Hot Turkey Dinner Heritage Turkey Leg Confit With Maple Whipped Sweet Potatoes Baby Carrots And Sweet Peas Recipes

TURKEY SMOTHERED WITH MAPLE SWEET POTATOES

Steps:

• Spray 10-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Cook turkey in skillet about 5 minutes, turning once, until brown.
• While turkey is cooking, heat cranberries, orange juice, maple syrup, margarine and cinnamon to boiling in 1-quart saucepan. Arrange sweet potatoes around turkey. Pour orange juice mixture over turkey and potatoes.
• Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Uncover and cook about 5 minutes longer or until sauce is slightly thickened and juice of turkey is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

TURKEY LEG CONFIT WITH SHALLOTS AND THYME

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt and pepper. Place the turkey legs in a large re-sealable bag and add the salt mixture. Shake around to coat the legs evenly and then seal bag and place in fridge overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add 1/4 cup duck fat. Remove the turkey legs from the bag and brush off excess salt. Add the turkey legs to the pot and brown all over, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the thyme, cloves, rosemary, star anise, fennel seeds, cinnamon, lemon peel and orange peel and then pour over the remaining duck fat so the legs are completely covered.
• Bring to a gentle simmer (without boiling or frying), then remove from the heat, cover and place into the oven. Cook until the meat starts to fall off the bone, about 3 hours.
• Place the legs on a baking sheet. Shred the meat and serve. Reserve the fat and use it to cook gravy, French fries or roasted potatoes. If making ahead of time, remove the pot from the oven and set aside to allow the turkey to cool in the fat. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator overnight to completely chill. To serve, remove the turkey from the fat and crisp in a dry pan to heat through.

TURKEY CONFIT

Steps:

• Toss turkey, salt, pepper, herbs and garlic in a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for a half-hour or up to 24 hours.
• Put turkey, herbs and garlic in a saucepan just large enough to fit it. Cover with olive oil. Turn heat to medium and watch carefully; allow just a few bubbles to come up at a time. (Use an instant-read or frying thermometer and keep oil at 190 to 200 degrees.) Do not allow meat to brown.
• Cook, turning meat once or twice, for two hours or until it is quite tender but not falling off bone. Remove meat from oil. You can refrigerate turkey and oil separately or together, until needed. (If storing separately, use turkey in a few days; if you store it in oil, it will keep a week or more.)
• When you're ready to cook, put 2 to 4 tablespoons of used oil in a skillet large enough to hold turkey pieces in one layer; set heat at medium-low. (Use leftover oil for other purposes.) Cook turkey pieces slowly, turning once or twice, until browned and crisp, 10 to 20 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature, alone or over a bed of greens with a little dressing.