Digest Vermont: The eye of the turkey

By Randal Smathers

…  And yes, we survived.

For those of you who read last week’s column about our oven imploding Thanksgiving week, yeah, we got through. In the end, seduced by the lovely fall weather and the invading hordes, errr, relatives planning on visiting, I carved up the turkey and cooked it on the barbecue. Thanks to an inspired tip by none other than Hizzoner Chris Louras, I disconnected the oven heating element from the fused control panel and we were able at least to use the cook top for the side dishes.

So then it was just a matter of firing up the trusty Vermont Castings (the four-burner Smoking Behemoth model) in the back yard and grilling the turkey. I chickened (turkeyed?) out and didn’t do the intact bird on ultra-low, opting instead to do a traditional seven-cut: two leg/thigh pieces, two wings, two breasts and allthebonybitsleftover. The latter wound up in a pot of hot water and veggies for gravy stock; the meaty bits cooked on the grill. One of my basic rules of cooking is never try two totally different things in the same meal, at least when company’s involved. You don’t want to have to learn your way through the tricky part of a sauce emulsion and checking whether the Yorkshire puddings are ready simultaneously. It’s easy once you’ve done each often enough, but not while you’re learning what those funny lumpy bits in the sauce are and whether they’re permanent — or toxic.

Similarly, I figured doing the gravy, two veg, sweet and boiled potatoes and a seat-of-the-pants stuffing indoors and the bird and flatbreads on the outdoor grill simultaneously was hard enough, without trying to time a slow-smoked whole carcass into the mix. The end result was a just slightly overcooked bird (gravy-please overcooked, not “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” overcooked). It’s one time when a high-quality bird might have backfired. Our turkey came from Stonewood Farm in Orwell (although for “Lampoon” fans, I have to point out the farm is on Griswold Lane) and it could have used a little extra fat on the grill.

As turkeys go, it was on the lean side and wasn’t pumped full of saline solution, so it was a little more prone to drying out than a supermarket-variety bird injected with 8 percent saltwater by weight.

The cheddar-and-leek flatbread recipe also didn’t survive the transition from white flour to Gleason Grain’s whole wheat with particular aplomb. Let’s just say that two days on, the dog loved using the leftovers for a chew toy. Bring back the twisty rolls!

Otherwise, the localvore Thanksgiving was a success. Even whole wheat can’t hurt warm apple tarts (baked in the toaster oven) with plenty of Thomas Farm whipped cream. The 4-year-old discovered turkey drumsticks are a two-meal treat, the two-year-old got through the top wing joint and thought it was a drumstick and both the boys asked for seconds on Brussels sprouts: The latter being proof they take after their mother after all. In a show of solidarity, I drenched a sprout in pan gravy and three or four grinds of black pepper. It wasn’t bad, even though it still doesn’t taste like a baby cabbage as I was promised, lo those two-score-and-two years ago.

Table scraps

<li> In my review of Over Easy’s a couple of weeks ago, I neglected to mention we stopped in at Wallingford Locker for a ham on the way back from Cuttingsville. The Locker has been a holiday tradition in our home (thanks to Bob and Dixie Miller for getting us hooked) since we moved here, and I just can’t get enough of their hams. Renovations a year or so ago really opened it up and got rid of the dungeon-y feel of the place, but the meat is good as ever.

<li> Dr. Fred told me the food at Rutland Regional Fieldhouse was surprisingly good this year, and after dropping the puck to kick off the Rutland Herald Invitational hockey tournament over the weekend, I felt the need to restore my strength with a snack. Despite signs advertising Alaska salmon sandwiches, my hockey reflexes kicked in and I went for a hot dog and a coffee (a bargain at three bucks, and a gourmet-grade dog to boot).

On Sunday I tried the chicken sandwich with chipotle aioli. It was good … not “good for a hockey rink concession stand” good, but really first-rate: hot, not over-crunchy fried breast on a fresh roll with a genuine kick in the sauce. My assistant taste tester assures me the salmon-Caesar salad wrap was equally tasty.

Next time you’re down to watch the Castleton State Spartans play, do yourself a favor and belly up to the snack bar. Now if they just sold oat sodas along with the sarsaparillas …

Herald Editor Randal Smathers writes weekly on dining. He can be reached at randal.smathers@rutlandherald.com.