For Canadians, Thanksgiving has come and gone for yet another year, along with turkey, potatoes and pie....so much pie.
When I moved to Denmark, I decided to bring Thanksgiving with me. We roast a turkey and all the trimmings for my husband's family every year, and they kind of love it. We have to order our turkey from a farm, and spend a couple days making food for around 20 people. It's tons of work, but SO much fun and well worth it in the end. The best part is all the leftovers we have for the next day we can just toss in the microwave. This year, I even had a "pie day" where a friend of mine came over for brunch and dessert.
This year's bird was a 10.5 kg monster turkey (23 lbs), served with glazed carrots, brussel sprouts with pecans and bacon, my mom's dressing (we don't stuff our bird), mashed potatoes, caramel apple pie, vanilla ice cream, and two pumpkin pies! Whew! You can see a few pictures of all that hard work below:
I'll start by talking about the star of the meal: the turkey. Tasty bird, but so easy to dry out due to the low fat content. This year's bird was perfect and dripping with moisture after we cooked it. Our secret? Just butter and foil. We didn't brine it or flip it over halfway through cooking. Butter, tin foil and a cooking thermometer (which I recommend everyone have in their kitchen to be on the safe side). We mixed up a pack of butter (250 g or 2 sticks) with loads of fresh herbs (rosemary, tarragon, parsley, thyme, and sage). We gently separated the skin from the meat and rubbed the butter all over the breast and leg meat. We roasted the bird for 15 minutes at around 215° C(419° F) to tighten the skin around that butter, then reduced the heat to 175° C(347° F). The bird was covered with foil, the tray was filled with veggies, herbs and stock, and it was roasted for about 2.5 hours until the thermometer read 75°C (167° F) on the breast. Ta-da! We let the bird rest in foil and under a clean towel until ready to serve! The flavour that comes from all the butter (which is spooned off) and herbs is always amazing. The gravy turns out so well that we try to make a bit more every year, and every year we scrape the bottom of the pot looking for more. If you'd like recipes for any of the dishes I made, check out the list below!
Other recipes can be found by clicking the links below:
These recipes all remind me of home and big family meals. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. If you like them, feel free to leave a comment or share with your friends. I can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram as QuiteChefy.
Stay Chefy everyone!
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AuthorHey there! My name is Lea, and I'm a Canadian Culinary student trying to survive chef life in Denmark. I want to share my journey, and some great food and experiences with others. I believe that anyone can be quite chefy!
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