Soy and Sage Butter Turkey (in parts)
and a really satisfyingly crunchy salad you'll want to keep making after next week.
Have You Eaten Yet? Here’s a new recipe from my kitchen to yours that I hope you’ll love! For more recipes, you can order my new cookbook, Chinese Enough, or purchase Mooncakes and Milk Bread for all things Chinese Baking!
If you’re reading this from the United States then you’re probably very much aware that Thanksgiving is less than a week away. I’m going to be honest with you and say that Thanksgiving overwhelms me and in some ways underwhelms me. A lot of cooks says that this is their Super Bowl but I just can’t relate. Lunar New Year is more like my Super Bowl and I start brainstorming my menu around now. Thanksgiving was one of the few holidays my family’s restaurant was closed and everyone got a break. Some years we started the day with dim sum and then my Goong Goong would make an indulgent dinner of lobsters or crabs (I would like to bring this back). One year I wanted a turkey and my mom begrudgingly figured out how to make an amazing turkey by smothering it with herbs and oyster sauce. Still to this day I’m the only person in my family who genuinely enjoys turkey.
Thanksgiving food is pretty good, don’t get me wrong. I look forward to composing my ideal plate (or two) and love a reason to cook with my favorite people. I think since I’m somehow who works in the recipe development sphere I’m more reacting to the incessant and grating narrative around Thanksgiving recipes every year. Hooks like “here’s how to make Turkey that actually taste good” or “if you’re not ricing your potatoes your mashed potatoes will be trash” all sounds so unnecessarily aggressive and competitive. I’m not sure where I’m going with this little rant, but I’m very much looking forward to being off the grid for a few days starting on Wednesday so I can enjoy my very good turkey in peace (and also pieces…)!
Thanksgiving tends to look different every year for us. Sometimes it’s a small feast with my husband and in-laws or we get absorbed into a much larger celebration with extended family and friends. We’ve celebrated Thanksgiving by roadtripping up the west coast with a mini feast in our cooler to warm up in an Airbnb or we’re traveling internationally and enjoying a ham and cheese sandwich from a gas station in Spain. The day is what you want it to be.
The last few years we’ve stayed home in the Bay Area and I’ve made a variations of this Soy and Sage Butter Turkey and I swear it gets better each year. There are so many reasons to love this recipe that have nothing to do with how it tastes, although it does taste amazing.
Reasons why I love this recipe:
Adaptability: The recipe is really flexible because it’s designed for roasting a turkey in parts. I oddly enjoy breaking down a whole turkey, but you can ask your butcher to break it down for you or just buy a bunch of turkey quarters (thats the leg and thigh) if you only mess with dark meat. You can also do a small roast of a whole breast instead. Scale it down if you’re having a small gathering or get some extra quarters if you’re planning for more quests.
*when you buy a frozen turkey make sure to set it on a baking sheet before putting it in the fridge to defrost to catch any leakage! Trust me!
Time: Since we’re roasting in parts the cook time is a faction of the time it takes to cook a whole intact turkey, which helps reduce the chances of drying out your turkey. This method gets you a tender and juicy bird in about 90 minutes. Which frees up oven space for all your other sides! I’m a dark meat person myself but really love the breast on this turkey, which is saying something.
I really recommend getting a meat thermometer so there’s no guessing games on whether or not your turkey is up to temp!
No wet brine: I have always been team dry brine for my turkey. It’s simple and impactful. I also have zero room in my house to keep a container large enough to wet brine a whole turkey. Dry brining not only seasons the meat but it helps keep it juicy by concentrating the moisture into the meat and away from the skin. I try to dry brine at least 1 day before roasting, but 2 days is ideal so the skin has time to dry out.
Bonus turkey flavored veggies: The turkey gets roasted over a layer of onions and squash (Japanese sweet potatoes would be great too) for a nearly effortless vegetable side. The crescents of squash get really nice and tender and soak up the flavor of the turkey drippings. Make sure the slices of squash are not too thick so they cook in the same time as the turkey!
Soy + Sage Butter: The use of dark soy sauce gives the turkey a dark color with caramelized edges within the shorter cook time and the sage infused into the butter (with some garlic) lends that quintessential holiday taste. I like to make a bundle of sage leaves and use it as my basting brush. It’s fun and practical!
No waste gravy: the leftover sage butter gets turned into a deeply savory gravy with the turkey drippings. I like to add a lot of extra black pepper but you can season to taste. It pulls your whole Thanksgiving plate together and nothing gets wasted!
If you like all these things too I hope you love making this turkey! Stay tuned for a tun twist on a dinner roll for this month’s Bun of the Month over the weekend!
A really crunchy celery salad with parmesan crispy rice
While I was shooting this turkey I was staring at my fridge and wanted to make a salad out of ingredients leftover from Thanksgiving prep. There was some celery in the crisper and a container of cold brown rice calling to me.
This is a salad I plan to make a lot even after next week. Celery is naturally so flavorful and juicy. I tossed it with a yuzu vinegar, but lemon juice would be perfect too, olive oil and some s&p for a simple and bright dressing. The crispy rice gives the salad a larb effect. I mixed the rice with parmesan cheese, a blend of olive and chili oil, and more s&p. I didn’t want to add another thing to the oven, especially while it was roasting turkey at a low temperature, so I crisped the rice up in a cast iron skillet. With some time it got so crispy! Shower the celery with the crispy rice and more parm on top and enjoy all the excellent textures!
Celery and Parmesan Crispy Rice Salad
Serves 4
For the celery salad:
340g (about 5 stalks) celery, thinly sliced on a severe bias
1 1/2 tbsp yuzu vinegar or lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
For the crispy rice:
210g (1 1/2 cups) cooked short grain brown rice
1/3 cup grated parmesan
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chili oil
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
In a large bowl, mix to combine celery with yuzu vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Adjust per your taste. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes while you prepare the rice.
In a medium bowl, mix to combine rice, parmesan, olive oil, chili oil, salt, and pepper. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Once warm, spread the rice into an even layer over the skillet. Allow the rice to crisp up, undisturbed, for a few minutes and then scrap with a spatula to toss the rice. Spread into an even layer again and continue this process a few times until the rice is crispy, about 10 minutes. At the end you can turn off the heat and allow the residual heat to give the rice a final crisp. A lower cooking temp will help crisp up the rice without burning it.
Transfer the celery to a platter, top with crispy rice, and a grating of parmesan. Serve immediately or store the celery in the fridge and assemble before serving.
Soy + Sage Butter Roasted Turkey (in parts)
Serves 8 to 10
12 lbs turkey, broken down (or use just 8 to 10 lbs of turkey legs/quarter + breast)
3 tbsp coarse salt
2 tsp black pepper
8 tbsp unsalted butter
3 to 4oz sprigs of sage, tie into a bundle
1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 1/2lb to 2 butternut or koginut squash, cored and sliced into 1/2” thick crescents
1 white onion, sliced into crescents
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp flour
1 to 2 days before roasting the turkey:
Set a wire rack on a large sheet pan, you may need an additional quarter sheet pan depending on the size of your bird. Break down your turkey into wings, quarters, and the whole breast. Look up a youtube video for reference! My tip is to find the joints so the knife just slides through. Arrange the turkey parts on the wire rack and pat dry with a paper towel. Evenly sprinkle the salt and black pepper over the skin. Transfer the sheet pan to the fridge and allow the turkey to dry brine uncovered for 1 to 2 days.
The day of roasting:
Take the turkey out of the fridge 1 hour before roasting. Preheat the oven to 325F degrees. In a large roasting pan or sheet pan toss the squash and onions with olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp coarse salt and 1 tsp pepper. Arrange the turkey over top the squash.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the garlic and bundle of sage leaves and allow the butter to infuse and gently sizzle for 5 minutes. If the butter is browning you need to lower the heat. Turn off the heat and allow the butter to cool and steep with the sage for another 10 minutes. Add honey and dark soy and stir to combine.
Brush the skin with the soy and sage butter mixture. Roast in the oven, basting with the soy and sage butter every 30 minutes (warm it up on the stove if the butter cools), until the skin is dark brown and the internal temp of the thickest part of the breast reaches 160F degrees, about 90 minutes. Transfer the turkey (including the squash and onions) to a platter or cutting board and allow it to rest for at least 45 minutes.
Strain the turkey drippings through a strainer and into a bowl or measuring cup. Discard the garlic and sage from the soy and sage butter. Heat over medium low heat and add the flour. Stir to combine until a thick paste forms and cook the roux for 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly pour in the turkey drippings while whisking into the roux and continue to whisk until a thick and smooth gravy forms. Season with black pepper to taste and then pour it into a serving bowl.
Carve the turkey breast into slices and arrange on the platter. Serve with gravy with your favorite Thanksgiving sides!