bird with the pan juices. Add the carrots and
potatoes. Cook covered for about an hour. •
Uncover the turkey. Baste turkey and vegetables
with pan juices. • Raise the heat to 350. Cook
uncovered, basting every 15 minutes until the
turkey reaches 165 on your thermometer and is
golden brown. Serve with pan juices.
Notes
If vegetables threaten to become overdone
while waiting for a stubborn turkey you can
remove them to a covered dish to keep warm.
If you want gravy be sure to taste the pan
juices first. Some beers do make good gravy,
others don’t.
SOUTHWEST TURKEY
1 turkey
1 package of taco seasoning mix
2-3 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1-3 jalapenos, chopped
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained, with liquid
reserved
Cilantro to taste, chopped (optional)
Directions
Mix onions, peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes,
and cilantro together. • Run your hand under
the skin of the turkey, loosening it from the
breast and as far into the thigh as you can reach.
Put half the vegetable mix under the skin and
half into the cavity. • Mix taco seasoning with oil.
Rub this mix over the skin. • Put the bird into the
roaster then pour the reserved tomato juice into
the bottom of the pan. • Calculate your cook
time at 15 minutes per pound for an unstuffed
bird. • Roast covered at 350F until the last hour
then uncover to brown. As noted above, turkeys
and ovens vary so use your thermometer.
Mary Beth Voelker is a writer, a mother,
a cook, a gardener, and a crafter. Though
originally from Pittsburgh, she and her
family kept coming back to North Carolina
until God let them stay. She likes to say that
while she has often been bored at work she
has never been bored at home.
HOME SWEET SOUTHERN HOME continued
HOME SWEET SOUTHERN HOME continued
Two Options for
Out of Season Turkey
by Mary Beth Voelker
Perhaps back in November and December
you shopped the sales wisely and stowed an
extra turkey or turkey breast in your freezer.
Perhaps you picked a turkey or a breast up at the
post-holiday clearance sales. It’s time to cook
the bird, but after the holidays the leftovers of
sage and onion simply aren’t fresh and enjoyable
anymore. Following are two changes of flavor to
try instead.
TURKEY POT-ROAST
Traditionally, we pot-roast beef, but the
technique can be used on nearly any meat.
Beer is the secret to the flavor here, but don’t
worry about the alcohol, it all evaporates in the
cooking. I normally use an ordinary American
lager, but any preferred beer will do.
Ingredients
1 turkey, small enough to fit into your covered
roaster with the lid closed
1, 12oz bottle of beer
2-4 onions, depending on the size of the turkey
and the family, quartered
1-2 lbs carrots, cut into 2-3” chunks
4 medium potatoes, cut into halves (or a suitable
amount for your family)
Butter or oil
2 bay leaves
Black pepper to taste
Directions
Remove the neck and giblets from the
thawed turkey. Remove any pinfeathers and
rinse if necessary. • Butter or oil your roaster
then place the turkey inside on its back. • Stuff
the cavity with quartered onions, inserting one
bay leaf in the middle. • Calculate the cook time
at 20 minutes per pound, bearing in mind that
both turkeys and ovens vary so the calculated
time may or may not be accurate. • Pour half the
beer into the cavity and half over the turkey; be
sure to cover the entire bird. • Cover and roast
in a 250 degree oven until about 2 hours shy of
the expected time for it to be done. • Baste the
HOME SWEET SOUTHERN HOME con't. next column HOME SWEET SOUTHERN HOME con't. next column
Notes
I suggest serving with cornbread and a green
salad. Leftovers make excellent tacos, burritos,
quesadillas, and, at the end, taco soup.
EGG SALAD, PLAIN AND FANCY
Egg salad is nearly as variable as chicken
salad and has gotten even easier to make now
that many grocery stores sell peeled, hardboiled
eggs or even pre-chopped eggs. I allow
about 2 eggs per sandwich. I like to put egg salad
into mini-croissants, mini-pitas and wraps. Hot
dog or mini-sub rolls are helpful to prevent
squishing and dripping.
Ingredients
6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped as
finely or coarsely as suits your taste and the
nature of the bread that will be holding it.
2-3 tablespoons of one of the following items:
Sweet pickle relish
Finely-chopped dill or kosher pickles
Finely-chopped green olives
Finely-chopped celery
Finely-chopped parsley
1-2 tsp of one of the following items:
Pickle juice
Mustard
White or cider vinegar
1/3 cup mayonnaise—the exact amount will
depend on how finely the eggs are chopped and
the amount of other ingredients used.
1 tsp minced onion or 1 pinch onion powder
(optional)
Dash garlic powder (optional)
Dash curry powder (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Mix all the chosen ingredients together until
well-blended. Notes
Egg salad can be dressed up even further by
adding unexpected ingredients such as capers,
anchovy paste, or chopped greens. If you chop
the eggs very finely and blend the ingredients into
a smooth paste, you can use a pastry bag to pipe
pretty shapes onto crackers or bread rounds. ☐
No. 137 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.11