This year, my mom hit me with the words that strike terror in my heart:
"Let's go to a restaurant for Thanksgiving this year."
Now the reason that this strikes terror in my heart is that I am sort of a control freak. The thought of leaving my Thanksgiving dinner to the hands of some overworked prep cook is beyond my comprehension. I know I need to get over myself. . .being as it was just going to be my mom and myself I should have just thrown in the kitchen towel and picked up my buffet plate. But I just could not. I felt like I was paying for my last Thanksgiving wherein I actually had my whole family around the table. . .a feat that had not been accomplished in almost ten years. Last year I had a great Thanksgiving and I was determined to have the same this year.
Since it was just the two of us, I thought I'd get a breast and fill it but somehow I ended up with a whole turkey. Fine. I decided to make a ballotine filled with a pork/turkey/egg yolk force meat. I roasted the bones to make a rich turkey pan jus to put over the slices of ballotine. It was delicious! Although next year I'd like a giant 20 lb. turkey and a table full of family and friends. :)
I got a small, organic Willie Bird turkey. It weighed a little over 10 lbs. Here is the process of boning the turkey:
Lovely little turkey - ready to be rid of it's bones. I am using my trusty global filet knife - great for boning out large birds. You run your knife carefully from one end of the back bone to the other and gently using your knife and fingers, work against the bone, using your knife to free the meat from the bone. You'll be surprised by how much of this you accomplish by just using your fingers and sense of touch. If you're squeamish about touching raw meat, use latex gloves.
The whole turkey boned out (please note that the "oysters' are intact - it takes a pro to pull that off!) - the only bones left are the leg bones which require careful work - you push the meat and bones towards you and then scrape the meat off with your knife.
The wing tips, Pope's Nose, Back and Breast Bones to be roasted to make stock.
This is the bird with all the bones, including the leg and wing bones removed.
All the dark meat removed - thigh meat reserved for forcemeat - ready to stuff.
Turkey thighs ready to be made into forcemeat!
Forcemeat!
Cook's bonus! Making sure seasoning is correct is a tough job!
Preparing the turkey to be filled - slit the thickest part of the breast so the thickness is uniform
Pound the turkey gently to get uniform thickness, being careful not to break the skin
Spread the force meat evenly over the seasoned turkey meat
Here is where I had to improvise because I could not find my trussing needle. . .usually you would sew the seams of the skin together in a "y" shape. Since I did not have my trussing needle, I rolled the ballontine which was fine but I would have rather sewed it. . .to seal one end I had to do this:
*hangs head in shame* Yes, it's true, I tied the leg skin in a knot. SHUT UP!
This is the rolled and tied ballontine - traditionally they are poached in broth or roasted - I fried mine!
GORGEOUS!!!
The finished product. . crispy skin, rich filling, tender and juicy meat!
