CHRISTMAS WITH A TWIST
We serve the same meal at Thanksgiving year after year – then serve it again a month later, at Christmas. Why? I guess because our mothers did. Well, last year, my wife and I defied convention and prepared an exotic Christmas dish from the bayou: deep-fried turkey. That’s right: deep-fried. I know this sounds crazy, but deep-frying a turkey turns it into the tenderest, most mouthwateringly out-of-this-world holiday bird you ever stuck a fork into – and it’s nowhere near as difficult you’re probably thinking.
Here’s what you do: Thoroughly rinse a fresh or fully thawed turkey in cold water, then pat it dry with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, then place the turkey on a greased rack in a large roasting pan. Now, slide that bad boy into the oven! Cook it for about fifteen minutes a pound – a bit less if it’s heavier than sixteen pounds. After the first hour, baste the breast with pan drippings and melted butter every ten minutes or so, to make the skin extra brown. When the little thermometer thing pops up, it’s done.
This Christmas, my wife and I are serving an even more unusual holiday delicacy, also from Cajun country. It’s called “turducken.” The preparation is quite involved, but the result is spectacular. To make a turducken, you start with an ordinary turkey. Before cooking it you remove the little bag of extra turkey parts and replace it with as much Pepperidge Farm stuffing as the turkey will hold. To prepare the stuffing, just follow the directions on the package – or maybe add a bit more butter. Then deep-fry (see above). When the little thermometer thing pops up, it’s done.
A word of warning: if you don’t like compliments, you’d better ignore my advice!
