OK, maybe I've been up too long already today, but while getting the turkey ready for the herb rub, I was listening to NPR and there was a chef on talking about butterflying the turkey at his house. He says it cuts down on the roasting time by half and is kind of gratifying because one has to pound down the turkey to make it flat! All one does is carefully cut down either side of the backbone, taking away the ribs and any other small bones.

Good idea I thought! I'll just cut that backbone out with a pair of kitchen shears (which I found in the first drawer that I opened...a feat in this house with three batchelors putting stuff away from the dishwasher!)
So, I hacked away at the backbone and opened the turkey up, splayed it out on my marble board and then pounded the crap out of it with a kitchen mallet. It was a fantastic feeling! Highly recommended!

I then separated the skin from the breast with my fingers and shoved the cilantro rub inside. Either my turkey will suck, or it will be interesting. I guess my advice about this is to do a test run before making Thanksgiving for 14 and deciding to try something new with the main course on the morning of the "big day."


Its ok though, we are having a buffet and margaritas, so things should be pretty relaxed today.

Have a Great Thanksgiving.....a report later on how things went here in Northport.

Enjoy,
Seth

I've been thinking about how to prepare my turkey for over a week now. We are having two turkeys this year because the guest list keeps growing...not sure I can cook a 30 lb bird! So far we have 17 people and I'm sure it will top 20 by Thursday.

Anyway. Greg is grilling a turkey outside. We found the perfect recipe for him....Turkey with a tawny port basting broth. mmmmm

I want to do something completely off the wall for me, so I finally decided to make a spicy turkey with a cilantro rub for under the skin.

I'll take a bunch of fresh cilantro and chop it up really fine before mixing it with garlic, chipotle powder, cayenne and line juice. I'll stuff the cavity with sliced hot peppers, onions, and lime wedges. Perhaps we should have margaritas as well. hmmmmmmm

I'm also making a spicy pumpkin cheesecake...yum

Happy Thanksgiving!
Seth