Recipe: Black-Lacquered Turkey (Jane Heller)

Black-Lacquered Turkey
Show: Martha Stewart - From Martha's Kitchen
Episode: Black Turkey with Jane Heller
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 7 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 18 to 20 servings

1 (18 to 22 pound) turkey
1 recipe Stuffing, recipe follows
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 recipe Glazing Paste, recipe follows
1 recipe Basting Liquid, recipe follows

Heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Place a 15 by 10 1/4-inch roasting rack in a heavy 16 by 13-inch roasting pan; alternatively, use 2 large disposable aluminum roasting pans set inside one another for added strength.

Stuff the turkey with the stuffing. Using a trussing needle and butcher's string, sew the sides of the body cavity together, stitching from side to side, to enclose the stuffing. To truss the turkey, tuck wings under body. Tuck neck flap under body to secure; then center a 3 foot length of butcher's string over the neck flap. Bring the string ends of the string under wings, over drumsticks, wrap each end around a drumstick, pull drumsticks together, and tie then ends of the string into a bow. (The bow makes it easier to remove the trussing string after roasting.) Brush the turkey breast with melted butter.

Place the turkey, breast side down, on the rack, and brush with remaining melted butter. Place breast side down in the oven, and roast until brown all over, about 30 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven, and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F. While the oven cools, brush the hot turkey with the paste, and allow it to set until dry, 5 to 7 minutes; turn it over on the rack, and brush the breast side with paste. Place the coated turkey in the oven. Using a turkey baster, baste with basting liquid. Continue basting the turkey every 15 minutes with basting liquid throughout the roasting process, about 7 hours (allowing about 20 minutes per pound). Results yield a turkey with a dark, black coating over the skin that can be removed with tweezers before serving to reveal succulent moist skin and meat.

Stuffing (yield: 18 to 20 cups - enough for an 18 to 22 pound turkey):
1/4 pound unsalted butter
3/4 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 pound ground beef
2 (16-ounce) packages bread crumbs or stuffing mix
1 large apple, peeled and diced
1 large orange, peeled and diced
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 lemon, zested, about 1 teaspoon
1 (5-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons preserved ginger, chopped
3 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
3 teaspoons celery seeds
2 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 bay leaf, crushed
1/2 teaspoon mace
4 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 medium onions, chopped
6 large celery stalks, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon summer savory
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Saute veal, pork, and beef until brown and thoroughly cooked, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and mix with the bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl. In another large bowl, combine apple, orange, pineapple, lemon zest, water chestnuts, and ginger. Add to the meat and bread crumbs. Combine mustard powder, caraway seed, celery seed, oregano, bay leaf, mace, parsley, turmeric, onions, celery, marjoram, summer savory, and poultry seasoning in a small bowl. Add to the large bowl containing the fruit-meat-bread crumb mixture. Using your hands, combine all the ingredients until achieving a consistent soft, moist texture. Use immediately to stuff the turkey; the stuffing can be made a day in advance, if covered, and refrigerated.

Glazing Paste (yield 1/4 cup):
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, more if needed

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl, until you have the consistency of a light paste; add additional flour if necessary.

Basting Liquid (yield: 6 cups):
1 turkey gizzard, chopped
1 turkey neck, chopped
1 turkey heart, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 clove garlic
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup apple cider

In a medium saucepan, combine gizzard, neck, heart, bay leaf, paprika, coriander, garlic, salt, and pepper with 4 cups water. Bring to a simmer, and continue to simmer until the turkey pieces are cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add apple cider, stir, and remove from heat. Using a turkey baster, baste the turkey with the liquid every 15 minutes according to Step 4 of the Black-Lacquered Turkey recipe. If you run out of basting liquid, you may use apple cider or the roasting juices that accumulate in the roasting pan.

Preparing the perfect Thanksgiving turkey presents a challenge to most home cooks. Recipes range from the simple to the spectacular, often reflecting the cook's personality. Martha Stewart's friend and banker Jane Heller cooks twice a year--once for her summer rib party and again for Thanksgiving. Her guests remember each experience, and eagerly anticipate the next.

For her Thanksgiving turkey, she uses precisely 39 ingredients and precise culinary methodology that yields a succulent roasted bird beneath a dramatic black-lacquered skin. To the uninitiated, its appearance can be alarming at first sight, but the moist and succulent results are well worth it. Remove the coating with tweezers before serving, or allow each guest to remove it from each portion to reveal the succulent mahogany skin beneath.

Inspiration for her technique came from an exacting recipe first published in 1945 by newspaper columnist and writer Morton Thompson in his memoirs, Joe, The Wounded Tennis Player. Jane maintains, as did Thompson, that there are no shortcuts since the perfect bird requires diligence, commitment, and fortitude.