I know, it's early, but yesterday's turkey was handled by others,
while I'm in charge of the Christmas bird. So I have a question:

I want to deep-fry our turkey this year. We normally do this for
our New Year's party, for which I don't make mashed potatoes and
gravy. But Christmas will be a nice sit-down meal and so we gotta
have gravy. Miguel is concerned about the lack of fond (how nice
that I know what to call it now, instead of "crunchy stuff left
in the pan after roasting the bird"). I have a plan, and want you
guys to tell me if I'm out of my mind he

Get some turkey thighs/drums and roast a week or two before the
big day. Eat them for dinner. Deglaze the roasting pan with a bit
of water to removed the fond, then freeze it until Christmas. Thaw
and make gravy with fresh broth from the simmered giblets.

Is this madness? Thanks in advance for your thoughts... :-)

--
Jani in WA

On Nov 24, 1006.Little Malice wrote:

> I want to deep-fry our turkey this year.

<snip.

> But Christmas will be a nice sit-down meal and so we gotta
> have gravy. Miguel is concerned about the lack of fond (how nice
> that I know what to call it now, instead of "crunchy stuff left
> in the pan after roasting the bird"). I have a plan, and want you
> guys to tell me if I'm out of my mind he

Did you see Wayne's post from yesterday:

"Turkey Gravy Revisited (Long)"?

Sounds like you're headed in the same direction he went (or close). He
reported good results, so
I've saved it for future reference.

Stay dry!

not madness at all........................

--

shalom and salaam,
rosie


"Little Malice" > wrote in message
...
>I know, it's early, but yesterday's turkey was handled by others,
> while I'm in charge of the Christmas bird. So I have a question:
>
> I want to deep-fry our turkey this year. We normally do this for
> our New Year's party, for which I don't make mashed potatoes and
> gravy. But Christmas will be a nice sit-down meal and so we gotta
> have gravy. Miguel is concerned about the lack of fond (how nice
> that I know what to call it now, instead of "crunchy stuff left
> in the pan after roasting the bird"). I have a plan, and want you
> guys to tell me if I'm out of my mind he
>
> Get some turkey thighs/drums and roast a week or two before the
> big day. Eat them for dinner. Deglaze the roasting pan with a bit
> of water to removed the fond, then freeze it until Christmas. Thaw
> and make gravy with fresh broth from the simmered giblets.
>
> Is this madness? Thanks in advance for your thoughts... :-)
>
> --
> Jani in WA

Oh pshaw, on Fri 24 Nov 2006 10:50:55a, Little Malice meant to say...

> I know, it's early, but yesterday's turkey was handled by others,
> while I'm in charge of the Christmas bird. So I have a question:
>
> I want to deep-fry our turkey this year. We normally do this for
> our New Year's party, for which I don't make mashed potatoes and
> gravy. But Christmas will be a nice sit-down meal and so we gotta
> have gravy. Miguel is concerned about the lack of fond (how nice
> that I know what to call it now, instead of "crunchy stuff left
> in the pan after roasting the bird"). I have a plan, and want you
> guys to tell me if I'm out of my mind he
>
> Get some turkey thighs/drums and roast a week or two before the
> big day. Eat them for dinner. Deglaze the roasting pan with a bit
> of water to removed the fond, then freeze it until Christmas. Thaw
> and make gravy with fresh broth from the simmered giblets.
>
> Is this madness? Thanks in advance for your thoughts... :-)
>

No, it's perfect. You can also throw in some celery, carrot, and onion to
roast with it for added flavor. See my previous thread about turkey gravy.

Another option, if you don't particularly want another turkey meal so close
to the Christmas turkey, is to use wings and necks instead of the
drumsticks and thighs. The flavor will all be in there.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Useless Invention: Solar powered night light.

One time on Usenet, Wayne Boatwright <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> said:
> Oh pshaw, on Fri 24 Nov 2006 10:50:55a, Little Malice meant to say...

<snip>

> > Get some turkey thighs/drums and roast a week or two before the
> > big day. Eat them for dinner. Deglaze the roasting pan with a bit
> > of water to removed the fond, then freeze it until Christmas. Thaw
> > and make gravy with fresh broth from the simmered giblets.
> >
> > Is this madness? Thanks in advance for your thoughts... :-)
> >
>
> No, it's perfect. You can also throw in some celery, carrot, and onion to
> roast with it for added flavor. See my previous thread about turkey gravy.
>
> Another option, if you don't particularly want another turkey meal so close
> to the Christmas turkey, is to use wings and necks instead of the
> drumsticks and thighs. The flavor will all be in there.

Thanks, hon -- I missed your gravy thread, but as per your (and
Kevin's) suggestion, I'll google it. Thanks again... :-)

--
Jani in WA

On Nov 24, Little Malice wrote:

>Thanks, hon -- I missed your gravy thread, but as per your (and
> Kevin's) suggestion, I'll google it. Thanks again... :-)

Here's a cut and paste from WB's post (hope it isn't too broken up):

Since I only roast a turkey breast, I also bought a package of turkey
wings. Yesterday I popped them into a roasting pan with a couple each
of
carrots, stalks of celery, a medium onion coarsely chopped (with the
skin),
and a couple of cloves of garlic. Tossed in a tablespoon or so of oil
and a bit of salt. Roasted this mixture until everything was nicely
browned.

Removed roasting pan to the stovetop, added 4 cups chicken broth, a
teaspoon of whole peppercorns, 5 whole allspice berries, a bay leaf, a
handful of fresh parsley, and a teaspoon of poultry seasoning. Brought
this to a boil, then reduced to a simmer for about 45 minutes. Removed
from the heat, then strained through doubled cheesecloth. Cooled and
refrigerated overnight.

This morning I removed the solidified fat and allowed the stock to warm
to room temperature.

Meanwhile, I browned 3/4 cup all-purpose flour in a dry pan in a 375°
oven until it was golden tan, then set aside.

When the turkey breast was done, I drained off the pan juices and
browned bits and allowed the fat to rise to the top, then removing it.
I mixed the
two quantities of fat, then measured out about 1/2 cup.

Measured out 2 cups of the pan juices, adding back the measured fat,
then added 2 cups of the previously prepared stock. Brought this
mixture to a slow boil.

Meanwhile, put the remaining 2 cups of stock in the blender and added
the browned flour. Whirled this together on lowest speed until
completely smooth.

Added the stock/flour mixture in a steady stream to the simmering pot
while whisking constantly, then returned to a boil while whisking until
it
thickened. Reduced heat to a bare simmer and cooked, covered, for
another half hour. Then put on the warming burner.

One time on Usenet, "KevinS" > said:
> On Nov 24, Little Malice wrote:
>
> >Thanks, hon -- I missed your gravy thread, but as per your (and
> > Kevin's) suggestion, I'll google it. Thanks again... :-)
>
> Here's a cut and paste from WB's post (hope it isn't too broken up):

Geez, thanks Kevin -- you're a real peach!! :-)

--
Jani in WA

Little Malice wrote:
Deglaze the roasting pan with a bit
> of water to removed the fond, then freeze it until Christmas. Thaw
> and make gravy with fresh broth from the simmered giblets.
>
> Is this madness? Thanks in advance for your thoughts... :-)
>
Deglaze with white wine. I did that yesterday and it made all the
difference in the taste of the gravy. Delicious.

One time on Usenet, Goomba38 > said:
> Little Malice wrote:

> Deglaze the roasting pan with a bit
> > of water to removed the fond, then freeze it until Christmas. Thaw
> > and make gravy with fresh broth from the simmered giblets.
> >
> > Is this madness? Thanks in advance for your thoughts... :-)
> >
> Deglaze with white wine. I did that yesterday and it made all the
> difference in the taste of the gravy. Delicious.

Can you freeze wine? I don't drink it, rarely cook with it, so I
don't know...

--
Jani in WA

Little Malice wrote:

>> Deglaze with white wine. I did that yesterday and it made all the
>> difference in the taste of the gravy. Delicious.
>
> Can you freeze wine? I don't drink it, rarely cook with it, so I
> don't know...
>
Of course you can freeze something that has wine in it. It isn't a lot
of wine, right? You're just using enough to deglaze the pan with before
you add the stock or liquid and thickener. I probably used about 1/2 cup
or so of wine.

In article >,
unge (Little Malice) wrote:

> Get some turkey thighs/drums and roast a week or two before the
> big day. Eat them for dinner. Deglaze the roasting pan with a bit
> of water to removed the fond, then freeze it until Christmas. Thaw
> and make gravy with fresh broth from the simmered giblets.
>
> Is this madness? Thanks in advance for your thoughts... :-)

It isn't madness, Toots. It's practicality, efficiency, and good
planning at its finest. Rock on! I think nancree posted something of
the same essence - maybe roasting a couple wings for the stuck brown
bits. '-)

And be careful with the fried turkey. Local tv station had a horrendous
story about an 'explosion' of hot fat in one garage last year. It was
enough to put me off the plan (not that I ever intended to do it, but it
sounded interesting).
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
"Maligning an individual says more about you than the one you malign."
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller; blahblahblog
http://jamlady.eboard.com