make an awesome roux, and they don't break.
2. The pot might not break but it will break your glass top stove, so do everyone a favor and invest in a propane burner, besides it's way more fun to cook outside anyway.
3. I have 3 utensils that I deem necessary for the kitchen which are: a strong set of tongs for lifting meat, a wooden flat tip spatula for making a roux and whatnot, and a metal flat tip gravy spoon for scraping the bottom of the pot to stir up your graton.
4. Call some friends to come over because nobody likes to cook or drink alone, but I'll do it if they make me.
5. Setup your cooking area with a cold beverage and some music and we're ready to light the burner.


COOKING IT UP

Turn your burner on medium and add your sausage and tasso.  We want this to get a little black on the outside because it adds flavor and we want to get as much grease out of these products as possible.   If we don't brown the meat before adding it to the gumbo then a thick layer of grease will float on the surface - not good.

browning tasso and sausage

Once we have reached this point take the meat out and place the hen in the pot.  Don't burn the hen but dont be scared either, and if you're scared, just say you're scared.

browning hen

After the hen has been satisfactorily browned on all sides take it out and place it in a clean bowl.  At this time lets add water to our stock pot and bring to a boil.  Once our stock is boiling reduce to a simmer a leave it covered. 

boiling stock

Now it's time for the roux.  The single most important part of making a gumbo is the roux.  Without it you'll be eating a soup.  Okra or file can be used instead of a roux, but for this gumbo only a roux will doux.  A roux is simply oil slowly frying flour, and it is all about your ratio and heat.  I usually use a ratio of about 4:3 flour:oil, but because I still have some grease in the pot from browning my meat I will take that into account and use less oil.  Turn your fire down to low and add your flour and oil.  Stir the roux until you get a light brown uniform color.

starting roux

Now, roux is easy to burn so constant stirring is required and slowly increase your fire to low medium - medium.  Once you have burned a roux there is no salvation, so if it's gone black, it won't come back.  After an hour or so the roux will be a dark brown or reddish color and have a great nutty smell.  After our roux is on point then add all of your chopped up veggies to the roux.  This will result in a dark clumpy mixture with brightly colored veggies. 

roux with veggies

If the smell doesn't make you want to slap yo mama then you did something wrong.
 Stir this mixture for about 10 minutes then strain all of your stock into the main pot.

after adding stock

It should be smelling really good now.  If you need to add water to achieve adequate thickness of the gumbo do it now.  Gumbo should be thicker than soup but it should still fall off of a spoon like a liquid, not a paste. Our gumbo is starting to look and smell right.  Bring this to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Once our pot is simmering add all of the hen, sausage and tasso, and hearts and gizzards. 

after adding meat

Cover your gumbo and let it simmer until the biggest chunks of meat become fork tender.  Season to taste with your favorite seasoning blend and voila, we have a gumbo. 

THE SIDES

Boil some red potatoes and eggs in salted water.  Peel the eggs and combine the potatoes and eggs together in a mixing bowl to mash.  Add mustard and mayonnaise to achieve a tasty consistency.  It's good to have some chunks of potato and egg because nobody likes the texture of baby food.  Season to taste and our potato salad is finished. Roast some garlic in the oven at 400 for about 25 minutes.  Melt 1 stick of butter in the microwave.  Slice open your loaf of French bread.  When your garlic is finished pop out the cloves and mix into the melted butter and lather your bread with it.  Now toast your bread in the oven for about 10 minutes. 

garlic butter bread, chopped parsely and onion tops

1.  spoon some gumbo over white rice - Louisiana rice of course
2.  get some potato salad and French bread
3.  put some chopped parsley and onion tops on that gumbo
4.  get a fresh beverage and sit around a table with friends and enjoy.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this adventure as much as I did creating it.  Next time I will remember to take better pictures of the finished product, sorry Corey for cutting your face off in the last one.  I have many more recipes in the works and some collaborations to come.  Please let me know if you try this method out. 
Until next time, keep your guns clean and your dogs fed - Taylor