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Greedy Girl Cooks' Tasty Thanksgiving Recipes

Published:Thursday | November 19, 2020 | 12:14 AM
Turkey is nothing without its savoury and sweet balance of side dishes.
Turkey is nothing without its savoury and sweet balance of side dishes.
Scalloped potatoes with garlic potato chip topping.
Scalloped potatoes with garlic potato chip topping.
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Jerk Turkey

 

What you'll need:

12lb turkey

 

Ingredients for the dry brine:

3 tablespoons pin sea salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons ground allspice

2 tablespoons onion powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

 

For the extra flavour injector:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 tablespoon brine dry mixture

 

All other ingredients and tools:

10 sprigs fresh thyme

1 whole garlic bulb

1 onion

1/4 cup oil

1/2 Scotch bonnet pepper

3-4 cups chicken stock

3 tablespoons honey

3 scallion stalks cut up

2 tablespoons sliced ginger

Grill

Pimento wood chips

Charcoal

 

Directions:

Make sure the turkey is completely defrosted, cleaned and pat dry.

In a bowl, combine all the dry brine ingredients.

Reserve one tablespoon of the mixture

Generously season the turkey with the remaining, on top of and under the skin (directly on the meat) in the cavity; any nooks and crannies you can find, get it everywhere.

Place on a wire rack on a baking tray and set in the refrigerator, uncovered for 1 to 2 days.

 

Thanksgiving Day

Remove the turkey from the fridge an hour before cooking.

Melt the stick of butter mix in the tablespoon of brine mixture.

Inject the seasoned butter deep into the legs, thighs and breast.

Fill the cavity of the bird with the onion, garlic and thyme.

For added spice, blend the oil and hot pepper together and rub all over the skin of the bird's wings, thighs, drumsticks and breast. Leave it out and use oil only.

Smoke over low heat on the grill 1-2 hours, make sure the coals are white and ashed over, add wood chips cover and leave to smoke. If one side is getting too hot or dark, you can rotate the bird, so it gets even heat. Offsetting the smoking set-up by ensuring the meat is not over direct heat would be ideal.

Transfer to the oven after smoking

Add chicken stock, honey, scallion and ginger to the bottom of the pan for basting. Place the turkey raised in a rack above this mixture and finish cooking at 325 Fahrenheit for approximately three hours or until the thigh reads 165 Fahrenheit, basting every 40 minutes.

If you don't have a grill, you can do it all in the oven. Start at a high temperature of 450 Fahrenheit get some colour on the skin for 20 minutes then drop the temperature to 325 Fahrenheit to finish the cooking, basting every 40 minutes.

 

Rundown Scalloped Potatoes with Garlic Potato Chip Topping

 

Ingredients

8 potatoes thinly sliced

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 cup finely chopped tomato

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 finely chopped Scotch bonnet pepper

1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 bouillon cube

2 cans coconut milk

1 tablespoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

3 stalks scallion

2 garlic cloves shredded

 

For the topping:

1 teaspoon coconut oil

2 bags potato chips

1 garlic clove

 

Directions

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and set aside in cold water.

In a saucepan, sauté the tomato, onion and Scotch bonnet in coconut oil until fragrant.

Add the coconut milk and allow it to cook and begin to reduce.

Once it begins to slightly thicken (it will look smooth and coat a spoon when dipped in it), add sugar, bouillon cube, allspice, thyme, scallion and garlic.

Once the sugar and bouillon cube dissolves remove from the heat.

Drain and thoroughly dry the thin potatoes.

Lay the first layer of them in a baking dish, pour over some sauce and repeat layering until the dish is full, ending with sauce on top.

Place in a 375-degree Fahrenheit oven on the middle rack uncovered for 60 minutes.

A knife will easily pierce the entire thing, so you will know the potatoes are fully cooked.

Set aside to cool. As it cools, the potatoes will absorb all the bubbling rundown sauce and be easy to slice. If you serve it too hot, it will fall apart.

 

For the topping:

Crush two packs of plain potato chips.

Place in a pan with coconut oil and stir continuously, so the garlic or the potato chips do not burn.

The chips will get a golden-brown colour, once it does remove to a paper towel to cool.

Sprinkle over top of the scalloped potatoes and serve

 

Greedy Girl Tips

Traditionally, a rundown sauce starts with coconut milk. It cooks down until thick, then the veggies are added. This method yields the most intense coconut flavour, with the onions, peppers, scallion and thyme playing supporting roles. I, however, started by sautéing the veggies first then adding the milk. Either way works, but I think flavour-wise, the traditional way is better.

 

Do not use coconut milk powder. When it reduces, it is not smooth; it is lumpy and clumpy. I don't even recommend using fresh coconuts and blending with water, because you need the fat to get a rich sauce. The best option would be to grate the coconuts and squeeze out the milk, if that floats your boat, by all means; if not, canned coconut milk is the best and easiest option here.

 

You also don't want to reduce the sauce too much because it's that liquid that cooks the potatoes while in the oven.

 

 

 

Apple Stuffing Biscuits

 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons salted butter

1 tablespoon oil

½ cup celery

½ cup onion

½ cup carrots

6 sage leaves, minced

2 garlic cloves shredded

1 apple finely chopped

1 tablespoon honey

2 pinches salt

3 cups self-rising flour

1 ½ cups heavy cream

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup shredded smoked gouda

 

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Finely chop the onions, carrots and celery.

In a saucepan melt, the butter and oil sauté the onions carrots and celery until softened.

Add the minced sage leaves and cook for another minute.

Add the salt, apples and honey, cook until the apples have softened.

Remove from the heat and allow to completely cool, you can pop it in the freezer to cool it faster.

Combine flour, sugar, salt and cooled sauté mixture in a bowl, add heavy cream and mix until the dough loosely forms.

Turn out onto a floured work surface and form together into a rectangle.

Fold into thirds (like a tri-fold brochure). sprinkle with flour and roll the dough to a half-inch thickness.

Repeat this folding and rolling method two more times.

On the last roll, spread the smoked gouda over the entire dough, fold into thirds and roll again into a half-inch thickness.

Cut into the desired shapes.

Slather the tops only with some melted butter.

Bake for 10 minutes. The biscuits will rise and be golden brown.