Maple Roasted Turkey and Gravy

Maple Roasted Turkey

My plan for Thanksgiving this year is to keep ‘all things simple.’ We are going to be out of town on the actual holiday, so we had our celebration early. I made a small bird, because we are a small family. Also, I didn’t want a pile of leftovers, because we are a small family. I heard about maple roasted chicken and figured I could do it with a turkey. They are both fowl? Right?

Right! This was so easy. Prep only took 15 minutes and then I could go on to make the rest of my meal. I only had to baste the turkey twice. This was the moistest turkey I have EVER tasted. The sugar in the syrup carnalized and held in the juices. The maple, garlic and thyme were a perfect flavor combination.  You could probably use rosemary instead, but I really liked the thyme.

Servings:  6-8

Hardware:  Knives & a chopping board, measuring cups, a whisk, a silicone spatula, a large spoon, a sauce pot, kitchen twine, paper towels, a 12-inch skillet that can be used on top of the stove and in the oven (I used cast iron), a thermometer, a serving platter, foil, a strainer, and a small bowl

Time: Prep-15 minutes, Cook-2 ¾-3 hours, Turkey in 4 hours

Ingredients

• 8-pound turkey whole chicken
• Salt and black pepper
• 5-6 sprigs thyme
• 4-5 stalks celery
• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• Cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 3 cups chicken broth
  

1. Heat the oven to 375˚ degrees. Clean the celery and slice each stalk in half. Wash and save the celery tops. Peel and quarter the onion. Peel the garlic and crush it. Set aside.
2. In the saucepan, melt the butter on medium-low. Add a large sprig or two of thyme, a garlic clove and the maple syrup and cook while whisking for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Pat the turkey dry. Remove the giblets and save them for something else. Generously sprinkle the turkey with salt and pepper, inside and out. Place a quarter of the onion, the celery greens, the rest of the garlic and the rest of the thyme into the cavity.
4. Spray the skillet with cooking spray and heat over high heat. Put the celery stalks and the rest of the onion into the skillet. When the skillet is hot, place the turkey, breast side up, on top of the veggies. Tuck the wings under and tie the legs together.
5. Pour about ⅓ of the maple mixture over the turkey and salt and pepper again. Place the turkey in the oven. Roast the turkey for 2-3 hours or until the thermometer reads 165˚ when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. Pour another ⅓ of the mixture over the turkey every hour.
6. When the turkey has reached the desired temperature, place it onto the serving try and remove the veggies and herbs from the cavity. Tent it in foil and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
7. Now, make the gravy. Mix the cornstarch in the small bowl with ½ cup of COLD water until the cornstarch dissolves. Strain the pan juices into the sauce pot, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch-y water. Boil while whisking until the gravy thickens. Taste it and adjust the salt. Carve the turkey. Serve warm. Be thankful.

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

This year my Thanksgiving theme is ‘all things simple.’ Roasted Parmesan Asparagus couldn’t be any easier if it cooked itself. Also, I know that no everyone loves asparagus, so you could do this exact recipe using green beans. BUT, hear me out, offer these to people who think that they don’t like asparagus. They will change their minds!

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

Servings:  6-8

Time: Prep: 5 minutes Cooking: 20 minutes-asparagus in about ½ an hour

Hardware: A cutting board and knife or kitchen shears, measuring spoons and cups, a large mixing bowl, a smaller bowl, a baking sheet, foil, tongs, silicone spatula

Ingredients:

• 1-pound fresh asparagus
• ½ stick of butter (¼ cup)
• ¼ + ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper (or more according to taste)
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Cover the baking sheet in foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Place the butter in the mixing bowl and melt in the microwave.
3. Wash the asparagus and cut off the woody ends. Mix ¼ cup of Parmesan, the garlic, pepper and salt in the smaller bowl.
4. Put the asparagus in the mixing bowl and coat with butter. Toss with the Parmesan mixture.
5. Spread everything out evenly onto the foil, making sure to scrape all the cheese and butter out onto the spears. Roast for 10 minutes. Toss and sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with more pepper if desired. Roast for 5-10 more minutes. Serve warm. Make sure to scrape up all the crunchy bits of cheese and serve that too. Or eat it yourself when no one is looking.

Instant Pot Pork Belly BBQ

Instant Pot Pork Belly BBQ

Pork belly is much more than just unsmoked bacon. It has juicy fat layers wrapped around the meat and when cooked properly has a similar texture to pork loin. But is luscious because of that fat. That may not sound like your thing, but that just means more for ME!

The first time I cooked pork belly, I did it low and slow in my Dutch oven. Tonight, I made it in the Instant Pot. If you like BBQ, you will love this. Instant Pot BBQ Pork Belly tastes like you simmered it forever. In reality dinner was ready in took less than an hour, with only 10 minutes top of prep. And it was so, so, so, so very good.

You can use any of the sweeteners but NOT all three. I used soy sauce to give the meat a more appealing color and a little jolt. You could substitute Worcestershire sauce, but I would use less as it can be overpowering. Finally, you can use 1½ cups chicken broth rather than water and Better Than Bouillon, but BTB is magic and I would definitely try it if you haven’t.

Servings: 6 sandwiches

Hardware: A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, an Instant Pot®, a strainer, silicone oven mitt and a wooden spoon

Cooking time: Active time: 10 minutes; Cook: 40 minutes; Sandwiches in an hour

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds pork belly, sliced into chunks
• Cooking spray
• 1 large red onion (8 ounces)
• Sweetener (1 tablespoon honey OR 1 tablespoon honey OR ½ tablespoon molasses)
• 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Chicken
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1½ cups water
• 1½ cups of your favorite BBQ sauce-you can use more or less-depends on how sloppy you like your BBQ (We like Sweet Baby Ray’s Original)  
• Rolls, pickles, pickled jalapeños, mustard other sandwich toppings

 

Browning first adds depth

1. Quarter the onion and slice the pork belly into chunks.
2. Spray the inner pot with cooking spray and set on sauté. Add the pork belly and brown for 4-5 minutes. Add the onion, sweetener, Better Than Bouillon, soy sauce and water. Stir and bring to a boil. Turn off.
3. Place the lid on the IP, making sure the valve is set to ‘sealing.’ Turn on the pressure cook setting and set for 25 minutes. When time is up, allow to naturally release for about 15 minutes and using the silicone oven mitt move the valve to ‘release.’
4. Strain everything from the pot and discard the liquid. Return the meat and the BBQ sauce to the IP and heat through.
5. Serve immediately on your favorite sandwich bun. Offer your guests pickles, pickled jalapeños, mustard and any other sandwich topper that you think they might like.