Kookoolan Farms Moroccan-Style Grilled Poultry
This was originally a recipe for game hens, so the overnight marinade works great with the firmer texture and meatier flavor outdoor-raised poultry and gourmet game birds.  The Moroccan spices are great for summer barbeques. 

This is a grill dinner your family and guests will talk about for years.  The combination of herbs, spices, and peanut oil really brings out the bird’s natural flavors.  Free-range or wild poultry will stand up to the long marinade far better than confinement-raised birds.  Works great with chicken, pheasant, guinea hens, Cornish game hens, or squabs.  For wilder-raised birds, which tend to be much leaner than confinement-raised birds, turn down the temperature of your grill to medium or medium-high, and cook a little more slowly, in order to avoid drying them out.  Their leaner flesh tends toward toughness when cooked at higher temperatures.

INGREDIENTS:

SERVING: For a great middle-eastern-themed, outdoor BBQ dinner party, grill pita bread as well, and serve with hummus, baba ghanoush eggplant spread, yogurt-mint sauce, a salad of fresh cucumbers, parsley, and tomatoes, and rice.  Follow with a dessert of Baklava, sugared almonds, and Turkish coffee for a truly memorable evening.

Rabbit and Lemon Tagine                                                              

Ingredients :
1 rabbit, jointed
1 lemon
4 onions
4 cloves garlic
2 oz butter
Salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon powdered cumin
1 stick cinnamon
2g saffron (in stamens, not powdered)
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch coriander
Chicken stock

Recipe :
Peel and chop onions, crush garlic and chop herbs.
Melt butter in a large pan, brown meat.
Add onions once rabbit is golden.
Cook for a few more minutes, then remove liver from heat.
Add ginger, cumin, cinnamon, saffron and crushed garlic, then stir in 300ml stock.
Season.
Mix ingredients well, then leave to cook for 30 minutes.
Add up to 1 cup more stock if necessary during cooking, to keep meat moist.
Add juice of half a lemon, parsley and coriander.
Chop and add liver, leave to cook for a further 10 minutes.

Make couscous:
Weigh out, then cover with boiling water or stock. Cover bowl and leave couscous to absorb water, until light and fluffy. Melt in a knob of butter to taste.

Serve couscous and meat together.


Advice :
This is a tasty dish, full of nutrients:
Rich in iron and potassium, rabbit meat also contains trace elements and minerals, essential for a healthy, balanced diet.
With more proteins than most meats, rabbit is especially good for children and teenagers.
Rabbit meat is also rich in vitamines B, PP, and E, which makes it great for anyone who does a lot of sport, or who wants to build muscle. Protein is also good for the nervous system and protects cells from ageing.
Lean and tender, rabbit meat is very easily digested.

Recommended wines:
- Bordeau: St Emilion
- Burgandy: Maçon, Saumur Champigny
- Rhone Valley: Tavel, Côtes de Provence

In a large sauté pan, melt a little chicken fat (or butter).  Saute leeks and mixed mushrooms.  If desired you can include some leftover lamb or chicken or some ground beef.  After about 3 minutes, add the rest of the vegetables.

After about 1-2 minutes, when the sauce has thickened, add ¼ cup chevre cheese (or heavy cream).

Season with thyme and black pepper, and then serve the whole thing over polenta or pasta or couscous. 

Pairing: 

Choose a beverage with a rich strong taste and high in acid, such as a chardonnay or a big red wine or a Belgian beer, or with kombucha tea for a non-alcoholic choice.

Pasta in Brodo con Fegatini e Piselli

This recipe is provided by Anthony Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm:  From Italian Cooking, by Elizabeth David.

I first came across this minestra in Verona; it is one of the nicest pasta in brodo mixtures, mild, soothing and freshly flavoured.

The quantities for two people are a pint of chicken broth, 4 or 5 chicken livers, 6-8 oz. of shelled green peas, about 1-1/2 oz. fine pasta (it should be home-made, in short strips about the thickness of a match, but ready made pasta will do), Parmesan cheese, and a little butter.  

If using ready-made pasta, first cook it for 5 minutes, with the green peas, in plenty of boiling salted water.  Drain it, and then heat the broth to boiling point and put in the pasta and peas, which should be young and very fresh, so they will be cooked at the same time as the pasta.  Clean and chop the chicken livers, not too small.  Heat them through in the butter, and add them to the pasta and broth, with their butter.  Add some grated Parmesan cheese when the broth is ready to serve."

The recipe is provided verbatim.  Please note that the British Imperial pint is bigger than the US pint.

Stumptown Savoury's Thanksgiving Recipes for Kookoolan Farms heritage turkeys

Getting the most from your turkey or other poultry

Here are some tips for your Thanksgiving turkey, with thanks to New Seasons, Diestel, Betty Crocker, Cook's Illustrated, and the Silver Palate:

1.  Keep it cold.

Keep it cold until Thursday.  A refrigerator is ideal, but who has space in their refrigerator this time of year?  You may have a picnic cooler out in the garage.  Go wash it out with soap and then a bleach rinse so it's sterile, and then let the cooler “air out” for a few hours so it no longer smells like bleach.  You may even want to throw it in the car for bringing to the farmer's market.  Put the turkey in the cooler, and fill it with ice.  Voila, that's it, the turkey will be fine on your porch or in your garage until Thursday morning.

2.  Brining improves a good turkey!

For even better results, combine the above advice with brining.  Brining really brings out the flavor and moisture in a turkey.  Take the turkey out of its plastic bag and place it in the clean picnic cooler.  Pour ice all around it.  Separately, in a small saucepan, dissolve 1 cup sugar and two pounds of kosher salt (don't use table salt, because this will pickle your turkey!).  Once dissolved, remove from heat and let cool.  To this basic brine, you can add aromatic flavors, such as maple syrup and apple cider; or a few drops of lavender oil and a half cup of tarragon vinegar; or soy sauce and black pepper.  Now pour the brine into the cooler, and add more water to cover the turkey.  You can leave it in the salty icewater for up to a few days.

3.  Even better – now that the meat is brined, let the skin dry a bit.  Chill uncovered the night before.

“Cook's Illustrated” happened on this technique several years ago.  Brining does wonderful things to turkey meat, but tends to over-soften the skin.  In their test kitchens, they ran out of time at the end of a workday, and so left the ready-to-roast turkey uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.  This dried the skin out, and when they roasted the turkey the next day, the skin was crisp and brown.  You may want to rub the turkey with a nice oily spice rub, for example, sage, salt, and black pepper mixed with olive oil, before or after the uncovered chilling.  If you're going to stuff the turkey, you'd do that between steps 2 and 3.  Chrissie's favorite stuffing recipe, especially for a Red Bourbon turkey, is the recipe for "Pheasant with Leek and Pecan Stuffing" from the original Silver Palate cookbook and reprinted in the new 25th-anniversary special edition.  Go get a copy.  It's worth it.  In the meantime, that recipe follows step 5 (keep reading).

4.  Roasting.

There are as many techniques as there are people giving you advice.  You can start at 500°F for the first hour, then turn down to 350°, which New Seasons says will cook a 20-pound, unstuffed turkey in about three hours.  Or you can roast at a constant temperature of 325°F as recommended by Diestel, with estimated times of 3 hours for a 14-pounder, 4 hours for a 19-pounder, 5 hours for a 27-pounder, or 6 hours for a 34-pounder.  Your best bet is always to use a meat thermometer:  the deepest breast meat should register 165°F and the thigh should register 175°F.  Let the bird rest for 15-30 minutes after removing from the oven and before roasting.  During this resting time, you mobilize your guests to move all the other food onto the table and take drink orders and pour the drinks, while you make the gravy.

5.  Gravy.

Sure, you can make a low-fat gravy by adding a few ice cubes to congeal the fat for skimming and then using cornstarch.  But this is Thanksgiving after all, and there's a lot of flavor in meat fat.  I prefer to skim the fat into a saucepan, add an equal amount of flour to make a roux, cook for a few minutes over medium heat until the flour no longer smells raw and begins to color toward blond or caramel, and then add the turkey au jus and stir until thickened. 

CHRISSIE’S FAVORITE RECIPE FOR RED BOURBONS, PHEASANTS, AND GUINEA HENS

Pheasant with Leek and Pecan Stuffing, stolen shamelessly from "The Silver Palate Cookbook" by Julee Russo and Sheila Lukins -- Chrissie's favorite way to prepare pheasant, guinea hen, and Red Bourbon turkey.  Chrissie and Koorosh agree:  Red Bourbon heritage breed turkey is the best poultry of any kind either of us has ever had, bar none.  It's not just for Thanksgiving.

This is hands-down the best poultry stuffing I've ever had.  It takes some work, so whenever I make this recipe, I make a double-batch of the stuffing, and freeze it in ziplock bags before wetting it with broth.  Later when I want to roast something small and simple like a chicken or guinea hens, I just pull the ziplock out of the freezer, pour hot broth over the stuffing, stuff my bird, and roast.

On an amusing sidenote, the recipe is prefaced this way in the cookbook:  "We think pheasant is one of the most delicious of the domestically raised game birds available to us.  It is rich and meaty, with a firm texture no longer found in chicken.  If care is taken during roasting, the meat is moist and succulent."  Of course our customers know that you can in fact still get Real Chicken, and this recipe works great with chicken too.  And guinea hen.  And almost any game bird.

2 pheasants or guinea hens, or one large roasting chicken, or a Red Bourbon Turkey
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsp plus 1 tsp dried marjoram, or 2 cups fresh in season
1/4 tsp dried thyme, or 1 tbsp fresh in season
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs Italian parsley
3 cups chicken stock (of course make your own from Kookoolan Farms feet and necks, don't buy canned)
12 Tbsp (1.5 sticks) sweet butter
10 medium-sized leeks, white part only, well cleaned and thinly sliced
6 cups crumbs from good-quality white or wheat bread
2 cups toasted pecans
1 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
4 slices of pancetta, 4 oz total (bacon can be substituted, but pancetta really tastes different and better! -- buy the most expensive pancetta at Viande Meats inside Pastaworks/City Market in northwest Portland, it really does make a difference in this recipe!)
1/2 cup heavy cream

1.  Rinse poultry inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels.  If organs are available, chop neck, heart and gizzard but save the liver for another use.
2.  heat oil in a small saucepan.  Brown neck and giblets well, turning frequently.  Add onion, carrot, and 1 tsp marjoram.  Reduce heat to low and cook covered undtil vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.
3.  uncover, add thyme, bay, parsley, and stock, and season with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.  Strain the stock, discarding the solids, and reserve.
4.  melt the butter in a skillet.  stir in the sliced leeks and cook covered over low heat about 30 minutes until very tender.
5.  toss the leeks and their butter with the bread crumbs, pecans, chopped parsley, and remaining marjoram.  Season lightly with salt and generously with pepper, and toss again.  (NOTE:  at this point you can freeze part of the stuffing for later convenience.)  If the stuffing seems dry, moisten it with the reserved broth.
6.  preheat the oven to 375 F.
7.  Stuff your poultry, truss if necessary, and drape the breasts with pancetta.  Set the birds in a roasting pan.
8. set the roasting pan in the middle of the oven and roast until done, basting occasionally with the fat and juices that accumulate.  Chrissie likes to test smaller birds by pricking the thigh to check that the juices are clear; for turkeys, check the breast temperature.  When done, remove the birds from the pan, cover with foil, and keep warm while you make the gravy.
9.  Pour excess fat out of the pan (of course reserve it for later sauteeing of vegetables and potatoes).  Pour reserved stock and heavy cream into the pan, and set over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, sturring and scraping up any browned bits, until sauce is reduced by about one third.  Taste and correct seasoning with salt and pepper, and morethyme if desired.
10. Carve birds, arrange the meat on a platter, mound the stuffing in the center of the platter, and drizzle the meat and stuffing with the sauce.  Serve immediately, passing the remaining sauce in a boat.

Recipes from Stumptown Savoury

Basic Brine

6 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
¼-½ sugar or other sweetener(s)

Molasses Brine

6 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
¼ cup grade B maple syrup
¼ cup blackstrap molasses
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick about 3" long
1 medium navel orange, quartered and squeezed into the brine
1 small bunch parsley
3 whole star anise
1 teaspoon whole allspice

Apple Brine

2 quarts apple juice or cider
4 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
¼ cup sugar
4 sage leaves, rubbed
1 teaspoon whole allspice
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick about 3" long

Tequila-Agave Brine

6 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
½ cup agave syrup
¼ cup tequila
2 limes, quartered and squeezed into the brine

Cranberry-Pear Salsa

12 ounces cranberries, fresh or frozen, roughly chopped
2 pears, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 serrano chile, seeded and diced
zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon blue agave syrup or honey
1 tablespoon canola oil
salt to taste

Mix ingredients together and adjust the seasoning. If you want more heat, use the seeds or add another chile. Best served at room temperature.

Cranberry-Apple Chutney

12 ounces cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 Fuji apple, seeded and chopped
1 Macintosh apple, seeded and chopped
zest and juice of 1 navel orange
1 cup mulling spice simple syrup
¼ cup mulling spices (tied in cheesecloth)
¼ cup chopped crystallized ginger
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
salt to taste

If you don't have mulling spice simple syrup, you can make it by mixing 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water and ¼ cup mulling spices. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Alternatively, make the chutney using 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in place of the simple syrup.

Put all the ingredients into a pan over medium-low heat. Simmer until the cranberries release their juice, about 10 minutes. Continue simmering, stirring frequently, until thickened, then remove the spices in cheesecloth. Adjust the seasoning. This can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Cranberry-Orange Relish

12 ounces cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 medium navel orange, cut into 8 wedges, peel and all
1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon sugar
salt to taste

Using a food processor, pulse the ingredients until roughly chopped. Adjust the seasoning. Serve chilled.

Chocolate Mousse

1 lb. bittersweet chocolate (63% cacao)
8 oz. unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 shot espresso (optional)
pinch of salt (optional)
4 egg yolks
8 egg whites
pinch cream of tartar (optional)
1 cup heavy cream

Gently melt the chocolate and butter, then stir in the optional cinnamon, espresso, and salt. Separate four eggs, stirring the yolks into the melted chocolate and reserving the whites. Then separate four more eggs, reserving the yolks for crème anglaise or another recipe. Whip the cream to stiff peaks, then whip the egg whites, optionally adding a pinch of cream of tartar, to soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Give the whites a finally touch-up with a whisk, then fold into the mousse.

Line a 1-pound loaf pan generously with plastic wrap, then pour the mousse into the pan, tap it on the counter to remove air bubbles, fold the plastic over the mousse to cover, then refrigerate. It will usually set within an hour, but tastes best if you leave it overnight.

Crème Anglaise

½ cup milk (4 ounces)
½ cup heavy cream (4 ounces)
½ vanilla bean
4 egg yolks (2 ounces)
¼ cup sugar (2 ounces)

Mix the milk and cream in a small saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the pan, then add the pod. Bring just to a simmer, then remove from the heat and let steep for 15 minutes or so to infuse the dairy with vanilla flavor.

Partially fill the largest bowl with equal parts ice and water, and set the larger of the remaining bowls on the ice. Set a strainer in place over that bowl.

After the vanilla has infused the dairy to your satisfaction, remove the vanilla pod, then return the pan to gentle heat and stir frequently. In the third bowl, quickly whisk the yolks and sugar together. Once the dairy reaches a simmer, remove it from the heat and whisk about a tablespoon of it into the yolk and sugar mixture. Continue adding the dairy to the yolk and sugar mixture slowly to avoid curdling.

Once the dairy, yolks, and sugar are fully incorporated, return the custard to the pan and return the pan to the heat. Stir constantly for 1-4 minutes until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Pour through the strainer into the bowl over the ice. Stir until cool, cover, and refrigerate. If it sits overnight the vanilla flavor will be more pronounced. Serve cold, room temperature, or even warm, as your dessert requires.

Chorizo

3¼ pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1" cubes
2 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder
1 teaspoon achiote chile powder
½ teaspoon guajillo chile powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
50ml (3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) tequila

Start by cleaning and cubing the pork. You'll want to remove as much as possible of the "silver skin" and tendons as possible. You might find that you need some extra pork fat if the piece of meat you've selected is too lean. Mix the meat with everything except the tequila and refrigerate for at least two hours or up to overnight. Chill the tequila as well.

You want to chill everything because grinding the meat involves friction, which generates heat. The more chilled your meat is to start with, the better the resulting texture and flavor.

When you're ready to grind the sausage, set up your stand mixer with a food grinder attachment, or set up your meat grinder if you have one. You'll also need a bowl of ice to hold the catch bowl for your sausage; once again, you want to keep the sausage as chilled as possible.

Grind the sausage using a medium grind, then place it in the work bowl of your stand mixer. Using the flat paddle attachment, mix the chilled tequila into the sausage for 1-2 minutes. Quickly cook as small bit of the sausage and taste to adjust the seasonings. Remember that as the sausage cures the flavors will intensify.

Remove the sausage to a storage container and refrigerate for a day before using--if you can wait that long, that is. This sausage freezes well and will last 1-3 months, depending on how cold you keep your freezer.

Buttermilk Cornbread

1 tablespoon rendered bacon fat (or canola oil)
1½ cups white cornmeal (or yellow)
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup canola oil
1½ cups cultured buttermilk
1 large egg

Start by preheating your oven to 450°F/230°C. Once it's ready, add the bacon fat to the skillet and put it into the oven to preheat. You'll want to give the pan at least 10-15 minutes to get hot, so take your time.

Whisk all the dry ingredients together until well mixed and any lumps of baking soda have disappeared. The small amount of sugar in this recipe isn't enough to sweeten the bread, but if you're in the "No Sugar in Cornbread!" camp, or cooking for someone who is, leave it out.

In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix the wet ingredients, then add to the dry ingredients and mix until they just come together. Remove the hot pan from the oven--the bacon fat should be smoking slightly. Carefully pour the batter into the pan, then put the pan back into the oven.

Bake for 18 minutes or so, until the bread is set and slightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool about five minutes.

Basic Dressing

8 cups bread cubes
1 onion, diced (about ½ cup)
½ cup diced celery
1-2 cups turkey stock

Sauté the onion and celery until the onion is translucent. In a large bowl, mix with the bread cubes, then mix in hot turkey stock until the bread is just moistened.

For Cornbread Dressing, use 5 cups of cornbread and 3 cups of white bread.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
kosher salt
½ cup chopped pecans
¼-½ cup bourbon
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
marshmallows to cover

Butter a 9x13 baking pan. Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom, season with salt, and spread about a third of the pecans on them. Repeat twice more. Pour the bourbon and cream over the potatoes, then spread the brown sugar over the top and dot with butter. Cover with foil and bake in a 350° oven until done, about 50-60 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and uncover. Top with marshmallows and brown under the broiler about one minute.

Pecan Pie

Pastry crust mix for 9-inch pie (see below)
4 eggs
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups light corn syrup
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecan halves

Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare pie shell. Beat eggs lightly and add sugar, salt, corn syrup, cooled butter, and vanilla; stir until mixed well. Spread pecan halves on bottom crust and cover with the filling. Place in oven and immediately reduce heat to 350°F. Bake 40–50 minutes or until mixture is firm in center. Cool before serving.

Pastry Crust Mix

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup shortening
Ice water

Mix dry ingredients together. Blend in shortening with knives or pastry blender until mixture is of pebbly consistency. Store in covered container in refrigerator. When needed, measure out these amounts:

Single crust                   Double crust

8-inch pie   1–1¼ cups            2–2¼ cups
9-inch pie   1½ cups               2½ cups
10-inch pie 1¾ cups               2¾ cups
12 tart shells 2¾ cups

Moisten pastry mix with enough ice water to hold dough together when pushed lightly with a fork. Roll out on lightly floured board or pastry cloth.

Note: When recipe calls for prebaked shells, line pan with dough, prick well with a fork, and bake at 425°F for 12–15 minutes or until golden brown.

Classic Waldorf Salad

½ cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
pinch salt
3 med. apples, diced
1 c. sliced celery
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Combine first 4 ingredients. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and chill. Makes 5 1/2 cups.

Whipped Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Bake sweet potatoes until very soft. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, cut them in half and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Whip with minced chipotle in adobo, softened butter, and salt, to taste. Spread into a buttered baking dish and bake at 350° until heated through.

Tequila-Chipotle Crème Anglaise

When making crème anglaise (see above for recipe), infuse the cream with one cinnamon stick, one tablespoon of añejo tequila, one teaspoon of minced chipotle in adobo, and ¼ vanilla pod. Proceed as in the basic recipe.

Tequila-Agave Vinaigrette

1 teaspoon grapefruit zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons reposada or añejo tequila
2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
salt and pepper to taste

Butternut Squash Pie

For the crust:

1 cup candied nuts
1 cup finely ground ginger snap crumbs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

1½ cups butternut squash purée (or 1-15oz. can of pumpkin purée)
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup light brown sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or extract)
3 eggs, beaten
¾ cup heavy cream

To make the crust, process the candied nuts in a food processor until finely ground. In a bowl, combine with the cookie crumbs and mix thoroughly. Add the melted butter and stir until the mix is thoroughly moistened. Pour into a 9-inch pie dish and press the mixture with your fingers until it evenly coats the bottom and sides. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the filling ingredients thoroughly, then pour into the prepared pie shell. Bake at 350° until a thin skewer or toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.