Red Cooked Turkey and other delights

This year I thought I'd give you this recipe early, so you can try it for Thanksgiving this year yourself.

Red-cooked Turkey Breast
Red cooking is an ancient Chinese technique, which I learned from Martin Yan, of Yan Can Cook, back in the days before there was Food Network.  In those days it was Saturday mornings on PBS to watch Martin, Julia, Jacques, Graham, and the then newcomer Rick Bayless, strut their culinary expertise in living color.

These breasts combined for 13 pounds of Thanksgiving goodness last year.

The technique is sometimes called Red Braising, but to me it's more like a Hot Brine.  You'll need:

Turkey Breast, or small whole turkey.  Also works with whole or parts of chicken, duck, goose.
Large Stock Pot
Soy Sauce - on the order of a quart at least.
1 whole Star Anise

OK.  I hear you going "soy sauce and turkey?" and   "Star anise licorice flavor and turkey?"

The final dish taste of neither.  Nor is it salty.  It tastes like "Please, can I have some more?"

Put the thawed meat in the stock pot.  Cover the meat by about an inch with a mixture of half soy sauce and half water.

Remove the meat from the pot, add the star anise, and bring the liquid to a hard rolling boil.

Put the meat carefully back into the pot.  This kills the boil, of course, so now bring the liquid back to a hard rolling boil.

Put a lid on the pot, turn the stove burner off, and walk away for two hours. 

That's right.  leave it alone.  Don't peek.  For two whole hours, while you prepare the rest of your Thanksgiving feast, with plenty of room in the oven for baking rolls, desserts and casseroles.

The salt in the liquid opens the pores of the meat, like a good brine, and carries the flavor (but not the salt) all the way to the bone.  The heat from the water, pot and burner cooks the meat completely, and will remain hot for hours while you're waiting for that perpetually late guest to arrive.

You end up with the most moist, tender, flavor-filled turkey breast you can imagine.

After two hours, carefully remove the meat, and slice for serving.  You can make a sauce from the liquid, if you choose.

This slice of leftover breast was stored in the cooking liquid

in the refrigerator; hence the darker color

You can freeze the cooking liquid and use it again at another time for a chicken or two, or a huge bag of wings, thighs, or whatever you fancy.  I think duck breast cooked this way would be heavenly...


Carrot Soup with Garbanzos and Kale
We had a couple giant carrots from our Co-op produce box that needed to be used up, and Sally wanted a soup with Garbanzos.

2 Onions, chopped
1 lb grated Carrot, the finer grate, the better
1/2 lb dry Garbanzos
2-3 packed cups of veined and chopped Kale
3 clove Garlic, minced
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 cup plain Skyr or Greek yogurt
4-6 cups Vegetable Broth or water

Cook up the garbanzos with the cumin.  This takes quite awhile, so make the rest of the soup and then add the beans at the end.

Saute the onion until soft, then add the carrots, garlic and smoked paprika.  Cook until the carrots are soft.  When the garbanzos are done, add half of them, the yogurt, and the cooking liquid, and stir.  Reserve the rest of the beans.

Puree the soup in batches, as needed.  Then add the reserved beans and as much water or broth as you prefer to get the consistency of soup you prefer.

Serve with a side dish and toast points or croutons as garnish.


Chili Stuffed Potato
Baked potato,  chili, and garnishes.  You need a recipe??  A perfect Makeover My Leftover dinner than my chef-friend Susanne Duplantis would be proud of me making.

Roasted Vegetable Dinner
Another no-brainer.  Toss some cut vegetables with some olive oil and spices, and roast at 400F until tender.  For some vegetable protein, the side dish is Mongetes -- a Spanish fried white bean recipe that I've detailed here before, with basil or parsley pesto and spices.

Roasted above were new potatoes, halved onion, yam slices, red beets, red bell pepper, carrots and cloves of garlic.