Smoked Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Thanksgiving isn't over until we've made our Smoked Turkey and Wild Rice Soup.  This is a recipe that I got from my mother years ago, and we've made it our own.  It takes your leftover turkey and surrounds it in this velvety and hearty soup.

I know that you've probably already used up your Thanksgiving leftovers but tuck this one away for Christmas leftovers or use a rotisserie chicken instead. This also freezes well, so if you are tired of turkey, you can save it for later.  This soup rocks on a cold, dreary Winter's day.

Smoked Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Servings:  8 cups or 4 bowls

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup finely diced carrot, about 1 large carrot
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 cups turkey stock
• 6.2-ounce package Uncle Ben's Wild Rice 
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flake
• 2 cups diced smoked turkey
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion, about 3 onions
• 1 cup half and half
• 2 teaspoons NMT BaCock! Poultry Rub recipe or another poultry seasoning

Instructions

1. Saute the carrot. Preheat a stock pot over medium-high heat.  Melt the butter and saute the carrot for three minutes.
2. Make a volute.    Sprinkle in flour while whisking to combine.  Cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking continuously.  Slowly add the stock while whisking.  It seems like a lot of work, but it's worth the whisk (sorry, couldn't help myself).   
3. Add the rice, seasoning packet, black pepper, and red pepper flake.  Bring to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
4. Stir in the smoked turkey and green onions.  Cook until heated through, about 10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the half-and-half.  
6. Season to taste.  Add the poultry seasoning, starting with 1 teaspoon and add until you reach the taste you like.  For us, that was 2 teaspoons of NMT BaCock! Poultry Rub but your mileage may vary.

Leftover Turkey Ideas: White, Black, and Green Chili

Thanksgiving is still several weeks away but I have already been cooking a few turkey recipes for clients.  That means I have also already been coming up with ideas for leftover turkey recipes.  This one is my spin on a classic - White, Black, and Green Chili.

I cooked this one in a Dutch oven over direct heat on a Big Green Egg kamado grill but you could cook it on a stove top in a heavy bottomed pot.  When using the grill, keep the lid closed when not stirring or whisking to keep the temperature under control.

White, Black, and Green Chili

Published 11/6/2017

This smooth and mildly spicy turkey chili is loaded with white beans, black beans, and Hatch green chiles.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, washed and finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Ba'Cock Seasoning recipe, divided
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 quart turkey stock
• 2 cups chopped turkey
• 15 oz can Bush's Seasoned Black Beans, drained
• 15.8 oz can Bush's Great Northern beans, drained
• 1/4 cup roasted red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon Albukirky Green Chile Seasoning
• sea salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
• 2 cups heavy cream

Instructions

1. Preheat grill to 325-350°f.  Add the Dutch oven to preheat once the grill is stable.
2. Add 3 tablespoons of butter to the Dutch oven and saute the onion, celery, and carrots until tender, about 5-8 minutes.  Season with about 1 teaspoon of the Ba'Cock Seasoning while they saute.
3. Make a roux by adding the remaining butter and once melted, sprinkle in the flour while whisking continuously.   Now slowly add the turkey stock while whisking until fully combined.  
4. Add the turkey, black beans, Northern beans, bell pepper, cumin, Albukirky Green Chile Seasoning, and the rest of the Ba'Cock Seasoning.  Allow to simmer until thick and bubbly, about 15-20 minutes.  
5. Remove the Dutch oven from heat and stir in the heavy cream.  Taste for seasoning and add sea salt to taste.  

Yield: 6 servings

The base of this great chili is a homemade turkey stock.  You can use store bought chicken stock but the turkey stock really sets it apart.  

The turkey carcass that I used for this stock was from this Dry Brined, Fire Roasted Turkey Breast with Maple Honey Bourbon Glaze.  I cooked this on my SABER® 1500 Elite SSE (sponsor) on Sunday.

Smoked Turkey Breast with Bourbon Orange Glaze on a Grilla Pellet Cooker

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  This is not a compensated post; however, I did receive my Grilla pellet grill as thank you for competing on Grilla's Pro Team at Memphis In May.

Alexis was craving good turkey for lunch meat so we smoked a turkey breast last weekend just for slicing.  It is also good to get some practice in before Thanksgiving, right? 

I opted to use my Grilla pellet cooker for a couple of reasons.  First, I like the color that it builds up on food.  Second and probably more importantly, I was juggling tasks and wanted the ease and reliability of using a pellet cooker.  

Taste of Atlanta - Big Green Egg Turkey Demo and Turkey Grilling Tips

Last month I had the privilege of helping my good friend and colleague, Clint Cantwell, do a turkey cooking demonstration for Big Green Egg at the 13th annual Taste of Atlanta.  This lively culinary event features more than 90 restaurants, over 300 dishes, and tens of thousands of people.  It also boasted 4 live cooking stages and one of those was entirely dedicated to Big Green Egg cooking demos like the one we did for Grilled Turkey with Citrus Herb Salt and Sage Butter and Smoked Butternut Squash and Maple Bacon Soup.

The beautiful bird that I cooked at the Big Green Egg corporate headquarters.

The event started off Friday night with a big kick off party full of entertainment, fun, music, and of course - food.  The theme was Culinary Matrimony where select chefs prepared their unique combination of ingredient pairs that while a bit unconventional - worked together.

Some of the chef's tasting stations were in individual booths on the edges of the park...

Some were under the "big top" along with other fun stuff.

Electric Avenue played the best of the 80's hits, it felt like 1985 all over again.

Chef EJ Hodgkinson's team made Grilled Chicken with Alabama White Sauce and Collard Green Salsa Verde.

 Some of the other dishes included bold offerings, such as;

Trio of Oyster Shooters and Champagne

Pulled pork, homemade pimento cheese, and Granny Smith Apple Slaw

Smoked Chicken Sausage with Hot and Sour Green Tomatoes

Venison Meatballs with Chipotle Cranberry BBQ Sauce

and

Twice Baked Potato with Lobster, Grained Mustard, and Saffron Aioli

Of course there were some ingredient pairings that evening that made Clint give the "wonk eye".

The entertainment included gaming tables...it's all legal for charity.

I absolutely loved this serving set up for Jim and Nick's BBQs pulled pork nachos.  I fully plan to use this idea at some point in the future.  

The Big Green Egg crew was at the kick off party serving the crowd some great food off of the Ultimate Cooking Experience.

Leftover Turkey Idea: Turkey and Dirty Rice Soup

In just a few days, people will be staring a leftover turkey and wondering about what to make with the Thanksgiving remains.  One of my favorite things to do with turkey is make a Kentucky Hot Brown sandwich.  

This soup is a close second for us.  It puts a Louisiana spin on the wild rice and turkey soup that my mom made when I was younger.  I know for Cajun I should have just stuck with the Trinity (peppers, onion, celery) and skipped the carrot but I like carrots in soup. 

Orange and Bourbon Brined Turkey on the Grill

Since our daughter, her husband, and the grand baby are visiting from Florida, we decided to have Thanksgiving on Labor Day.   Brett and his girlfriend came over and we had the whole family back home at the same time for the first time in several years.  

For the turkey, I used an orange and bourbon brine to add flavor and moisture.  The brine worked because the turkey tasted great and my daughter said it was the juiciest turkey she's ever had.   The smoky flavor of the bourbon and the citrus tang is subtle but there, just the way I like it.

Note:  Not sure where we got this turkey platter but it is very close to this one:
HIC Porcelain Turkey Platter 17.5-inch
Two notes on brining.  First, if you can, get a bird that has not been pre-brined "packaged in a solution" but if you don't have a choice, cut the amount of salt in this brine in half.   Second, thaw the bird before brining.  I know it seems like a good idea to use the brining time as thaw time too, but the brine won't penetrate frozen meat particularly well.

I also spatchcocked the bird which means butterflying it in reverse, cutting out the backbone.   This technique helps the bird cook faster, more evenly, and I prefer the presentation of a laid out turkey.   I used the cooking times, temps, and technique that Pitmaster, Chris Lilly, used for his Charcoal-Grilled Turkey with Fresh Herb Butter at the Kingsford Invitational last year.  That bird was also spatchcocked. 

Mesquite Grilled Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers are healthier than regular burgers, right?

Turkeys tend to disagree with that.  But, as far as nutritional aspects go, it depends.

It is true that a turkey burger patty has about 45% less calories and almost half of the fat of a beef burger.  But a beef burger has more potassium and is significantly lower in sodium and cholesterol.  So it's not cut and dried, it depends on what your dietary needs are.  

For us, we just like them for a change of pace.   Two of my tricks for turkey burgers are:

• Moisture - You have to cook turkey burgers to an internal temp of 165f.  Turkey is 93% lean so that can end up dry.  Many recipes have you adding eggs or fat to compensate for this.  That kind of defeats the purpose of cutting the fat, doesn't it?  Instead, I like to add a little non-fat Greek yogurt.
• Talking shiitake - My secret ingredient is finely chopped shiitake mushroom.  It adds texture and has two natural flavor enhancers (organic MSG and guanosine monophosphate) (McGee 9473) that will amplify your other added flavors.

This also uses a lower fat, fire roasted chile ranch dressing to build flavor up without layering on the calories.  

Mesquite Grilled Turkey Burgers

by www.nibblemethis.com

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients (4 burgers)

For the burger patties

• 20 oz ground turkey
• 1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• 3 Tbsp finely diced roasted red bell pepper
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped shiitake mushroom
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Everything else

• 4 whole wheat burger buns
• 4 slices pepper jack cheese
• 1/2 cup fire roasted chile ranch dressing [Link for recipe]
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
• Thin sliced lettuce, tomato, and red onion

Instructions

1. Mix together all patty ingredients until thoroughly blended. Divide into 4 equal balls and form into patties (roughly 1/3rd lb each) about 3/4" thick and 4-5 inches in diameter. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat a charcoal grill to 400f (medium high). It should be at this heat for at least 5 minutes prior to grilling to get your grates pre-heated. Immediately prior to grilling, add 4-5 Kingsford Smokehouse Style Mesquite Briquetes or 1/2 cup of mesquite wood chips.
3. Grill the burgers until the bottom cooks through and juices start to pool on top of the patties, about 5 minutes. (Note: I rotate my patties 1/4 turn at 3 minutes to get a cross hatch pattern.)
4. Flip and cook until the patties reach an internal temperature of 165f, about 3-5 minutes. Top with a slice of pepper jack cheese in the last minute or two.
5. Remove and rest on a raised rack and meanwhile toast your buns on the grill.
6. Assemble the burgers with lettuce, tomato, avocado, red onion and some of the spicy ranch dressing.

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Beef burgers only need salt and pepper.  Turkey burgers need a lot more friends at the party.

Just tossed a few of these on for smoke while grilling.

About 5 minutes per side at 400f...

But don't cook by time, trust your Thermapen instead.

For me, pepper jack cheese is the best for turkey burgers but use what you like.  Swiss is good too. 

Order up!

Those sweet potato fries are Alexia Foods Waffle Cut Seasoned Sweet Potato Fries.  I thought sweet potato fries was a natural for a turkey burger and found these at my Food City .  They are slightly spicy with a blend of chiles and spices and perfect with the ranch dressing for dipping.   They are the best frozen sweet potato fries I've had.  We went back and bought another bag.  I could see using them as the base to a great appetizer too. I don't see them on their website so they are either new or discontinued...I'm hoping new.  

[Standard Disclaimer]  I have a partnership with Kingsford and write for Grilling.com.  I have no affiliation with Alexia and paid full price for the waffle fries.  

Kentucky Hot Browns - Yet Again

How was your Thanksgiving?

We traveled to Florida so I didn't get to smoke a turkey this year.  Nor did I have leftover turkey when we got back home.

That's a problem.  If I don't have leftover turkey, how can I have one of my favorite sandwiches ever - the Kentucky Hot Brown?

The Hot Brown is an open-faced sandwich with crisp bacon, thin sliced smoked turkey, tomato, and topped with Mornay sauce.  It's all put under the broiler for just a few minutes to make the cheese sauce bubbly and a little charred.

Since I didn't have leftover turkey, I ran to Food City Friday morning and bought their last turkey breast.  I didn't have time to brine so I used an injection instead.

Turkey Injection

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup white wine

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp MSG

1/4 tsp creole seasoning

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Heat all ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat and blend well.  Allow to cool slightly before using.

After injecting the turkey breast, I seasoned the outside heavily with thyme and Lotta Bull's UnBULLevable All Purpose Seasoning.  I smoked it with some cherry wood on the Big Green Egg at 300f for about 2 1/2 hours until it reached an internal temp of 155f.  

Great!  Now I had me some leftover turkey.   Time for Hot Browns.

Alexis works retail in the mall so this weekend (Black Friday) was slammed busy for her and her co-workers.  I surprised them with a batch of these yesterday.

Kentucky Hot Brown

by www.nibblemethis.com

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 45

Ingredients (serves 12)

You'll Need

• 1 loaf Italian bread, sliced on a bias into 12 pieces
• 12 pieces cooked bacon
• 1 1/2 lbs smoked turkey
• 2 tomatoes, sliced

For the Mornay sauce

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp shallot, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, whole slightly crushed
• 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup mozzarella shredded
• 1/4 cup pecorino romano
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and saute until the shallot is tender, about 4 minutes. Whisk in the flour, stirring constantly to form a blond roux.
2. Whisk in about a quarter cup of the half/half and whisk until well blended. Add some more, repeat. Then add the remaining half/half. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes.  Remove the garlic clove and discard.
3. Whisk in the cheeses in small batches and stir until well blended. Season with salt and pepper. Sauce should be thick.
4. Assemble the sandwiches on a cookie sheet. From the bottom up, you'll use bread, bacon, sliced turkey, tomato slices and then spoon the sauce over it.
5. Stick under a broiler until the Mornay sauce is bubbly and starts to brown.

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You can use a blend of different cheeses but I always like to include some of a salty, nutty cheese like Pecorino Romano or Parmesan.

The sauce needs to be thick enough to cling to a spoon.

Slice the turkey thinly.

Ready to broiler-ize.  Broiler-ate?

One is enough for me, two really fill you up.

These Hot Browns are my favorite Thanksgiving weekend tradition.  Are you finished with your leftovers yet?

Grilled Turkey Breast

I know.  You just got over your turkey overdose.  Why in the world would I be making turkey now?  Because I didn't get to at Thanksgiving. 

Normally I like to brine my poultry but this breast was one of those "packaged with up to X% with a solution" so it was already pre-brined so brining it was not an option.  Instead I came up with an injection to build flavor. 

This turned out to be my favorite injection I have come up with for turkey and the family readily agreed.  The clarified butter has a cleaner texture, the infused herbs bring the flavor, and the sweet agave comes through in the final product. 

Turkey Injection
servings:  1 cup, enough for 1 turkey breast


Ingredients

• 3/4 cup clarified butter
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 sage leaves
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup Agave Amber Nectar

Instructions

1. Heat clarified butter to simmering.
2. Add the garlic cloves, sage leaves, thyme, and peppercorns and poach for 5 minutes.
3. Remove and reserve the sage and thyme.  Discard the garlic and pepper corns.
4. Add the wine, Agave nectar, and salt.  Stir to mix.  Remove from heat and allow to cool before using.

Note:  Our local grocery store carries Agave Nectar.  If you can't find it, you could substitute honey and a little brown sugar.  But agave has much better flavor, in my opinion.

Grilled Turkey Breast
Servings:  6-8

Ingredients

• bone in, skin on turkey breast
• 1 cup turkey injection
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Sage and thyme reserved from cooking the injection.

Instructions

1. Preheat your grill to 325 - 350f set up for indirect heat.  I was using a Smoke Hollow combo grill with 40 lit briquettes divided to each side with drip pans in the middle.  See pictures below for example.
2. Inject the turkey in several areas with the injection from inside the rib cage (the back side of the breast).  [For tips on injecting, see Five Tips:  Injecting Meat]
3. Make a rub with the salt, paprika, pepper, thyme and sage.  The thyme and sage should crumble easily.
4. Rub the breasts over and under the skin.
5. Place the breast on the grill over the drip pan, skin side facing up.  Grill for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the breast reaches an internal temperature of 155 to 160f.  Add a half dozen or so briquettes to each side occasionally as needed to maintain the grill temperature at 325 to 350f.  
6. Allow to rest 15 minutes before slicing.

Notes

• I used Kingsford Briquettes with Hickory (green bag) to get a little smoke flavor.
• Here's my time/temps chart.  [Update]  The grill temps listed were actual temps, not my target temperatures.  I was trying to hold a temp of 325f, which is much easier in my Eggs.

Time	Internal Temp	Grill Temp	Notes
0	46f	325f	Started with 20 lit coals on each side of a dripping pan
15 min	48f	300f	Added 8 unlit coals per side
30 min	61f	340f
45 min	84f	320f	Added 8 coals left side, 4 coals right side
1 hr	97f	320f
1 hr 15 m	120f	300f	Added 12 coals left side, 8 coals right side
1 hr 30 m	134f	325f
1 hr 45 m	145f	350f
2 hr	156f	315f	Removed turkey from grill

Poaching the garlic and herbs in butter draws out their flavor.

Kingsford with Hickory adds a kiss of smoke.

Injecting from the rib side (inside) avoids tearing and poking holes in the skin.

Indirect set up, coals pushed to the side to create a void, above which rests the meat.

Look how juicy!  I carve off half the breast and then slice that on a cutting board.

This disappeared quickly but I did manage to save some scraps for KY Hot Browns today.

Don't forget to entry the Drapers BBQ Gift Pack giveaway HERE.

[Standard Disclaimer]  I receive no compensation for this post from any of the brand names listed.

Leftover Turkey Hot Brown Crostini

Some people dread Thanksgiving leftovers.

It might seem a chore of how to use up that leftover turkey. Another turkey soup or turkey tettrazini? Meh!

But not at our house, we actually look forward to having leftover smoked turkey. In fact I usually make extra on purpose. Our leftover weapon of choice is none other than the vaunted Kentucky Hot Brown, perhaps the second most perfect sandwich ever created.


I don't ever do them the same way twice but it is an open faced sandwich of thin sliced turkey, bacon, and tomato topped with a mornay sauce and then popped under a broiler for a few minutes.

Tonight we didn't have a ton of leftover turkey so I made them as crostini instead of claiming them to be big open faced sammies.

Leftover Turkey Hot Brown Crostini

6 slices french bread, thin slices, cut on a bias
6 slices of tomato
1/2 lb turkey, white meat thinly sliced
6 strips bacon, fully cooked
3 Tbsp butter
1 ea shallot, small, diced fine
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Melt 1 Tbsp of butter in a sauce pan and saute shallot for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp butter.

Whisk in the flour and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes, until well blended into a blond roux. Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, letting it thicken.

Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toast the bread in the oven (see? I do have an oven!) at 400f for 4 minutes. You don't want it to brown, you just want it to get a little crispy.

Top each piece of bread with a slice of tomato...

slices of turkey...

crumbled bacon...

and spoon some of the mornay sauce over the crostini.

Place under a broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, just long enough for the cheese sauce to start to brown.

Garnish with whatever you like. I went with more shredded gruyere cheese, green onion, and more bacon.

The crisp toasted bread under that smoky, gooey, bacony topping made leftovers disappear.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving leftover?

Fire Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

Today is my weekly Fire Day Friday guest post over at Our Krazy Kitchen and I wrote about the Fire Roasted Acorn Squash Soup (click to see that link) that we made yesterday.


Thanksgiving dinner was excellent and I hope yours was as well. I didn't take any pictures except of the cooking turkey and the soup appetizer because it was busy enough already.


Here is the brine recipe I used for 13 hours (1 hour per pound):
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup bourbon
2 Tbsp whole peppercorns
5-6 bay leaves
1 Tbsp fennel seeds
enough water and ice to cover the turkey

Rub was Bill and Cheryl Jamison's Poultry Perfect Rub from the book Smoke and Spice. I mixed it with butter too and smeared on the breast.

Baste was a 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup wine, 2 garlic cloves mince, and 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.
Technically it wasn't "smoked" because I cooked it at a higher temp but the cherry wood still gave it a nice light smoke flavor, deep skin color, and a smoke ring.

Here's the cooking log for the turkey for all of you BBQ geeks like me. (Click the picture to view larger.) If you want the template in an Excel spreadsheet, here: NMT Cooking Log