I’m finally clawing my way out of the turkey coma and blogging about my Thanksgiving.  We’ve been unusually busy the past few weeks with weddings.  Last weekend, we photographed a wedding in Miami Saturday night and then hopped on a plane four hours later at 6:00 the next morning to shoot another one in Cape May, New Jersey.  Returned home late Monday night, and started Thanksgiving cooking on Tuesday.  Needless to say… I’m still catching up on my sleep!

As I was flipping through my plethora of cooking magazines, I came across a recipe that piqued my interest.  It was for a turkey flavored with Bacon Butter.  Yes, you heard me right. That’s bacon and butter, thrown in the food processor and pureed.  Seriously… its so wrong, it’s right.  The original recipe called for mustard, but I omitted it and added fresh herbs instead.  I did my usual brine, but instead of boring old butter under the skin, I made the bacon butter and schmeared it between the skin and meat.  My arm still hurts from repeatedly patting myself on the back.  This was the best tasting turkey I’ve ever made.  The flavors of the bacon and herbs infused the meat and also made it oh so juicy.

You can find most recipes here, from last year’s post.  I tend to make the same recipes every year, with one or two new ones.  The bacon butter is a new addition that I’m pretty sure I”ll be  making again!  Check out some pics of our Thanksgiving spread.  As usual I have to thank Stephan for documenting the whole cooking process.

Brussels Sprouts getting ready to be grilled

Veggies on the Grill

Apple Strip

Cornbread

Turkey in the oven

Utter Chaos… wouldn’t want it any other way!

Bacon Butter Recipe

1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
4 strips bacon, chopped
6 leaves fresh sage
1 tbsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.  Scrape onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log. Refrigerate for several hours, up to several days.

2. After brining turkey (find recipe here), rinse and place in roasting pan.  Dry as best as you can with paper towels.  Slice the butter into 1/4 inch rounds.  Run hands between skin and meat to separate and place the slices of bacon butter under the skin. Let sit for a few minutes until the butter softenes a little and massage to spread the butter around.  Bake as in the original recipe.