Thanksgiving Poll

(Posted elsewhere but I'd like to see opinions here)

Turkey day up here in the Great White, and some discussions around the table got me wondering about general preferences.

It seems that most people in North America prefer white meat to dark, which also results in less use of the all dark ducks and such. So here's a poll to see what the denizens of this group prefer.

And to our American friends, a couple of thoughts for their Thanksgiving next month:

1 - if you must deep fry a turkey, do it outside away from the house.

2 - when you fill the fryer with oil, don't fill it right up - allow for displacement by the turkey

3 - if you omit #2 above, do try to remember to turn off the burner temporarily when you drop the turkey in the hot oil so it won't explode when the oil overflows (and don't do this in bare feet and shorts).

(An estimated $15 million in property damage, 60 injuries and five deaths each year in the U.S. can be attributed to use of a turkey fryer, according to the National Fire Protection Association.)

Yes to all.

[Jenise]

I'm a 'both', pretty evenly divided and liking a little of each when the bird's cooked right, so I went with 'other'. If the turkey's overcooked, though, make mine dark.

We're celebrating Canadian Tday today with Canadian friends. Oddly, neither of them like dark meat. I mean, they don't just prefer white, they don't eat dark meat at all--I presume the dogs get it, but they don't even consider it edible. Reason? It's too gamey (I've obviously never had to ask them if they'd eat duck, I already know the answer).

. Oddly, neither of them like dark meat. I mean, they don't just prefer white, they don't eat dark meat at all--it becomes dog food or ends up in the trash, but they don't even consider it edible. It's too gamey (I've obviously never had to ask them if they'd eat duck, I already know the answer).

Bizarre!

[Jenise]

I know. Not run into that before--just about everybody has a preference but to outright not like one or the other (when properly cooked, that is) is a new one to me.

Well, I'm allergic to small servings of foie gras......

I'm kind of schizophrenic:

• I don't like dark meat from a roasted turkey
• I prefer dark meat from a smoked turkey
• I prefer dark chicken meat (especially thighs)
• I love duck, smoked or rare breast, or leg confit

BTW, I 'opened' a 1999 Ridge Geyserville with the turkey today, and after struggling with my trusty double-action waiter's corkscrew for 10 minutes, only succeeded in drilling a hole right through the centre. Tasted good, though.

P.S. I'll gladly take all your small portions of foie gras off your hands for you. Is foie gras white or dark?

Ted, foie gras is offal, not meat.

I also chose "other" because, properly cooked, both white and dark meat are delicious.

Filling the cavity with stuffing that often ends up undercooked is a bad idea. Separate cooking is called for, and if one had a big enough oven, one of those mediaeval torture racks they shove up chicken butts to roast them upright would be interesting.

I had spatchcoking a turkey suggested to me as a way of getting even cooking and am intrigued - has anyone tried this?

[Jenise]

The stuffing that cooks inside a turkey is the best part of the turkey--it has no equal!--but you're right it changes the dynamics and inexperienced cooks can easily get it wrong.

Speaking of things that can go wrong, at my friend's house last night the pop-up timer didn't pop up, and the turkey's temperature was being taken in the wrong places. I stepped in and declared it done--would have been way overcooked if they'd had their way and waited on the timer (which would never have popped until too late, if then).

Re spatchcocking, Julia Child favors this. She spread-eagles the bird over a mountain of stuffing so all the juices go to a good cause, even if you don't get any for making a gravy.

Re spatchcocking, Julia Child favors this. She spread-eagles the bird over a mountain of stuffing so all the juices go to a good cause, even if you don't get any for making a gravy.

Must try that.

[Jenise]

Yeah, I like the idea too. I do think a nice gravy is an essential to a good turkey dinner, though, so might consider roasting some chicken thighs separately in order to create a separate base.

A tasty gravy can cover a lot of dried out white meat sins!

[Jenise]

When I was a kid, my mom made a huge bowl of gravy--I remember my dad joking that we were the only family whose bowl of gravy was larger than the bowl of mashed potatoes. And it wasn't for me!--I hated it. But I loved the wine sauce on the veal at a local Italian restaurant, so I used to say that I hated gravy but loved sauce. Had to start cooking myself to realize they were the same thing, or at least that gravy made as my mother did was just a form of sauce. I just didn't like it because it was mostly water and flour.

[Jenise]

I'm kind of schizophrenic:
[list]
[*]I don't like dark meat from a roasted turkey
[*]I prefer dark meat from a smoked turkey
[*]I prefer dark chicken meat (especially thighs)
[*]I love duck, smoked or rare breast, or leg confit

That's definitely a bit odd.

Speaking of odd, I asked my Canadian friend last night why she doesn't like stuffing since it's essentially just seasoned bread. Well, she said, growing up she liked her mother's, but "everyone else puts too much rosemary in it."

Yes, rosemary. She doesn't even realize that sage, not rosemsry, is the traditional ingredient.

And no she didn't taste mine.

We always had two stuffings (one in each end of the bird), a bread (which I didn't like) and an oatmeal (which I liked a lot).

I always lobbied for the oatmeal to go in the larger cavity (front) for a larger volume of it but was outvoted by those boring bread fans.

[Jenise]

Oatmeal! Interesting idea. Do you have your mother's recipe?
.

Oatmeal! Interesting idea. Do you have your mother's recipe?
.

Och, aye lassie! I'll have to look for it (probably came over from Scotland in the 19th century when the ancestors emigrated, so have try and dig out old handwritten recipe books), but here's a close replica taken off the net..

Only unlisted ingredient is the single malt applied to the cook as needed, as that can vary greatly in amount depending on the cook.

Oatmeal Stuffing

2 cooking onions
5 stalks celery
1⁄2 cup butter
5 cups oatmeal
water, to moisten

Dice onion and celery.

Melt butter in a large frying pan or sauce pan.
Add onion and celery and sauté until soft.
Add oatmeal and seasonings. Can use poultry seasoning to taste.
Stir until well mixed.
Moisten with water until clumpy.
Gently pack into the turkey cavity bottom and top.
Roast the bird as you would with bread stuffing. It smells wonderful.
You can also make this as a side dish if you steam it in the pan.

Poultry Seasoning: 2 teaspoons ground dried sage 1 1/2 teaspoons ground dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground dried marjoram 3/4 teaspoon ground dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

Speaking of odd, I asked my Canadian friend last night why she doesn't like stuffing since it's essentially just seasoned bread. Well, she said, growing up she liked her mother's, but "everyone else puts too much rosemary in it."

Just imagine what she'd say if she found oysters in there!

I no longer rely on drippings to make gravy; I buy some turkey wings ahead and make the gravy on the day before. If I get nice drippings I will add them to boost flavor but I don't count on it. Anyway, it's nice to have it done and have one less thing to do on The Day.

Hmm... oat stuffing? Sounds interesting. Pumpkin likes oats (and oatcakes!). Sounds like it might have a really dense texture, but maybe I'll mix some in with the bread cubes this time and see how that goes.

Oyster stuffing is a very odd thought to us here, so I can see that oatmeal might be the same for those brought up elsewhere - presumably East Coast?

Johnson said in his dictionary "a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people." and Boswell's response: ""Well, maybe that's why in England you have better horses, and in Scotland we have better men".

Oyster stuffing is a very odd thought to us here, so I can see that oatmeal might be the same for those brought up elsewhere - presumably East Coast?

Yes, NYC is my first home and my current home.

(And I don't do oyster stuffing but plenty of people do.)

[Jenise]

Oyster stuffing--UGH. Had it once, didn't know what I was eating, just thought it tasted really weird. And only then they told me. Have avoided it since.

I voted other as I always have both. I do love goose, but we have never done that for T'giving, just Christmas

And some years I make oyster stuffing (it's a Southern thing), but always also making a non-oyster version.

Noy a big fan of turkey.
For other stuffings try what the British like, pork, sage and onion , or chestnut. Often one at each end.