Seraphina’s Secret Christmas Turkey

Steps

1. Before beginning, make sure your bourbon, water and chicken stock are COLD, really cold but not frozen. To make the brine, combine the the salt, syrup, sugar, peppercorns, bourbon, scotch and water in a large bucket. Remove any pieces from the turkey, like giblets or the neck, reserving to the neck for the gravy. Make sure to refrigerate it in a resealable bag. Once the turkey is cleaned up, place in the liquid and refrigerate it for 8 to 12 hours. ¼ tsp ground cumin
2. Remove the turkey from the brine and pat it completely dry with paper towels. Preheat oven to 325ºF, adding your wood chips to small tray and place on bottom rack. ¾ cup Canadian bourbon
3. In a bowl, combine the sugar, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder and cumin, mixing well to combine. Gently lift the skin of the turkey and rub the melted butter all over the meat. Take the spice rub and rub it all over the meat as well, underneath the skin. Rub the rest of it all over the outside of the skin, covering the turkey. 2 tbsp olive oil
4. Combine the water and bourbon in a glass and pour it into the pan with chips under the rack with turkey. Place the turkey in a large broiler pan with a drip tray under the turkey. Pop in the oven and cook for 4 hours. Check doneness of turkey and broil at 425ºF for 5 minutes then shut oven off.
5. About 30 minutes before the turkey is finished, begin the gravy. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and the apple with the salt and pepper, stirring to coat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the shallots and apple are soft. Add in the garlic and the turkey neck and brown it on all sides, cooking for about 5 minutes per side. Increase the heat to medium-high and pour in the bourbon. Stir continuously, scraping any brown bits from the pan and cook until almost all of the bourbon evaporates – you just want a thin layer of it left in the pan. Add in the cider and bring it to a simmer.
6. Pour the cold broth into a shaker bottle or jar. Add the flour on top, place the lid on the shaker and shake continuously for at least 30 seconds until the flour is incorporated. Remove the neck from the pan and begin to whisk the cider continuously. Slowly pour in the stock and flour while whisking and continue to stir for at least 10 to 15 minutes while the gravy thickens. Don’t stop stirring!
7. Carve your turkey as desired and serve it with the gravy. I find that this gravy reheats well also – simply add it to a saucepan over low heat with a drop of water or stock and heat it, stirring occasionally, until it liquifies again. 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted 2 cups soaked applewood or cherrywood chips 1 cup chicken broth ½ cup shallots 1 apple, sliced and diced ½ cup flour Merry Christmas! Prior to the turkey tradition Christmas fare included roast swan, pheasants and peacocks. A special treat was a roast boars head decorated with holly and fruit. Henry VIII was the first English king to enjoy turkey, although Edward VII made eating turkey fashionable at Christmas. Today more than 30 million are eaten at Christmas alone. Double that of ham.

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