December 2023 Julia Child's Deboned Turkey

My first time deboning a turkey using Julia Child's Stuffed Turkey recipe

It has been a while since I last posted or blogged about my cooking experience. After the emergency of COVID, we are finally cooking for different gatherings.  I recently joined a cookbook club featuring a chef's cookbook each month.    In November, we chose Julia Child's recipe with a Thanksgiving theme.  Being an overachiever with a love of turkey cooking(the more complex, the better), I found this recipe too challenging to pass.  When I saw deboning a turkey, I was hooked.   Watch my video of how I deboned the turkey.  

I made 3 turkey dinners with a 16 lb (2 halves)  and a 13 lb turkey whole turkey, both stuffed.  For the first turkey, I did a half stuffed and cooked it the day of and followed Julia's recipe with some modifications.  My guests enjoyed it, but I found the stuffing very wet, not sticking to the turkey, and cutting like a mess.  The turkey breast was also dry to my taste.  

The second turkey was for my cookbook club dinner, and I stuffed the whole turkey.  I decided to brine the deboned turkey with my brine recipe (See below), hoping for a juicer turkey.   To brine a 13 lb deboned turkey was a breeze; no extra large pot was necessary.  The finished turkey looked really lovely, but I was still not happy with the breast, which was still dry.  It took so long for the stuffing to bring up to temp, and by then, the breasts and thighs were so cooked.  

For my third dinner, I cooked the half-stuffed turkey from 5 days ago.  I was worried if the turkey would actually last and in the hope I would not poison my guests.  I left the turkey uncovered in the coldest part of my fridge, with the bacon on top of the turkey.  The skin became dry, and no juice came out from the stuffing.  Everything was intact.  I cooked it in the Anova Precision Oven, which is much hotter than a regular oven.  The skin was crispy from the bacon's fat and the ageing's dryness.  The most surprising part of the aged turkey is the tenderness of the meat.  Every piece of the turkey was tender, almost like eating ham, where the stuffing and the marinated flavour were infused entirely into the turkey meat.  The ageing process also tenderizes the meat. 

From this experience, I learned to stuff the turkey or meats and leave it overnight for at least 24 hours to give the core a much-added flavour.  The stuffing also sets nicer into the heart, so when you cut it, it does not fall apart.  The skin is extra crispy, almost like a peaking duck.  

Overall, I give this recipe a 6 as it's a bit old-fashioned, but I love the deboned idea and will make this again with chicken or duck.  

See Below in pink for my edit of the recipe. 

Original Recipe

Julia Child's Stuffed Turkey

Bon Appétit December 1980

10-12 servings

1 10- to 13-pound turkey

Salt and freshly ground pepper

¼ cup (about) Cognac

Farce Pitchounaise (see next recipe) 

Softened butter

½ pound barding lard (fresh pork fatback), cut 1/4-inch thick or thick-sliced bacon, blanched ( I did not blanch it and turned out just fine)

White Wine Turkey Gravy 

For easier carving at the table, cut out the wishbone from inside the neck end of the turkey, and make incisions where ball joints attach to small of back, cutting through to separate joints.

Slit skin over the breastbone from tip to shoulder. Slipping your fingers between skin and flesh, peel skin from each side of breast, peel skin from each side of breast, leaving skin attached to lower sides of turkey (skin will be used to cover breast after stuffing). Cut breast meat away from carcass on each side, scraping your knife close to the bones.

Using heavy kitchen or poultry shears, cut out entire breastbone and half of rib cage. (Reserve bones for stock and turkey gravy.) Set turkey on V-shaped roasting rack, if available, to hold bird securely.

Pull white tendon out from underside of each breast (add to stockpot). I did not put it in the stock.  I left them in the turkey, and it was fine.   Slice meat into pieces about 3/8-inch thick and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Cognac. Season turkey cavity likewise. I did not understand that, so
I scared and marinated the meat.  Turned out just fine.  Did she remove the meat, then mix it with the stuffing? Interesting

Fill boat-shaped cavity with stuffing, mounding it into shallow dome shape. Rearrange the slices of each breast over stuffing. Starting at tail end, sew the two flaps of skin back over the breast. If skin will not reach easily, remove some of the stuffing. It is better to have too little than so much that the skin might split during roasting. Extra stuffing can be cooked separately in a covered casserole in a bain-marie (water bath) for 1 hour; baste several times with some turkey pan juices. (Since there is no bread in the stuffing, turkey can be made ready one day before roasting. Wrap and refrigerate.) 

Agree entirely, overnight turkey tastes better.  I did not have a needle and kitchen twine, so I skewered it with wooden skewers.  See my video for details.  

Preheat oven to 425F or 210C. Skewer neck skin to back, and truss bird. Massage skin all over with soft butter. Place lard or bacon strips over breast area. Set turkey breast side up on rack in roasting pan. Roast 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting, basting every 20 minutes with pan juices, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, according to size of the bird.  

Do not follow the time of this recipe.  As soon as your turkey interior stuffing reaches 165C, its ready.  If you use an air-fryer or sous vide oven, start at 210c for 20 mins and then reduce to 170c until temperature reaches 165C.    

Remove lard or bacon strips and continue roasting, basting every 20 minutes, for about 1 hour, or until meat thermometer registers 185 degrees F when plunged into thickest part of thigh (meat of drumsticks should be fairly tender when pressed)(NO don't follow this). If skin begins to brown too much during this final period, cover bird loosely with foil.

To serve: Remove trussing thread before presenting turkey. To carve, remove leg-thigh section and wing from body on one side and cut into portions. Cut through center of breast and peel skin back to reveal meat and stuffing. ( I did not get that either, so you don't eat the skin?  I carved it with skin on and meat intact) Serve (after first few cuts you can probably use a spoon and fork). Continue with other side. Accompany with turkey gravy and additional stuffing.

Julia Child's Farce Pitchounaise Stuffing for 10- to 13-pound turkey

2½ to 3 pounds white-meat sausage (boudin blanc, weisswurst, or bratwurst)
Salt (I could not find it in HK so I used any flavorful sausage)
1½ tablespoons butter
½ pound mushrooms, finely diced and squeezed dry in towel
¼ cup minced shallot or green onion
½ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions, minced
1 turkey heart, diced
1 turkey liver
2 eggs
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
1 pound boiled ham, trimmed of all fat and diced (I used Pancetta)
4 tablespoons Port or Madeira
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme (I used fresh)

Pierce each sausage 3 times on each side with a pin to prevent bursting during cooking (do not pierce with knife). Place in a saucepan and cover with cold water, adding 1½ teaspoons salt per quart of water. Bring to simmer and simmer slowly uncovered until sausages swell, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool. I just chopped my sausage, which was cooked and then sauteed it with the rest of the ingredients.  

Meanwhile, heat 1½ tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and shallot or green onion and sauté until mushroom pieces begin to brown and separate from one another, about 5 to 7 minutes. Turn into large mixing bowl and fold in pine nuts.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet. Add onion and sauté slowly for several minutes. Stir in turkey heart and continue cooking several minutes. Stir in turkey heart and continue cooking several minutes until onion is translucent and tender. Add liver and sauté, turning several times, until slightly stiffened when pressed, about 2 minutes. Remove liver and cut into dice. Fold into mushroom mixture with heart and onion. Blend in eggs.

Remove casings from sausage. Cut sausage into ¼-inch dice; set aside.

Add 1 more tablespoon butter to same skillet and sauté ham for a few minutes. Pour in 2 tablespoons Port or Madeira and boil down to evaporate liquid. Add to mixing bowl.

Finally, repeat procedure with remaining butter, Port, or Madeira and the diced sausage. Add to bowl and fold ingredients together thoroughly, seasoning to taste with salt, pepper, and thyme. Let cool completely if you are stuffing the turkey in advance, or cover and refrigerate stuffing up to one day.

I simplified this step by adding only 2 tbs of butter to sautee onion and leeks, then add sausage, pancetta, mushrooms, heart and liver and cook until liquid is reduced.  Then add in Port, salt and pepper to taste.  Then mix in pinenuts egg and refrigerate before stuffing. 
   

White Wine Gravy Julia's Way

Heat 3 cups reserved turkey stock. Stock is made from the bone and trimming of the turkey.  Pour ¼ cup of the fat from the roasting pan into a large saucepan. (Reserve roasting pan with vegetables separately.) Heat over low heat until bubbling; add flour and cook, whisking, until lightly browned. Turn off heat, let cool two minutes, then gradually whisk in 2 cups hot stock. Pour off and discard any additional fat in roasting pan and place on top of the stove over low heat. Pour in wine, vermouth or more stock and cook, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan, for five minutes. Pour contents of roasting pan into the gravy in the saucepan and stir together. ( Pour content into a sift to get rid of chunks and burt bits) Simmer until thickened and heated through. Add remaining stock as needed until gravy has the consistency you like. Taste for seasoning; strain.  I also added 1 tbs of Maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of salt and cracked pepper to taste.  

YLO's Brine Recipe

1/2 cup Peppercorn
2 sticks of cinnamon sticks
6 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
6 whole anises
6 whole cardamon
1 cup of course salt
1-2 cans of beer or sweet white wine
water to cover the turkey

Place the ingredients in a heavy pot, add the turkey, and fill the pot with cold water until the turkey is fully submerged. 

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