Thompson turkey pt 2

1 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
See part 1

Directions

In a mixing cup make a paste of the yolks of 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon hot dry mustard, a crushed clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon onion juice, 2 pinches of cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and sifted flour to make the paste stiff.

NOW, TURN YOUR OVEN UP to 500 degrees F. When it is red hot, put the bird in, breast down, in a rack if possible. Close the door. Wipe your brow, again. Wait until the bird has begun to brown all over. Take it out and paint it all over with the paste. Put it back in the oven and turn the heat down to 325 degrees and wait until the paste sets. Pull i t out again and paint it. Put it back. Keep doing this until you have no paste left.

Add a cup of cider to that stock that's been simmering on the stove. This is your basing fluid. The turkey must be basted every 15 minutes. Don't argue. Set your timer and keep at it. The bird should cook for at least five and a half hours and must be basted every 15 minutes on that time.

Enlist the aid of friends if necessary.

AFTER THE TURKEY has been cooking for two hours, you will wonder if I am crazy. It will be turning black. In fact, by the time it is finished, it will look as though you've ruined it. Take a fork and poke at the black, cindery crust. Beneath it, the bird will be a deep mahogany with a lovely succulent skin. Stick a fork in it and the juices will gush to the ceiling.

When you take it out and are ready to carve it, you will find that you will need a knife. A loud sound will cause it to fall apart. The moist flesh will drive you crazy, and the stuffing -- well, there's nothing like it on earth. You make the gravy just the way you ordinarily would, adding to it the giblets that we have been simmering in the basting fluid.

That's all there is to it -- just work -- hard work -- but it is worth it" Posted to recipelu-digest Volume 01 Number 186 by Terry Pogue <tpogue@...> on Oct 31, 1997

Related recipes