The Whole Wheat

This is a decidedly unhealthy recipe! At least the confit legs are. It was an absolutely outstanding central component to our Thanksgiving dinner though, and was worth the effort of multiple phases of preparation.

I found it easiest to brine the breast of the turkey overnight. Brining the turkey helps to keep it moist and juicy when cooking! Additionally I also salted and let the legs rest overnight in the refrigerator. Thursday morning – AKA Turkey Day – I started the confit legs in the oven early. Once they were finished the oven was clear and dedicated to roasting the breast which takes at least 2-3 hours depending on the size of turkey you have.

I prefer to roast on high heat first then lower the heat and cook more slowly. This is an Alton Brown method that helps to seal in the juiciness and cook very evenly. Even when not doing a turkey two-ways, I follow this high blast of heat followed by lower, slower cooking for poultry.

Ingredients:

• 1 large turkey

For the brined breast:

• 1 gallon plus 1 quart water
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1 T. whole black peppercorns
• 1 whole head garlic, sliced in half horizontally
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 juniper berries, crushed

For the confit:

• 12 medium unpeeled cloves garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 T. whole black peppercorns
• 3-4 c. duck fat
• 2 c. canola oil

For the mushroom sauce:

• 2 T. duck fat
• 1 c. golden chanterelle mushrooms
• 1 c. black trumpet mushrooms
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 quart vegetable broth, reduced by half
• 1/4 c. finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

To prepare the turkey:

1. Remove giblets and neck and freeze for some other use or discard. Rinse out cavity and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. Trim most of excess fat and skin from neck and cavity.
2. Remove legs by cutting where thighs meet the body then procede with brining the turkey breast and preparing the legs for confit.

For the brined breast:

1. Place all the brine ingredients in a large stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove and cool to room temperature.
2. When brine is cool, submerge turkey breast piece in brine. (Use a resealable plastic bag filled halfway with water or some other weight to keep it completely submerged.) Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. If your breast is very large (as our turkey’s was, then use a cooler and place bags of ice in the cooler to keep it cold and down in the brine. Be sure that you have enough brine to completely cover the turkey – you may need to double the recipe. If you just need a small amount of extra liquid, use some extra vegetable broth rather than making a full extra batch of brine.
3. To roast, heat oven to 500°F. Remove breast from brine and thoroughly dry with paper towels. Rub skin with canola oil and place breast on a heavy baking sheet or in a roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes then remove from oven and lower the oven temperature to 350°F. While the oven cools, cover the turkey breast with foil so that it has “shield” covering it. When the oven cools to 350°F, return the turkey to the oven. Roast in oven until breast reaches an internal temperature of 161°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. Reserve pan drippings.

For the confit:

1. Place turkey legs on a large platter and heavily salt both sides of each leg. Sprinkle garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and peppercorns over top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 12 hours or overnight.
2. Heat oven to 325°F. Remove salt from legs. Place legs, skin side down, with the non-salt confit flavoring ingredients in a large heavy-bottomed pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cover the legs with duck fat and vegetable oil.
3. Place over the pot over medium heat and bring to a simmer, making sure legs don’t stick. Cover and place in oven. Cook until meat is very tender, about 2 hours.
4. Remove casserole from oven and cool on a rack. If serving immediately, brown legs as described in next step; if not, place cooled casserole in the refrigerator until ready.
5. To brown legs, heat oven to 350°F. Remove legs from casserole. Place a large nonstick frying pan on the stove over high heat. Carefully set legs skin side down in the pan and cook until skin is brown, about 2 minutes. Place in oven and cook until heated through, about 12 minutes.

For the mushroom sauce:

1. In a medium frying pan on medium-high heat, place duck fat or butter and sauté mushrooms in batches; season to taste. Reserve cooked mushrooms in a bowl.
2. Add shallots and cook on low heat for 3 minutes, then add stock. Add 1/4 cup reserved pan drippings from turkey.
3. When ready to serve, bring shallot mixture to a simmer, and add mushrooms and parsley. Mix well and serve immediately.