Thanksgiving turkey cooked at low temperature

Ingredients for 10 servings:

• 1 large turkey, fresh, preferably organic, approx. 8 to 10 kg
• pinch(s) salt and pepper
• 100 g butter, in pieces
• Liver(s), neck, heart and lungs of turkey
• ½ celery root, finely diced
• 2 large carrots, finely diced
• 1 large onion(s), finely diced
• 250 ml white wine
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 2 tbsp thyme, fresh or dried
• Sugar
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 jar sauce (cranberry sauce), optional
• 50 g butter
• 1 large onion(s), finely chopped
• 250 g bacon, sliced
• 1 small can of corn
• 4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dried herbs (optional)
• 250 g bread(s), (maybe a little more) – without crust – cut into medium-sized pieces
• 2 small eggs, whisked

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 18 hours; Total time approx. 19 hours 30 minutes

Note: The turkey must be prepared the night before, as it needs to be in the oven for at least 15 or 16 hours, depending on its size. My prepared bird weighed 9.5 kg and went into the oven at midnight, as we wanted to eat around 18 or 19 o’clock the next day. We therefore prepared it in the evening and put it back in the fridge for the remaining hours until midnight. The night before: Wash the turkey thoroughly inside and out and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Carefully loosen the skin over the breast meat and push small pieces of butter under the skin. Do not simply cut into the skin, but work over the neck opening. Cuts in the skin encourage meat juices to escape and should therefore be avoided. Prepare the stuffing if desired: I used this truly wonderful corn and bacon stuffing from the recipe database: “Melt the butter and sauté the onion and bacon until translucent. Place the onion and bacon in a bowl and mix well with the remaining ingredients (except the eggs). Quickly fold the eggs into the mixture. Tip: Don’t stuff the turkey to bursting point. Stuff the bird, but don’t overstuff it, as the stuffing will expand during cooking, and secure it with toothpicks.” Season the outside of the bird with salt and pepper and place it on the oven rack in an oven preheated to 220°C (425°F). The rack should be in the lower third so the bird is in the center of the oven. Place a large casserole dish/drip pan in the lower part to catch the fat and drippings. During this time, the butter will melt and the turkey fat will begin to drip into the pan. After one hour, reduce the temperature to 85°C (185°F). From now on, you don’t need to worry about the bird until it’s ready to be served. For the remaining cooking time (stuffed turkey about 16 hours for 8 kg, about 18 hours for 10 kg, etc. – depending on weight), keep the oven closed and don’t baste the bird! On the evening of the meal: About an hour before dinner, sear the turkey giblets in butter and olive oil in a large, heavy pot until browned and lightly sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add the finely diced vegetables and roast them. Deglaze with white wine, pour in the chicken stock, season with salt, pepper, thyme, and a pinch of sugar. Simmer uncovered for at least half an hour so the stock reduces and infuses properly. Remove the giblets and purée the sauce with the vegetables. The puréed vegetables give the sauce a wonderful flavor and a light binding. Add the cranberry sauce and season with salt and pepper. When the turkey is done – the meat should be 85°C (185°F) throughout; check with a meat thermometer if necessary – carefully remove it from the oven. Caution: Some meat juices will still have formed inside the bird and have not yet drained away. Carefully move the turkey back and forth on the grill and over the drip tray, “tilting” it so that the meat juices are collected in the dish (I ended up with about 750 ml (2 cups) of pure meat juices and about 250 ml (0.9 cups) of pure fat). Place the bird on a serving platter, scoop out the stuffing, and serve in a separate bowl. Empty the contents of the drip tray into a tall, narrow container (e.g., a measuring jug), skim off the fat, and pour the pure meat juices into the gravy. Bring the gravy back to a boil, season to taste, thicken if desired, and serve with the bird. The most complicated part of this recipe is the gravy, since once the bird is in the oven, you don’t have to worry about it any more. For all the doubters: There’s really no need to worry about salmonella, as long as the turkey is fresh, the kitchen and all materials (knives, cutting boards, work surfaces) are kept clean, and the oven is heating reliably. After such a long cooking time, it’s completely impossible for any part of the bird to be undercooked. The better the quality of the turkey, the more you’ll enjoy the meat in the end. In our case, the legs came off easily from the joints, and the meat fell off the bones, it was so tender and juicy. At Thanksgiving, in addition to the turkey, we had homemade red cabbage, bacon-wrapped beans, garlic mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, and, of course, turkey stuffing. With its high bread content, this was a great addition to the menu and tasted like sophisticatedly seasoned dumplings.