Frances Bissells Turkey Fillets With Pomegranate Sauce Recipes

ROAST TURKEY WITH POMEGRANATE GRAVY

Steps:

• Roast turkey:
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Working from neck (small) cavity, run your fingers between skin and meat to loosen skin from breast, legs, and thighs, being careful not to tear skin. Rub softened butter between skin and flesh, then sprinkle turkey cavities and skin with salt and pepper. Fold neck skin under body and secure with metal skewer and fold wing tips under breast. Stuff large cavity with onion and thyme sprigs and tie drumsticks together with kitchen string. Brush skin all over with some melted butter.
• Put turkey on rack in a large flameproof roasting pan and roast, basting with some melted butter and/or pan juices every 20 minutes (if turkey is browning too fast, cover loosely with foil), until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours.
• Carefully tilt turkey so any juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan, then transfer turkey to a platter (do not clean roasting pan) and let stand, loosely covered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F).
• Make gravy while turkey stands:
• Cook sugar in a dry 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel. Add 1/2 cup pomegranate juice (use caution; mixture will bubble and steam vigorously) and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramel is dissolved. Remove syrup from heat.
• Pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-quart glass measure or bowl, then skim off fat and reserve 1/4 cup of it. Add enough turkey stock to pan juices to total 3 1/2 cups liquid. Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add water and deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Pour through fine-mesh sieve into glass measure with stock.
• Whisk together reserved fat and flour in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and cook roux over moderately low heat, whisking, until pale golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Add hot stock mixture in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil, whisking, and add pomegranate syrup, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in any turkey juices accumulated on platter and simmer gravy 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and stir in remaining tablespoon pomegranate juice.
• Remove string and skewer from turkey and discard onion and thyme from cavity. Serve turkey with gravy on the side.

FRANCES BISSELL'S TURKEY FILLETS WITH POMEGRANATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Slightly flatten the turkey fillets and place in a single layer in a shallow dish. Cut the pomegranates in half. Remove about 30 to 40 seeds and reserve for garnish. Squeeze the pomegranate halves as you would lemons, straining out the seeds, to extract as much juice as possible. Add the walnut oil, garlic, juniper berries and spices. Pour over the meat, cover and marinate overnight.
• When ready to cook, remove the fillets, reserving the marinade. Dry the meat on paper towels. Melt half of one of the butter pieces in a large heavy frying pan until it is nut-brown. Then add four of the turkey fillets in a single layer. Cook over high heat to brown the meat thoroughly, then lower the heat and cook for about four to five minutes. Raise the heat again, turn the meat over and brown the other side. Lower the heat and cook gently, until the meat is done, four to five minutes. Remove the fillets from the pan and keep them warm on a covered platter while you repeat the cooking process with the remaining half of the butter and fillets.
• When all the turkey fillets are done and removed from the pan, cut the remaining piece of butter into four equal pieces. Raise the heat under the pan, add the marinade and stock and cook rapidly, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until the sauce is reduced to about half a cup of syrupy glaze. Correct seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and rapidly beat in the remaining butter, one piece at a time.
• Divide the sauce among the plates, arranging the turkey fillets on top, and garnish with two or three walnut halves and the pomegranate seeds.

ROASTED TURKEY BREAST WITH CREAMY GRAVY AND CRANBERRY POMEGRANATE SAUCE

Steps:

• For the roasted turkey breast: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the turkey on a baking rack over a baking sheet. Combine the garlic and softened butter with the herbs and lemon juice. Slather about 5 tablespoons of the garlic-herb butter over the turkey breast and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper, reserving the remaining garlic-herb butter for the gravy. Roast the turkey 45 minutes.
• For the cranberry pomegranate sauce: Meanwhile, place the cranberries in a medium saucepot with the sugar, salt, cinnamon stick, orange rind and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and cook until all the berries pop and the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Cool and remove the rind and cinnamon stick. Peel the pomegranate in a bowl of water, separating the seeds, and drain. Add the pomegranate seeds into the sauce.
• For the creamy gravy: Right before serving the turkey, melt the remaining garlic-herb butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour, followed by the stock, to thicken. Whisk in the Worcestershire and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream and cheese, and keep warm until ready to serve.
• Slice the roasted turkey breast and serve with the room temperature sauce and warm gravy, with steamed greens on the side.
• Cook's Note: If the turkey is a make-ahead meal, you will need an extra 1 cup stock for reheating. Place the turkey in a low baking dish with the extra 1 cup stock and loosely cover with foil. Reheat at 350 degrees F 20 to 25 minutes, then crisp up the skin under the broiler.
• This recipe will result in leftovers for sandwiches.

SLICED CHIPOTLE TURKEY BREAST WITH POMEGRANATE CRANBERRY RELISH AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the turkey on a baking rack over a baking sheet. Combine 6 tablespoons of the butter with 1 tablespoon of the honey and the chipotle puree, and slather over the turkey breast, sprinkling liberally with salt and black pepper. Roast the turkey, 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the cranberries in a pot with the sugar, a pinch salt, the cinnamon, orange peel and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and cook until all the berries pop and the sauce thickens, 15 minutes. Let cool. Peel the pomegranate in a bowl of water and separate and drain the seeds. Stir the pomegranate seeds, jalapenos and onions into the sauce.
• Bring the stock and milk to a boil, and then whisk in the polenta until it thickens. Stir in the remaining butter, some salt and black pepper, the remaining honey and the cheese. Serve the sliced turkey with the cranberry-pomegranate relish, chilled or at room temperature, with the polenta alongside.
• Cook's Note: For a make-ahead meal, cool the roasted turkey and store. To reheat, place the turkey in a low baking dish with 1 cup chicken stock and loosely cover with foil. Reheat at 350 degrees F, 20 to 25 minutes, and then crisp up the skin under the broiler.
• Leftover turkey can be used for other recipes, such as Mexican Chorizo and Turkey Chili.

FRANCES BISSELL'S GINGER CAKE

Steps:

• Line and grease 2 a pound terrine or loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the dry ingredients together. Rub in the butter. Melt the molasses, syrup and honey. Dissolve the sugar in the milk, heating gently. Allow to cool, then add the liquids to the dry ingredients. Add the ginger and the eggs. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The cake is cooked when a skewer inserted in the middle and held there for 10 seconds comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan completely, before removing and wrapping in greaseproof paper and foil. The cake keeps well and freezes.

TURKEY WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• For the brine and turkey: In a large stock pot, bring water, 1 1/2 cups kosher salt, sugar, coriander, ginger and bay leaves to a boil over high heat. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the salt and sugar dissolve. While the brine is simmering, place the ice in a bucket or pot big enough to hold the turkey. Pour the brine over the ice. When the brine has cooled, add the turkey. Place a heavy object like a plate or lid on top of the turkey to keep it submerged in the brine. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
• Position an oven rack on the lowest level of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Remove the turkey from the brine and pat it dry; discard the brine. Tuck the wings underneath the turkey. Sprinkle the turkey inside and out with salt. Put the celery, lemon, onion and parsley into the cavity of the turkey and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Place breast-side down in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Roast for 30 minutes.
• For the glaze: While the turkey roasts, combine the pomegranate molasses, 3 tablespoons water and Aleppo pepper in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Adjust heat and simmer, uncovered, until thick and syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the butter and soy sauce and remove from heat.
• After 30 minutes of roasting, turn the turkey breast-side up and lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Roast 3 hours longer, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh but not touching bone registers 160 degrees F. When the thermometer registers 155 degrees F, or during the last 30 minutes of cooking, begin basting with glaze every 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

ROASTED TURKEY WITH POMEGRANATE SAUCE AND WILD RICE AND GOAT CHEESE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Remove the neck and gizzard from the turkey and discard. Rinse the bird thoroughly with cold water and pat dry. Using your fingers, gently loosen the skin from the breasts and drumsticks and slip the sage leaves underneath. Rub the entire surface with 1/4 cup of the melted butter. Lightly sprinkle the skin and cavity with salt and pepper.
• Truss the turkey and place on a rack in a large roasting pan. Roast for about 45 minutes, until brown, basting with the remaining butter every 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 F and continue roasting for another 1 1/4 hours or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 180 degrees F. If the legs or breast brown too quickly, cover them with foil.
• Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and allow it to rest 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
• To serve, cut down along each breast and remove it whole. Cut the breast into slices, the way you would a loaf of bread. Place on a large serving platter and arrange the thigh meat in chunks and the legs on top. Spoon some pomegranate sauce over the top and sprinkle everything with the pomegranate seeds and chives. Serve the remaining Pomegranate Sauce and the Wild Rice and Goat Cheese Stuffing alongside.
• You can reheat sliced turkey over medium heat in stock just to cover. Top with sauce, pomegranate seeds, and chives just before serving.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, and sweat the onion and garlic until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the peppercorns and cook another 3 minutes.
• Add the port and cook, stirring, until most of it has evaporated. Add the stock, pomegranate juice, molasses and brown sugar, raise the heat to medium-high, and reduce slowly to a sauce consistency. As the sugars caramelize, the sauce will turn brownish red. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add chives and pomegranate seeds.
• Place the rice, water, and salt to taste in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer until the grains open all the way. Drain the rice.
• Meanwhile, cook the chorizo in a small saucepan over medium heat until the fat is rendered and the chorizo gets a little crisp. Drain.
• Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and sweat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the rice, chorizo, bread, cheese, parsley, thyme, and stock and stir to combine. The mixture should be quite wet: add a little more stock or water, if needed. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Transfer to a 6-cup buttered baking dish and bake, uncovered, until golden brown and heated through, 25 to 30 minutes. May be refrigerated up to 1 day; reheat with a little chicken stock for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

FRANCES BISSELL'S TURKEY FILLETS WITH POMEGRANATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Slightly flatten the turkey fillets and place in a single layer in a shallow dish. Cut the pomegranates in half. Remove about 30 to 40 seeds and reserve for garnish. Squeeze the pomegranate halves as you would lemons, straining out the seeds, to extract as much juice as possible. Add the walnut oil, garlic, juniper berries and spices. Pour over the meat, cover and marinate overnight.
• When ready to cook, remove the fillets, reserving the marinade. Dry the meat on paper towels. Melt half of one of the butter pieces in a large heavy frying pan until it is nut-brown. Then add four of the turkey fillets in a single layer. Cook over high heat to brown the meat thoroughly, then lower the heat and cook for about four to five minutes. Raise the heat again, turn the meat over and brown the other side. Lower the heat and cook gently, until the meat is done, four to five minutes. Remove the fillets from the pan and keep them warm on a covered platter while you repeat the cooking process with the remaining half of the butter and fillets.
• When all the turkey fillets are done and removed from the pan, cut the remaining piece of butter into four equal pieces. Raise the heat under the pan, add the marinade and stock and cook rapidly, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until the sauce is reduced to about half a cup of syrupy glaze. Correct seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and rapidly beat in the remaining butter, one piece at a time.
• Divide the sauce among the plates, arranging the turkey fillets on top, and garnish with two or three walnut halves and the pomegranate seeds.

TURKEY FILLET IN MUSHROOM SAUCE

Steps:

• Mix flour, garlic and salt. Pour onto plate and dredge fillets.
• Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Brown turkey about 10 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside.
• Add olive oil to skillet. Add mushrooms and saute about 10 minutes.
• Dilute bouillon powder in water, add parsley and whisk together. Add to mushrooms. Cook 3-5 minutes, whisking until thick.
• Arrange fillets on platter and pour mushroom sauce on top.
• Serve warm.

ROAST TURKEY WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse turkey breast; pat dry. Rub breast with salt and pepper.
• Arrange vegetables in a large, heavy roasting pan, making sure that the vegetables are more or less flat in the bottom of the pan.
• Truss legs together with kitchen twine, if desired. Rub the bird with butter, and place on bed of vegetables in roasting pan.
• Roast turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. loosely cover bird with an aluminum-foil tent, if necessary, and continue roasting, basting every half hour with the juices in the pan
• Meanwhile, slice pomegranates in half crosswise. Using a hand-held wooden lemon reamer or manual juicer, collect the juice in a small bowl. Strain juice through a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Combine juice and 1 cup of the stock in a small saucepan. Cook over high heat until mixture is reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes. Stir in currant jelly. Set aside.
• When a meat thermometer placed between breast and thigh reads 170 degrees. remove turkey from oven (the total cooking time to this point should be about 3 hours and 15 minutes). Discard aluminum-foil tent, and brush bird evenly and smoothly with pomegranate reduction. Lower temperature to 325 degrees. return bird to oven, and continue roasting for 5 minutes. Brush again with pomegranate reduction, and roast for 5 to 10 minutes more. Do not allow glaze to burn.
• Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and transfer to serving plate. Let turkey rest for 20 minutes before carving.
• Remove vegetables from roasting pan with a slotted spoon, transfer to a food processor, and process until smooth.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings in pan, reserving juices in a fat separator or Pyrex measuring cup; discard fat that rises to the top. Place pan over medium-low heat, and add flour, working it in with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth. Add 3 tablespoons of the puréed cooking vegetables to pan, and stir until smooth. (Remaining purée can be served as an additional side dish or discarded.)
• Add cognac to pan, and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any particles on the bottom. Continue cooking slowly over medium-low heat. Stir constantly while adding degreased pan juices and the remaining 3 cups stock. Raise heat to medium high, and cook until the gravy thickens, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in a gravy boat alongside turkey.