recipes
TALKING TURKEY
Try farm-fresh, natural poultry for your holiday parties.
WRITTEN BY ANN LINDEMANN
PHOTOS BY JACI GOODMAN
Leave it to a straight-talking butcher to offer important holiday cooking words to live by.
“The way I see it, you cook a turkey once, maybe twice a year,” says Eric Halstead, owner of Village Meats in Incline Village. “It makes sense to get a good one and cook it right.”
To that end, Halstead purchases his turkeys when his customers haven’t even given a thought to cool weather feasts. Months ahead of time, Halstead calls up the Diestel family in Sonoma, Calif. and lets them know that he’d like them to raise a certain number of organic, free-range turkeys for his customers.
“So, essentially I’ve bought all my turkeys already,” explains Halstead on a warm Lake Tahoe summer day.
Halstead believes that “anything that is raised properly is just going to taste better.”
Farm Fresh
Halstead is not alone in this belief. Terri Marsh, of Rise and Shine Farms in Fallon, says she definitely can taste the difference.
“In my opinion, I can’t tell the difference between a fresh, homegrown turkey and a frozen, homegrown turkey,” Marsh says. “I can, however, tell the difference in a turkey that has been allowed to get lots of exercise, grow at a slower rate, and be harvested without chlorine dips.”
Like Marsh, fellow farmer Nancy Dineen of Nancy’s Green Farm Barn Farm in Dayton raises heritage turkeys, including Bourbon Reds, Narragansett, and Black Spanish.
“They are old breeds that mate naturally as opposed to artificially, like Broad Breasted Whites or Bronzes,” Dineen says. “Folks who buy fresh-from-the-farm turkeys need to know the difference between them and store bought, which include a 12 percent saltwater solution.”
Dineen says the solution in store-bought birds acts as a preservative and a tenderizer. Fresh, farm-raised birds are not pumped with this solution. Therefore, they will cook in a shorter time.
“The biggest mistake for someone who has never baked a fresh turkey is to overcook it,” Dineen adds. “But once they have a fresh turkey baked correctly, they are hooked!”
Cooking Techniques
On the other hand, Joe Orduna of Brothers Barbecue in Reno encourages turkey-loving cooks to ditch the oven and dust off the grill.
“We are pretty traditional, so for Thanksgiving we prefer oven-roasted turkey,” Orduna admits. “That said, smoked turkey is our favorite for everything else, especially football tailgating.”
Orduna points out that a smoked turkey will have a “slightly pink color” that folks may misconstrue.
“Many times people think the turkey is not done because in regular oven roasting, pink poultry meat is bad,” he says. “Trust your thermometer (a 165-degree F meat reading) and make sure the juice is clear.”
In the end, Orduna promises your turkey time will be richly rewarded.
“The flavor of the smoked turkey is hearty and slightly earthy,” he says. “Nothing is better than stoking the smoker’s fire, cool weather, good friends, and then, a short eight hours later, the bird is ready.”
Lake Tahoe writer Ann Lindemann cannot wait to fire up the barbecue and enjoy a free-range heritage turkey.
RECIPES
Is your mouth watering yet?
Joe Orduna of Brothers Barbecue in Reno shares his secret smoked turkey recipe here, along with some cooking tips.
Brothers Barbecue Smoked Turkey
(courtesy of Joe Orduna. This recipe is for a 12- to 14-pound turkey)
Brine turkey overnight. (Orduna uses Alton Brown’s recipe from Food Network, but adds red pepper flakes. The recipe is here: Foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html. Or have Brothers Barbecue cater your occasion. They specialize in “low-and-slow” barbecue cooked with “Texas love and Nevada attitude.” For details, visit Brothersbarbecue.net.)
After brining, pat turkey dry and rub with butter. Then add Orduna’s dry rub, which includes (approximate amounts):
2 teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
Pinch red pepper
Place one yellow onion, quartered, into turkey cavity, along with a couple of rosemary sprigs.
Once turkey is prepped, it’s time to get the smoker ready. Get a good amount of charcoal hot, and then add a wood log. Orduna recommends apple or oak as they offer a light flavor; if using chips, make sure they have been pre-soaked in water.
While enjoying a cold beverage with guests, make sure to keep heat about 240 to 250 degrees F, Orduna says. Turkey will take 7 to 8 hours to cook, or until thermometer registers 165 degrees F in thigh.
Additional cooking tips: If turkey skin is getting too dark, simply cover it lightly with foil. And, to capture luscious juices for basting, place turkey in a large, disposable aluminum pan halfway through cooking process.
Resources
Buy One Now
Fresh, organically raised, free-range turkey can be ordered through:
* Great Basin Community Food Co-op
775-324-6133, Greatbasinfood.coop
* Whole Foods Market
775-852-8023, www.Wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/reno
Thinking Ahead
To get connected to locally raised turkeys, order in the spring/early summer from a local farm. Below are a couple of options.
* Rise and Shine Farms
775-867-5873, www.Riseandshinefarms.com
* Nancy’s Green Barn Farm
775-246-8456, www.Nancysgreenbarnfarm.com
