A Heritage Thanksgiving - Heritage Turkey from Heritage Foods USA.
By John Hoppin

First, washed the bird inside and out.  Then we stuffed butter and sage under the skin.  There is a membrane that you have to break through near the cavity entrance, and then you can run your hands between the skin and breasts easily, and stuff with whatever you like.  After it was sufficently plugged up with about 4 T each of butter and herbs, I had a moment of inspiration and covered the bird with some caul fat that I had leftover from making pate.  I figured the caul fat would create an insulating layer to keep moisture in, and that it would melt away during cooking.  I seasoned the bird aggressively with salt and pepper.

Aside from the caul fat, the other important component of my cooking setup was to use a probe thermometer.  These are cheaply available on any cooking store or at Amazon, and they allow you to check the temperature of a roast without opening the oven.  This was a really good move, since the bird was done about 15 minutes early, and we would have no way of knowing that without opening the oven to check.  It was Thanksgiving and there were brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes and gravy to make, so that was important.  I put the thermometer into the inner thigh meat of the bird and set it for 155, so that the alarm would ring, I would take the bird out, and rest it, and the carryover cooking would bring the bird to 165, my ‘it is done’ temperature.

I put the bird in the oven with the legs facing the back of the oven, because it is hotter there away from the door, and the legs need more heat than the breasts.  I preheated to 425, and after about 25 minutes I turned it down to 325.  After about 2 hours all told, the timer went off.  I pulled out the turkey.  The caul fat had almost completely melted away, leaving the skin crisp and chestnut in color.  As I finished the rest of the sides, the temperature in the bird rose slowly to around 165.  Carving it was plenty juicy.  We deboned the thighs and wings to get the most of the delicious meat.  The flavor was just unbelievable.  Caul fat from Heritage Foods USA available here.  Heritage Breed Turkeys are available here - try one for your next dinner party, you and your guests will not regret it.

Buy this ham here: Smoked Heritage Ham Bone-In

I prepared this ham very simply. The ham I had was from a Red Wattle pig, about 19 pounds.  I figured on a long slow baking time to heat it through and through with a nice glaze to finish.  The most important thing when baking a ham is to take the ham out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking so it can get to room temperature.

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Score the fat on the ham in a grid pattern, and place it in the oven.
• Combine 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup brown mustard, and a couple shots of bourbon.  Whisk together.  I was drinking red wine when I made this, so I used a little bit of the wine to get it thin enough to be a proper glaze consitency.
• After the ham has been in the oven for an hour and a half or so, take it out and glaze it with the sugar-mustard-bourbon mixture.  Use about a third of the glaze.  Put it back in the oven.
• Cook for an hour, and glaze again.  Cook for another hour, re-glaze, and put it back into the oven.  You should be about 3.5 hours in at this point.
• The glaze shouldn’t burn, instead it will melt into the scored fat and make a really delicious skin for the ham.
• After about 4 hours of cooking, take the ham from the oven and rest under tinfoil for 15-30 minutes so that the juices can go back into the meat.  The bone will keep the ham warm so you can use this time to prepare other items on the menu.
• When you are ready to slice, slice down perpendicular to the bone, and then cut parallel along the bone to free the slices.

Our hams are really remarkable.  Everyone said it was the best ham they had ever had.  During my whole dinner party, they gathered around the stove, picking bits off and popping them into their mouths.  All in all, 15 people ate almost the entire ham.  The sad truth is, this ham was so good I didn’t get any leftovers.

Items in this recipe: Smoked Heritage Ham Bone-In

Heritage Foods USA Porterhouse Pork Chops with Rosemary and Paprika

Porterhouse pork chops are cut from a section of the loin that includes a piece of the tenderloin and a loin section attached with a bone in, similar to a beef porterhouse or T-bone steak.  You can buy these chops online: Heritage Foods USA Porterhouse Pork Chops.  Right now we are running our Annual Recession Special, which gets you these heavy chops for $6 apiece - the best deal in sustainable food, put a stamp on it!

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