Tipsy Turkey
By Tom Yates
After obligatory glasses of red wine hit the table for Thanksgiving dinner, bourbon eventually made its entrance. While soft drinks and windowsill sun-brewed tea were at the ready, we were bourbon people. My father loved his bourbon.
Although our bourbonized Thanksgivings on the farm are long gone, I hold fast to memories of those crisp autumn mornings, quilted trees, and the serenity of the dew-kissed countryside.
Nowadays, on Thanksgiving, I let the turkey drink the bourbon.
To wet brine, dry brine, or inject? I’ve done them all. Without the luxury of time and space, I’m on team injection. It’s quick, simple, and dependable.
I rinsed and dried a 15 pound young organic turkey and set it aside. After combining 1 cup melted unsalted butter, 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1/4 cup Makers Mark bourbon, 1/4 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice, 1/4 cup Evans Orchard fresh apple cider, 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, I loaded a large turkey injector with the marinade and carefully injected the breasts, thighs, and legs in several locations. After the meat plumped from the shots, I slathered the flesh with softened butter, showered it with salt, and slipped the turkey into the refrigerator to marinate overnight.
I combined 1/2 cup Makers Mark bourbon, 1/2 cup fresh apple cider, 1/2 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 cup fresh milled Oberholzer’s Kentucky Sorghum (form the Morgan County Sorghum Festival). After bringing the mix to a boil, I reduced the heat and let it simmer until it softened into a loose sticky glaze.
After the turkey reached 155 degrees, I started brushing the glaze over the skin every 15 minutes.
When the internal temp hit the 165 degree mark measured in the deepest part of the breast meat, I pulled the bourbon burnished turkey from the oven, hit it with flaked sea salt for crunch, and let it rest for 20 minutes before nestling it over an aromatic bed of fresh herbs.
Thanksgiving turkey.
Bourbonized.
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This article also appears on page 16 of the November 2019 print edition of Ace.
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