Thanksgiving Recipes: Turkey-Day Alternatives

Although self-taught molecular gastronomist Michael Cirino and his culinary partner Daniel Castaño run a Brooklyn underground supper club called A Razor, a Shiny Knife, they will be cooking for friends this Thanksgiving. The main course takes about five hours to prepare and requires some specialty equipment, including an immersion circulator and a vacuum sealer.

Step 1. Roll up the meat
1/2 turkey breast
1/2 duck breast
1/2 chicken breast
6 quail eggs
100 g Activa RM transglutaminase
10 g salt

In a small pot, boil the quail eggs for five minutes. Cool them down and remove the shells.

Remove skin from the breasts and set aside. Butterfly the breasts and lay the sheets of meat flat. Season each with salt. Then use a mesh strainer to sprinkle transglutaminase over the meat as though you were powdering it with sugar.

Layer the duck on top of the turkey and the chicken on top of that. Place the cooked quail eggs in a straight line on top of the stack. Roll the stack over the quail eggs as though you were making sushi.

Step 2. Sous-vide it

Put the roll into a vacuum bag and seal in a vacuum chamber set to high. Reshape the bag into a roll and drop in an immersion circulator. Cook at 72°C for three hours.

Step 3. Sear it

In a nonstick pan, press the skins flat and cook on low heat. Remove when golden brown and crispy. Season with salt.

Remove the turducken roll from the bag and slice it from the narrow end as though it were salami.

Sear the slices in a nonstick pan until they are golden brown. Serve with crispy skins and sous-vide stuffing (recipe below).

Sous-Vide Stuffing
100 g onions, sliced
100 g carrots, sliced
100 g celery, sliced
50 g slab bacon, cubed
200 g baguette, cubed
100 g eggs
50 g turkey stock
20 g salt

In a nonstick pan, brown the bacon; then strain and reserve the meat. Use the bacon fat to sauté the vegetables; then place them in a bowl with the bacon, bread, eggs and stock. Mix together and place in a vacuum bag. Seal it in a vacuum chamber set on low.

Place the bag in an immersion circulator and cook at 72°C for one hour. Remove from the bag. Brown the stuffing with a blowtorch and serve.