Brined Roast Turkey Crown Confit Legs Food

BRINED AND ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for the gravy. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.
• Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place breast side down in a large, heavy roasting pan, and rub on all sides with the butter. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and thyme. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.
• For the turkey broth: Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Add the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard to the pan and saute until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour the stock and 3 cups of water into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour, adding the chopped liver to the pan during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
• Strain the stock into a clean pot or large measuring cup. Pull the meat off the neck, chop the neck meat and giblets, and set aside.
• Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.
• Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
• For the pan gravy: Pour the reserved turkey pan juices into a glass-measuring cup and skim off the fat. Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat add the pan juice and 1 cup turkey broth and the white wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 3 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, then transfer to a measuring cup.
• In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux. Add the hot stock, whisking constantly, then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the reserved neck meat and giblets to the pan and adjust seasoning, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour into a gravy boat and serve.
• To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary.

TURKEY LEG CONFIT WITH SHALLOTS AND THYME

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt and pepper. Place the turkey legs in a large re-sealable bag and add the salt mixture. Shake around to coat the legs evenly and then seal bag and place in fridge overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add 1/4 cup duck fat. Remove the turkey legs from the bag and brush off excess salt. Add the turkey legs to the pot and brown all over, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the thyme, cloves, rosemary, star anise, fennel seeds, cinnamon, lemon peel and orange peel and then pour over the remaining duck fat so the legs are completely covered.
• Bring to a gentle simmer (without boiling or frying), then remove from the heat, cover and place into the oven. Cook until the meat starts to fall off the bone, about 3 hours.
• Place the legs on a baking sheet. Shred the meat and serve. Reserve the fat and use it to cook gravy, French fries or roasted potatoes. If making ahead of time, remove the pot from the oven and set aside to allow the turkey to cool in the fat. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator overnight to completely chill. To serve, remove the turkey from the fat and crisp in a dry pan to heat through.

BRINED ROAST TURKEY BREAST WITH CONFIT LEGS

Steps:

• For turkey leg and wing confit:
• Place whole legs and wings on a baking sheet. Rub chiles, salt, and pepper all over turkey; transfer to a large resealable plastic bag. Scatter herbs and lemon zest all around turkey in bag. Seal bag and chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 250°F. Brush off herbs and excess salt from legs and wings.
• Heat duck fat in a heavy 5-quart pot over low heat just until melted and warm. Add legs and wings to pot and submerge.
• Place turkey in oven and cook until legs are tender and a paring knife can be easily inserted into the thickest part of thigh, 3-3 1/2 hours. Let turkey cool in duck fat at room temperature, about 2 hours. Cover and chill overnight. DO AHEAD: Confit can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• For brine for breast:
• Coarsely crush allspice berries with a mortar and pestle. Alternatively, place in a resealable plastic freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin or the bottom of a skillet. Transfer to a large pot. Repeat with juniper berries, then fennel seeds. Place spices in pot.
• Add salt, sugar, and 2 cups hot water to pot with spices. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Add onion, carrot, fennel, parsley and thyme sprigs, bay leaves, chiles, and cloves. Add 3 quarts very cold water and stir to combine. Place turkey breast in brine. Place a plate on top, if necessary, to keep breast submerged. Cover and chill overnight.
• For roast breast:
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a large roasting pan with foil. Set a rack inside pan. Scatter onion, sage, and thyme over rack. Remove turkey breast from brine. Pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey breast on top of herbs on rack.
• Brush breast with melted butter. Season with salt and pepper. Roast turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F, cover breast loosely with foil, and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breast registers 160°F, 2 1/2-3 hours total. Let breast rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.
• Meanwhile, rewarm confit legs and wings in duck fat over medium heat. Remove legs and wings from fat; transfer to a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet and cook over medium-high heat until skin is nicely browned, about 6 minutes per side. Strain fat from pan and freeze for future use.
• Carve breast; arrange on a platter. Place wings and legs alongside.

CONFIT TURKEY WITH CHILES AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Combine brown sugar, black pepper, and 2 Tbsp. kosher salt in a small bowl. Place turkey legs in a baking dish just big enough to fit them or a medium Dutch oven. Sprinkle all over with brown sugar mixture and scatter smashed garlic cloves around. Let sit at room temperature at least 2 hours, or chill up to 12 hours (more time makes a big difference).
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 275°F. Cut heads of garlic heads in half crosswise. Nestle around turkey legs along with chiles and oregano sprigs. Pour in oil until turkey is mostly if not completely submerged (shove chiles down since they can burn if above the surface of the oil). You may need a bit more oil depending on your pot and size of turkey legs; don't worry, this oil can be reused in all kinds of ways so it won't go to waste!
• Braise turkey, uncovered, until meat has shrunk away from drumsticks dramatically and meat shreds easily with firm pressure, 3-4 hours (a few bubbles is okay, but anything above a lazy simmer and you should reduce the heat). Let meat rest, still submerged in fat, at least 1 hour.
• Pick out chiles from braising oil with tongs and place in a blender; add red pepper flakes and 1 cup braising oil. Let cool slightly, then blend until chiles are coarsely chopped. Add almonds and pulse until largest pieces are no bigger than a red pepper flake. Add sesame seeds and pulse just to combine. Season with remaining ¼ tsp. salt and add more red pepper flakes if desired.
• If eating right away, heat 2 Tbsp. braising oil in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Cook turkey legs, carefully turning with 2 pairs of tongs, until brown and crisp all over, 8-10 minutes. Serve with the almond-chile sauce.
• Don't discard the braising oil or the juices below: Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof container. Skim off fat to use for roasting potatoes, or your next confit project. Use juices in another braise, or stir into a pot of beans.
• Do ahead: Turkey can be braised 4 days ahead. Let cool, cover and chill (still in oil). Reheat, uncovered, in a 275°F oven until warmed through, about 40 minutes, before browning.