What else could this week’s Secret Ingredient be for Friday Foodie Fix but turkey! I am guessing many of you will be cooking up and serving a Turkey next Thursday. They say 690 million pounds of turkey. It may be a whole turkey, turkey breast, turkey roll, boneless turkey breast or a Turducken. If you have never tried a Turducken you really should. It’s so flavorful. Guy Fieri shared this on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives from Alpine Steakhouse in Sarasota, FL. The Turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken that includes a cornbread stuffing with andouille sausage. If you don’t want to make one yourself they can be shipped from many stores in Cajun country. If you need gluten free, you’ll probably have to make it yourself. I have my own version I’ll be sharing with you next month.
Recently I made a roasted turkey breast. It was nice to not have all of the extra parts we really were not going to eat with just a few of us at the table. I like to baste my bird with a mixture of melted butter (dairy free now) and paprika. I used the Hungarian Sweet Paprika and it created a delicious crispy and beautiful color skin. To change up the flavor, try using a smoked paprika for a little kick.
If you are wondering if this turkey has strange legs, it doesn’t. My roaster pan does not have one of those V shaped grates so I used carrots on either side to prop up the turkey. Worked great.
This Thanksgiving I will be cooking a 12-14 pound organic whole turkey in 70 minutes by spatchcocking. If you missed how to do this check out my Roasted Spatchcock Chicken with Mushroom Stuffing. To me the key here really is the word organic. The first year I switched from a frozen turkey out of the bin to a fresh organic turkey I was amazed at the taste difference. They used to be hard to come by but now most grocery stores are carrying organic turkeys and many at a really good price. If you can order one from a local farmer, even better. Do yourself a favor and check it out. Even if you cut down on how many rolls you serve, spend the money on the best turkey you can.
One more reason to get a fresh organic turkey, some frozen turkeys contain gluten. Pre-injected basting is the culprit. I’m not making this up. You can read up on this over at the Gluten Free Girl and The Chef blog. They did a great post on gluten free turkey for thanksgiving. They share a recipe for brine and one for a spice rub.
What about turkey used in other ways? I like to use ground turkey for burgers like my Chipotle Burger and my California Cobb Salad Burger and in other dishes like Turkey-roni and Mexican Casserole.
How do you use turkey in your recipes? Please share those recipes either via Mr. Linky or in the comments section. If you have any great turkey tips we would love to hear those too! To review the guidelines check out the Friday Foodie Fix page. Here you can also find a listing of all past Friday Foodie Fix Secret Ingredients.
Today is also the last day of the Gluten Free Thanksgiving Progressive Dinner Party. Ali @ The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen, Jean @ Gluten Free Organics and Karen @ Cook4Seasons are serving dessert! I hope you had a chance to visit everyone’s blog and see what they are making for Thanksgiving. I served my Gluten Free Stuffing with Pancetta Sage Sausage. On that page you can find the entire Gluten Free Thanksgiving Progressive Dinner Party schedule. This should give you a large menu of options for your meal.
Next week’s Secret Ingredient is taking a break. I will post a review of this fall’s Friday Foodie Fix pages and recipes. If you missed a week, go back now and add in your recipes.
We will pick up again the following week, which is on December 4th, with Pecans. I will remind you next week too.
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