What's for dinner?

Fresh wood duck breast over linguini.

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Tonight was a fun one.
Pheasant and leek soup.
Couple of birds from the opener, cleaned up the rest of the leeks from the garden, wild rice from a friend in Bemidji, mushrooms, celery, heavy cream, chicken stock, butter and a bit of milk. Wife gone and 6 pack to boot.
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As you can see my helper was wondering when her fair share from the hunt was coming.
Top it off, served it my grandma's ramekins I got awhile back. She would of loved this one. .
 
Looks like someone is in prime position for any spillage! Looks good!
 
I've got plenty in my garden, that's where tonight's snack came from ;). It's surprisingly good.
I agree. I'm not a big vegetable guy, but I tried it for the first time this summer and was surprised how good it was. I remember something that it has way more vitamins and minerals than just about anything you can buy from the store.
 
We had the wife's family over for Thanksgiving on Sunday. All went well, I made a very boring turkey in the oven, but it turned out great. All I did was clean it, pat it dry, then put it in the fridge to finish drying overnight. Sunday AM I rubbed it down with avocado oil and ground a little pink salt & fresh pepper on it then put it in the oven in a deep roaster. Let it rest for 45 minutes before carving. Other than the legs and wings, there was nothing left of it. We had way too many sides that I did not take pictures of.



Round two on Thursday with my family coming out. I will inject this one and roast it in a shallow roaster to see if that makes a difference or not.
 
So this year was more of an experiment for me on how to cook the turkey's going forward since my wife does not like smoked birds anymore. Both were Butterball's purchased at the same time and allowed to thaw the same way with the larger bird getting two extra days.

The first bird was 17# and all I did was clean it, rub it down with avocado oil and added fresh ground pink Himalayan salt & pepper. Cooked @ 325 in a deep roaster uncovered. I covered the breast with light foil when it reached the color I was looking for. Allowed to rest for 45 minutes covered prior to carving. It had crispy skin, great flavor and was very juicy. Probably the best I have ever made in the oven.

The second bird was 21# and I did everything the same as the first bird but also injected it and cooked it in a shallow roaster. It had crispy skin all over (too much in some areas), had very good flavor but was not as juicy as the first.




That said, the simple route was the better of the two birds and will be how I do them going forward.
 
You’re #1 method is always my oven roasted method. Except I use butter instead of olive oil and I coat the outside with all kinds of spices.

Then use butter and flour with the drippings for gravy.

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Those carrots look really good to me.


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So this year was more of an experiment for me on how to cook the turkey's going forward since my wife does not like smoked birds anymore. Both were Butterball's purchased at the same time and allowed to thaw the same way with the larger bird getting two extra days.

The first bird was 17# and all I did was clean it, rub it down with avocado oil and added fresh ground pink Himalayan salt & pepper. Cooked @ 325 in a deep roaster uncovered. I covered the breast with light foil when it reached the color I was looking for. Allowed to rest for 45 minutes covered prior to carving. It had crispy skin, great flavor and was very juicy. Probably the best I have ever made in the oven.

The second bird was 21# and I did everything the same as the first bird but also injected it and cooked it in a shallow roaster. It had crispy skin all over (too much in some areas), had very good flavor but was not as juicy as the first.

That said, the simple route was the better of the two birds and will be how I do them going forward.

Have smoked several turkeys and they tasted great. Dong in the oven is less work and they still taste great.

Have you tried brining your turkey? Adds some subtle flavor and helps to keep the bird moist.
 
I used to brine all my birds but have not in the last few years and I agree, it does help.
 
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