Thanksgiving Traumas

“Help! I burned the Turkey Gumbo!”

This call came in around 2:00 PM yesterday (Thanksgiving). When she discovered the problem she poured the unburned gumbo into another pot, but it still had a burned taste. I had to tell the poor caller I didn’t know of any way to eliminate the burned taste, but suggested she might be able to distract from it by upping the spice level in the gumbo. Later it occurred to me that adding some smoked sausage might also have helped.

I’ve spent the past week manning a Thanksgiving help-line for people with cooking questions. The help line was offered as a free promotional service by ChefsLine.com, a startup company offering advice from food-service professionals on an array of kitchen topics including baking, menu planning, wine choices, and adapting recipes. It turned out to be a lot of fun and besides the “gumbo incident” the only other person I couldn’t really help was the caller who didn’t start defrosting her 20 pound turkey until yesterday morning. (Fortunately, that caller had a ham she could serve instead.) Most of the questions were about roasting times and temperatures and defrosting.

Consequently, it’s rather ironic — although, perhaps, fitting — that I screwed up my Thanksgiving dinner. Not seriously, but enough to disappoint.

I’d done all the prep between phone calls on Wednesday and Thursday so that after I took my last call I could finish it off. I made the Shrimp Bisque on Wednesday — all I had to

do yesterday was heat it back up and add the cream. I also made the dessert, Cranberry Mousse, Wednesday.

Thursday I prepped the baby artichokes yesterday morning, and they were read to slide into the oven. In a last minute change, I tossed the root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, and beets) in the last of the smoked duck fat and they were in a pan ready to bake. The pork loin had been brining for 24 hours and yesterday afternoon I made the stuffing and then tied and stuffed the roast. Last, I made the apricot coulis to go on the pork and it just needed a quick zap in the microwave. So far, so good.

Once I was through with the help-line, I heated up the oven and browned the roast in a skillet. Then I inserted the probe of my digital thermometer into the center, put the roast (and veggies) in the oven, and set the thermometer to beep at 130F. I called my sister and my parents to wish them a happy t’day. When I got off the phone the thermometer was reading 120F. Fifteen minutes later it still read 120F. So I doubled-checked using another instant read thermometer — it read 150F. Damn! I’d overcooked the roast.

A couple of weeks ago I’d spilled some stock on the thermometer and it went haywire. But once it dried out it seemed to be working correctly again. Guess not.

All in all, it was a good meal, but not great. The bisque was smooth and creamy and managed to be simultaneously rich and light. The root veggies had a nice hint of smoke from the duck fat. The baby artichokes were tender and delicious. I was pleased with the stuffing for the pork — it was perfectly seasoned and a nice complement to the meat.

On the down-side, the apricot coulis wasn’t a success. It was too acid for the pork. And the pork itself, though wonderfully flavored, was dry and tough. However, the pork is definitely worth doing again and, although it involves quite a few steps, isn’t difficult and can be made in advance.

Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

3 lb boneless pork loin — about 12 inches long

Apple Brine
1/2 gal apple cider
1/4 c pickling salt
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tbsp dried sage
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 ea bay leaf

Bring cider to a boil, add remaining ingredients and stir to dissolve salt. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold.

Put the pork loin in a gallon zip-lock bag, and put that bag in a second one (to prevent leaks). Pour brine into bag containing pork, seal, then seal second bag. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Stuffing
1/4 c cooked, chopped breakfast sausage
1/4 c coarsely minced onion
8 ea dried apricots, chopped
1 tbsp minced fresh sage
1/4 c bread crumbs
1/2 c chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Place chopped apricots and chicken broth in a small sauce pan, bring to a boil, and remove from heat. Allow to cool.

Mix all ingredients, including broth apricots are in, together in a small bowl. The mixture should be moist but not wet. You may need to add a bit more broth.

Cut pork loin in half, crosswise, so that you have to 6 inch pieces. Stack portions together, fat-side out, and tie with twine. Using a carving knife, cut a slit in the center of the paired loins at right angles to the seam — be careful to not cut too deeply. You should now have a plus symbol in the roast when viewed from the end.

Assemble
Heat oven to 375F.

Use your fingers to force stuffing into the slot, then push it in further with a wooden spoon or some similar implement. You’ll want to stuff the roast from both ends, so only use half before flipping the roast over. Season roast on all sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in an oven-proof skillet, then brown roast on all sides and both ends. Place on the middle rack of the oven and cook until center reads 135 on an instant-read thermometer.

Allow roast to rest for about 20 minutes before carving.

Update: I added some heavy cream to the apricot coulis the day after Thanksgiving and that moderated the acidity.

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