Turkey Leg Confit With Shallots And Thyme Recipes

TURKEY LEG AND WING CONFIT WITH ROASTED BREAST

Steps:

• Put the turkey legs and wings in a large bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon pepper. Add the minced garlic and shallot and chopped thyme, rosemary and bay leaves and rub all over until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Scrape off as much of the seasoning mixture as possible from the turkey legs and wings and discard. Blot dry with paper towels. Melt the duck fat in a large wide pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Nestle the turkey legs and wings skin-side up in the pot so that they're submerged in the fat. Bring to a very gentle simmer, cover and cook until the leg meat is extremely tender, but not falling apart, about 2 hours. Turn off the heat and set aside. The recipe can be prepared to this point up to 2 days in advance. Keep the turkey submerged in the fat and refrigerate it.
• Meanwhile, prepare and roast the turkey breast. Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven, remove the top rack, and preheat to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle the breast generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the halved garlic and shallots, the remaining thyme, rosemary and bay leaves and the orange. Prop the breast up by placing two balls of aluminum foil under the space where the wings would attach, so that it doesn't topple over. Brush the skin with some of the rendered duck fat, and roast until just starting to brown, about 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue cooking until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the breast registers 160 degrees F, about 30 minutes more. Remove the turkey from the oven and set aside to rest.
• While the turkey rests, finish the legs and wings. Carefully remove the legs and wings from the fat and blot dry with paper towels. Put 1/4 cup of the fat in each of 2 large nonstick skillets. Heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the legs and wings skin-side down and cook until deeply browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until browned on the second side and heated through, about 3 minutes more.
• Transfer the legs and wings to a serving platter. Carve the breast meat and transfer to the platter with the legs and wings. Serve with the Pear Chutney on the side.
• Combine the pears, shallot, sugar, raisins, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining tablespoon vinegar. Serve warm or chilled. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

TURKEY CONFIT

Steps:

• Place the salt and all the herbs into a food processor and process until the salt is pure green. Set aside.
• Place the turkey breasts on a wire rack above a sheet pan and place in the refrigerator to dry for 3 hours. Take out and rub the salt all over the turkey breasts. Return to the refrigerator for another 2 hours. Take out and rinse all the salt off in cold running water. Place back on a clean rack on a sheet pan and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Take the turkey out and place, skin side up, in a deep hotel pan. Cover the turkey completely in the duck fat. Roast in the oven for 3 hours. When it comes out, let it sit for 1 hour to cool off. Serve.

SHALLOT AND THYME-RUBBED ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Position oven rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350F. Place shallots, garlic and thyme sprigs in a small ovenproof baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Cover dish with foil and bake until shallots are very tender but not brown, about one hour. Uncover and cool 30 minutes.
• Place garlic, half of shallots and oil in work bowl of a food processor. Add chopped thyme, mustard, salt and pepper. Process until almost smooth. Transfer paste to a small bowl. Shallot paste can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to four days.
• Rinse turkey inside and out with cold running water and pat dry. Starting at the neck end, carefully slide your hand between the turkey's skin and breast to loosen skin. Spread a half cup of shallot paste under skin and over breast meat. Tuck wings underneath the body of the turkey and tie legs together loosely with kitchen twine or dental floss so the turkey will hold its shape. Place turkey on a small wire rack set inside a large roasting pan. Spread a half cup of shallot paste all over the outside of the turkey neck, gizzard and heart and place onion, celery and thyme sprigs in the pan around turkey.
• Bring a cup of the wine and two cups of the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Pour boiling liquid into bottom of roasting pan. Cover breast loosely with foil and place turkey in oven. Roast for one and a half hours. Add a cup of the broth and a cup of wine to the pan and roast turkey another 30 minutes. Remove foil and add a cup broth to pan.
• Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 175 degrees F, another one to one and a half hours. During roasting, cover exposed parts of turkey with foil as needed to prevent over-browning and add more broth if pan juices evaporate.
• Remove turkey from oven and transfer to a platter. Tent turkey loosely with foil and let rest 30 minutes - its internal temperature will rise another 5-10 degrees. Reserving drippings and discard neck, gizzard and heart. Place turkey on a serving platter, carve and serve with gravy.

HOT TURKEY DINNER: HERITAGE TURKEY LEG CONFIT WITH MAPLE WHIPPED SWEET POTATOES, BABY CARROTS AND SWEET PEAS

Steps:

• For the turkey: Pat the turkey legs dry with paper towels. Transfer the turkey to a baking sheet.
• In a spice grinder, finely grind the thyme, sage and bay leaves. Rub the turkey with the herbs and sprinkle generously with the salt and pepper. Chill overnight, uncovered.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over low heat to 170 degrees. Transfer the turkey to a 13-by-16-by-3-inch roasting pan. Pour the olive oil over the turkey. Cover the pan with foil and bake until the turkey is very tender, about 3 hours.
• Let cool. Remove the skin and tendons. Reserve the meat and keep warm.
• For the carrots and peas: In a large skillet, add the carrots and 1/4 cup water. Simmer over medium heat until the carrots are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the peas and increase the heat to high. Cook until the peas are crisp-tender and the liquid is reduced to about 1 teaspoon, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the orange juice, butter and sugar, swirling the skillet to coat the carrots and peas. Cook until the liquid is reduced to a syrupy glaze, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a shallow baking pan with foil.
• Prick each potato twice with a fork and bake in the prepared pan in the lower third of the oven until very tender, about 1 hour. Remove and cool slightly.
• Warm the heavy cream. Halve the potatoes lengthwise and scoop out the warm flesh into a large bowl. Mash the potatoes and stir in the cream, butter and syrup. Season with salt and pepper.

TURKEY CONFIT

Steps:

• Toss turkey, salt, pepper, herbs and garlic in a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for a half-hour or up to 24 hours.
• Put turkey, herbs and garlic in a saucepan just large enough to fit it. Cover with olive oil. Turn heat to medium and watch carefully; allow just a few bubbles to come up at a time. (Use an instant-read or frying thermometer and keep oil at 190 to 200 degrees.) Do not allow meat to brown.
• Cook, turning meat once or twice, for two hours or until it is quite tender but not falling off bone. Remove meat from oil. You can refrigerate turkey and oil separately or together, until needed. (If storing separately, use turkey in a few days; if you store it in oil, it will keep a week or more.)
• When you're ready to cook, put 2 to 4 tablespoons of used oil in a skillet large enough to hold turkey pieces in one layer; set heat at medium-low. (Use leftover oil for other purposes.) Cook turkey pieces slowly, turning once or twice, until browned and crisp, 10 to 20 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature, alone or over a bed of greens with a little dressing.

CONFIT TURKEY WITH CHILES AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Combine brown sugar, black pepper, and 2 Tbsp. kosher salt in a small bowl. Place turkey legs in a baking dish just big enough to fit them or a medium Dutch oven. Sprinkle all over with brown sugar mixture and scatter smashed garlic cloves around. Let sit at room temperature at least 2 hours, or chill up to 12 hours (more time makes a big difference).
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 275°F. Cut heads of garlic heads in half crosswise. Nestle around turkey legs along with chiles and oregano sprigs. Pour in oil until turkey is mostly if not completely submerged (shove chiles down since they can burn if above the surface of the oil). You may need a bit more oil depending on your pot and size of turkey legs; don't worry, this oil can be reused in all kinds of ways so it won't go to waste!
• Braise turkey, uncovered, until meat has shrunk away from drumsticks dramatically and meat shreds easily with firm pressure, 3-4 hours (a few bubbles is okay, but anything above a lazy simmer and you should reduce the heat). Let meat rest, still submerged in fat, at least 1 hour.
• Pick out chiles from braising oil with tongs and place in a blender; add red pepper flakes and 1 cup braising oil. Let cool slightly, then blend until chiles are coarsely chopped. Add almonds and pulse until largest pieces are no bigger than a red pepper flake. Add sesame seeds and pulse just to combine. Season with remaining ¼ tsp. salt and add more red pepper flakes if desired.
• If eating right away, heat 2 Tbsp. braising oil in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Cook turkey legs, carefully turning with 2 pairs of tongs, until brown and crisp all over, 8-10 minutes. Serve with the almond-chile sauce.
• Don't discard the braising oil or the juices below: Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof container. Skim off fat to use for roasting potatoes, or your next confit project. Use juices in another braise, or stir into a pot of beans.
• Do ahead: Turkey can be braised 4 days ahead. Let cool, cover and chill (still in oil). Reheat, uncovered, in a 275°F oven until warmed through, about 40 minutes, before browning.