Skip to main content

BBQ Turkey with Cranberry Sauce

 


Not having traditional family winter breaks meals was fine.  Last week.  This week is a different story.  I unlike most people, love turkey.  Baked turkey, fried turkey, and especially BBQ turkey.  Ok, let me clarify.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE white meat turkey.  Dark meat is for making to casseroles or something else less glamorous. Not eating on a fork with gravy, not eating straight out of the leftover bag, and most certainly not for eating on cold turkey sandwiches.  White meat is the shnitz.  Having been gifted a turkey by a family member who had two whole leftover turkeys in the freezer from Turkey Day and being to big to cook in the oven, I settled on my favorite way to cook turkey.  BBQ.  

Modifications Made: Turkey
Normally BBQ turkey is rubbed heavily with olive oil and then coated with dry turkey flavor seasonings.  This time we used the gifted Tony Chachere's Butter Injectable Marinade that accompanied the turkey.  Tony Chacehere Original is my go to seasoning for most everything so I had to doubt this turkey would be great.

Turkey Instructions:
Follow the injection seasoning per poundage of turkey.  Prepare pit temperature to 200-225 and cook until skin in golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165F.  If skin in getting too brown, place aluminum foil over turkey to tent in extra heat. Now the hard part, let turkey rest for a solid 30 minutes off the pit but still covered tented foil to allow juices to return to the turkey.  Slice and enjoy.

Modifications Made: Cranberry Sauce:
Two simple modifications: reduced sugar by 1/4 cup and added 1 teaspoon of orange extract.

Scaled for Likability: Great
Better than great!  Traditional holiday turkey is meant to be served on the plate with a wide variety of sides.  Sides in my opinion deter from the turkey itself especially when the turkey is freaking fabulous and moist thanks to this injectable marinade.  Dry rubs are gone the way of the dodo for me.  I will spend the extra costs to purchase the marinade.  It is so worth the investment. All my plate needs is warm white turkey slices and cold cranberry sauce circles.  Yes, circle slices.  As in the stuff from the can.  Perfectly delicious.  

Tonight however I needed something new and with prodding by the table counterparts who fondly remembers loving homemade fresh Cranberry Sauce as a child, I gave it a go.  Besides, the berries were on sale 50% so there was really nothing to lose.  Nothing to lose expect 40+ years of not having the real deal and settling for canned.  Homemade cranberry sauce is the best thing in the whole world!  The BEST.  Little balls of wonder that pop when cooking, that make a dull plate pop with color, and accidentally pop into the mouth by the spoon full when no one is looking.  Never can I go back to the canned stuff.  Never.  Better to have none if fresh is not available than canned substitute.

To round out the new on the traditional holiday meal was pan fried fresh asparagus instead of canned green bean casserole or canned green beans swimming in bacon and onion.   Neither of which I enjoy eating to begin with as a kid and most certainly not as an adult.  Tonight's meal was a traditional holiday menu gourmet style.  It was fabulous!  Too bad I have to wait a whole year to have it again.  Boo-Hoo.


Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup.  Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too.  Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup  are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water.  Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender.  Green be
Read more

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It  is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6  Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes).  Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft.  Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water).  Bring to a boil and then add potatoes.  Cover and reduc
Read more

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over.  There are so many more potato recipes saved.  Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes.  With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive.   The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half.  Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe.  These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted.  Bummer.  Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough.  Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese and did not contain enough onion, garlic,
Read more