If you’ve been following me on Instagram for a while, you probably know that I’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving with my friend Melinda and her family for the past 7 years, it’s tradition! Sadly, Melinda didn’t host this year, so I decided to host a Friendsgiving potluck with my friends and make my first turkey!
I was so excited but also nervous to make the perfect juicy bird, so I did research on techniques and I literally could not sleep coming up with ideas on how to keep my bird moist. Most recipes recommended slathering the turkey breast with butter – but that’s a no-no in the kosher kitchen, so I needed an alternative. Of course I could go the margarine route, but anyone who knows me knows that I don’t do margarine. Like ever! (Trauma from kosher culinary school and my mom’s kitchen growing up!).
Alas, as I twisted and turned at night, I came up with the most amazing non-vegan-butter alternative – MARROW BONE BUTTER! I roasted marrow bones with garlic to make a buttery confit, and I blitzed it in the food processor to make the most umami, lip-smacking butter that I literally took my bird OVER THE TOP! My guests could not get enough (even the turkey haters!) and it was an absolute success.
I may have to bring it to Melinda’s Thanksgiving next year!
If you’re wondering, here’s what all my friends brought to the potluck!
I made turkey and gravy, red wine cranberry sauce, chestnut hummus and stuffing and my daughter made her amazing sourdough bread.
My friends brought:
Orzo with mushrooms
Meat stuffed peppers
Roasted potatoes
Strawberry apple crisp
Sweet potato Pie
Roasted brussels sprouts
Nish Nosh salad
Arugula salad with oranges, dates, mint
For dessert we had:
Pecan Pie
Lotus Babka
Streusel cookies
Cinnamon cake with maple frosting
I’m thinking this Friendsgiving thing has to happen every year! So grateful for good friends and reasons to celebrate!
Bone Marrow Butter Roast Turkey & Gravy
6 marrow bones
6 oz. peeled garlic
3 sprigs thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, or enough to almost cover
13 lb. turkey
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery, roughly chopped
7 lady apples (mini baby apples)
1 apple, sliced in half
1/2 orange
1 small head garlic
bundle of mixed herbs (I used tarragon, rosemary and thyme)
Gravy:
1/4 cup oil from the drippings
6 tbsp flour
2 cups turkey stock (may sub chicken)
salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
First make the bone marrow butter. In a non-reactive dish, combine the marrow bones, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil to almost cover. Bake at 375 until the garlic is soft and starting to brown and caramelize, about 30 minutes.
Scoop the marrow from the bones into a food processor with the S-blade attached. Add the garlic and a bit of the oil (1/4 cup) and blend until creamy. Transfer to a container and put in the freezer to solidify while you work on the turkey.
Place the chopped onions, carrots, celery and lady apples in the bottom of a roasting dish. Season with salt, pepper and toss with a bit of olive oil. Place the turkey rack on top.
Thoroughly dry the turkey on all sides, taking special care to dry out the cavity. Stuff the cavity with apple halves, orange, garlic, and herb bundle. Tie the legs with oven-safe string. Remove the marrow butter from the freezer (if it’s too frozen, allow it to soften for a few minutes) and generously slather it under the chicken skin, spreading it out over the breast (be careful not to rip the skin).
Pour some of the remaining confit oil over the turkey and rub it all over the skin. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast the turkey, breast-side-up at 350 degrees for 13 minutes per lb. or until it reaches 160 degrees (I recommend the thermometer method), basting every hour with the pan juices. If the skin starts to get too brown, you can tent it with foil.
Remove the turkey rack from the roasting dish and set aside. Using a slotted spoon, remove the roasted vegetables and apples and set them aside. Pour all the pan juices into a measuring cup, allow them to settle and use a spoon to separate most of the fat from the pan drippings.
Place the roasting dish on the fire and and add 1/4 cup oil from the roasting pan. Add flour and whisk until a paste forms, stirring the mixture over the entire pan to incorporate all the bits of flavor from the pan. Stir the paste until it takes on a deep tan color, about 6 minutes. Add the turkey stock and whisk until creamy. Pour in the pan drippings and whisk to incorporate. Pour the gravy through a fine-mesh sieve to strain.
Serve the turkey with gravy and roasted apples from the pan. Gobble Gobble!
More Thanksgiving Recipes:
Thanksgiving grazing board
chestnut hummus
cranberry oat bars
stuffed dates with chestnut cream
baklava pumpkin pie
acorn squash with wild rice stuffing
cookie butter pumpkin pie
Mexican hot chocolate pecan pie
cranberry sriracha green beans
shaved brussels sprouts salad
