Julia's Kitchen Wisdom (16 page)

DEFROSTING FROZEN TURKEY.
Keep the turkey in its original wrapper. A 20-pound bird takes 3 to 4 days to defrost in the refrigerator, about 12 hours in a sinkful of water.

GIBLET GRAVY.
Follow procedure for the
simple sauce for meat and poultry
, browning the chopped turkey neck and scraps as described. Peel the gizzard and add it to simmer with the rest of the ingredients, removing it after about an hour, or when it is tender. Mince it. Sauté the heart and liver briefly in butter, mince them, and add to the finished sauce along with the minced gizzard, simmering for several minutes and adding, if you wish, a spoonful or so of dry port or Madeira.

HIGH-TEMPERATURE ROASTING.
In my system, you start the roasting at 500°F, and in 15 to 20 minutes, when the juices begin to burn, reduce the heat to 450°F. Add the chopped vegetables and 2 cups of water to the pan, pouring in a little more water now and then as needed to prevent burning and smoking. A 14-pounder will roast in about 2 rather than 4 hours. High heat makes a brown and juicy turkey, but you have little control in such a hot oven, and I think the slower, longer cooking produces a more tender bird.

Steam-Roasted Duck

This is one of my favorite recipes, where you not only get rid of excess fat, but you get delicious breast meat, tender thighs, and beautifully crisp brown skin. Note that you may complete the final roasting an hour or so after the second, or braising, step.

For a 5-to-5½-pound roaster duckling serving 4. Cut out the wishbone, and chop off the wings at the elbows. Salt the interior and rub outside and inside with cut lemon. Place breast-up on a rack over 1 inch of water in a heavy, covered casserole and steam for 30 minutes on top of the stove. Drain the duck, pour out steaming liquid (degrease and save for stock). Cover the rack with foil and set the duck breast-down on it. Strew around ½ cup each of chopped onions, carrots, and celery, pour in 1½ cups of red or white wine. Cover closely and bring to the simmer, then braise for 30 minutes in a 325°F oven. Finally set the duck breast-up on a rack in a shallow pan and roast 30 to 40 minutes more at 375°F, until the legs feel reasonably tender. The skin will be beautifully brown and crisp. Meanwhile, degrease the braising juices, mash the vegetables into them, and boil down rapidly until almost syrupy. Strain, and you will have just enough fragrant sauce to moisten each serving.

Steam-Roasted Goose

For a 9½-to-11-pound roaster goose serving 8 to 10. Use essentially the same system as for duck, but give it a trussing by running a skewer through the carcass at the shoulder to secure the wings in place, and another through the hips to secure the legs, then tie the drumstick ends together against the tailpiece. To aid in fat removal prick the skin with a sharp skewer around the lower breast and thighs. Count on about 1 hour for the first breast-up steaming, 1½ to 2 hours for the oven braising, and 30 to 40 minutes for the final oven browning. Make the braising liquid as for the duck, but with 2½ cups of wine or chicken stock. You may wish to thicken it lightly at the end by simmering it for a few minutes with 1½ tablespoons of cornstarch blended with ½ cup of dry port wine.

Roast Whole Fish

For bass, bluefish, char, cod, mackerel, salmon, trout, and others. This is one of the simplest and easiest ways to cook a fairly large whole fish, which roasts deliciously in its own juices. Timing in a 400°F oven for a 6-to-8-pound fish is 35 to 45 minutes; 4 to 6 pounds, 25 to 30 minutes; 2 to 4 pounds, 15 to 20 minutes. Scale and eviscerate the fish, remove the gills, and trim the tail and fins with scissors. Sprinkle salt and pepper in the cavity and tuck in a handful of fresh parsley sprigs or dill weed. Brush the
outside of the fish with vegetable oil and set on an oiled baking sheet. Roast in the middle level of the preheated oven until you can smell the juices beginning to exude, meaning the fish is done—the back fin can be easily pulled out, and there will be no bloody tinge in the cavity. Serve with lemon, melted butter, a butter sauce, or
hollandaise
.

VARIATION

• FOR SMALLER, MORE DELICATE FISH, LIKE TROUT AND SMALL MACKEREL.
  A 1-pound fish needs 15 to 20 minutes at 425°F. Prepare the fish as described, and brush it with oil or melted butter. Just before roasting, roll it in flour, shaking off excess, then roast it on an oiled baking sheet.
  

STEWING, BRAISING, AND POACHING

When food cooks in a liquid it is either stewed, braised, or poached. The first and simplest is the stew, typified by the pot-au-feu boiled dinner, where meat and aromatic vegetables simmer together in a big pot. Braising is more sophisticated, since the meat is first browned, then cooked in a fragrant liquid—beef bourguignon is the classic example here. Poaching is for fragile items like fillets of sole in white wine, where a small amount of liquid is at the barest simmer.

STEWING

MASTER RECIPE

Pot au Feu Boiled Dinner
Serves 8

Cooking time: 2 to 4 hours, unsupervised.

2 quarts
brown beef stock
(and note that if you’re making a stock, the beef can cook along with it), or beef bouillon and water

Optional, for additional flavor: any beef bones and scraps, cooked or raw

1 large
herb bouquet

Aromatic vegetables, roughly chopped: 3 large peeled carrots, 3 large peeled onions, 1 large washed leek, 3 large celery ribs with leaves

About 5 pounds boneless stewing beef (or sufficient bone-in meat), such as heel of the round, foreshank, neck pot roast, chuck, brisket, short ribs—all one kind or a mixture

Vegetable garnish suggestions, any or all of the following: 2 or 3 pieces each of
turnips
,
parsnips
,
carrots
,
small white onions
,
cabbage wedges
,
boiling potatoes
.

Bring the stock to the boil in a large pot with the optional bones and scraps, the herb bouquet, and the aromatic vegetables. Meanwhile, tie the meat into a neat shape with white cotton twine, and place it in the pot, adding water if necessary to cover by 1 inch. Bring to the simmer, skim off surface scum for several minutes, then cover the pot loosely and let simmer slowly until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork—cut off and eat a piece to be sure. If some pieces are done early, remove to a bowl and cover with a little of the cooking stock. When the meat is done, remove it from the pot, strain and degrease the cooking stock, correct seasoning, and return it to the pot with the meat. The stew will keep warm for a good hour before serving, or may be reheated, loosely covered.

Meanwhile, cook separately whatever vegetables you have chosen in a bit of the cooking stock, and when you are ready to serve, drain their cooking liquids into a saucepan. Then add a sufficient quantity of the cooking liquid to make a rich stock to serve with your pot au feu. Slice the meat, surround with the vegetables, and baste with the stock, pouring the rest into a sauceboat to pass at the table. Accompany, if you wish, with French cornichons, coarse salt, and
horseradish sauce
.

HERB BOUQUET.
For a large herb bouquet, tie 8 parsley sprigs, 1 large imported bay leaf, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 4 whole cloves or allspice berries, and 3 large cloves of smashed unpeeled garlic together in washed cheesecloth. Sometimes the garlic should be omitted, and you can substitute celery leaves and/or split leeks.

VARIATIONS

• OTHER MEATS.
  Include or substitute other meats in the stew, such as shoulder of pork or veal, or Polish sausage. Or you may wish to use a fine stewing hen, which you can include with the beef or cook separately, in this latter case using chicken rather than beef stock.
  

• BLANQUETTE OF VEAL.
  For 4 to 5 pounds of
  real pale-pink special-fed veal
  cut into 2-inch chunks (a combination of boneless and bone-in chuck, shank, neck, and breast), serving 6 people. Simmering time: about 1½ hours. Bring the veal to the simmer for 2 to 3 minutes in a large pot of water until the scum ceases to rise. Drain. Wash off the veal and the pot, return veal to pot, then pour in veal,
  chicken, or turkey stock
  or canned chicken broth and water to cover by ½ inch. Add a large peeled and chopped onion, a peeled chopped carrot, a large chopped celery stalk, and a small
  herb bouquet minus garlic
  . Salt lightly, cover the pot loosely, and simmer about 1½ hours, until meat is fork-tender. Drain stock into a saucepan and return meat to pot. Degrease cooking liquid, and boil down rapidly until reduced to about 3 cups. Meanwhile, make a
  velouté sauce
  with 4 tablespoons butter, 5 tablespoons flour, and the cooking liquid, enriching it, if you wish, with a little cream. Simmer the veal to warm briefly in the sauce along with 24 small
  white-braised onions
  and ½ pound of small
  simmered mushrooms
  .
  

  NOTE:
  “Real” veal is a calf either fed on mother’s milk or on milk by-products. “Free-range” veal, which is actually “baby beef,” produces an ugly gray-brown blanquette and an inferior sauce. It will, however, make an acceptable brown stew, using the following beef bourguignon system.
  

• BLANQUETTE OF CHICKEN OR TURKEY.
  Use cut-up roasting or stewing chicken, or turkey parts, cooking them the same way.
  

BRAISING

In these recipes the meat is sautéed or browned before the actual cooking begins. Remember the rules for sautéing: the meat won’t brown unless you dry it, set the pan over high heat, and don’t crowd the meat in the pan.

MASTER RECIPE

Beef Bourguignon—Beef in Red Wine Sauce
Serves 6 to 8