14 thoughts on “Scenes from a Feast”

  1. Cathy Dellinger says:

    Ahh, those Brussel sprouts, studded with pomegranate seeds and walnut oil. They were gone before a picture could be taken. What an amazing Gobble Day!

  4. Christine says:

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your husband! Everything looks delicious!

    Thank you for sharing your food and your life with us this past year.

  12. Hi Adina,

    I don’t really have a recipe, to speak of. Here’s what I did:

    1. Broke the bird down. I had, when finished, drumsticks, thighs, wings, one huge bone-in breast portion, small blobs of fat and skin, and various bits of carcass.

    2. Made stock from the carcass and organ meats.

    3. Rendered the fat and skin.

    4. Dry-brined the turkey breast, using an herbed salt.

    5. Cured the leg portions, with salt, shallot, and herbs.

    6. After two days curing, the legs came out and went into a pot of fat–a mix of duck fat, turkey fat, and olive oil. I poached those on Wednesday and stored them in fat overnight.

    7. I grilled the turkey breast and wings on T Day, over lump natural-hardwood charcoal. I used maple chips soaked in apple cider to add a smoky flavor to the meat. It wound up actually smelling like applewood-smoked bacon, thanks to the maple and apple!

    So it’s less a recipe and more a series of techniques.

  13. Kate Stulpin says:

    Wow! Everything looks delicious. Thanks for posting your process above, I definitely want to try making everything.

  14. Adina says:

    Thanks for the info, Mike! I think I want to break down the turkey next year. I’ve grown bored with the same old roasting technique.

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