564409 Mon Oct 13 10:06:16 -0700 2008 10 31 Home Cooking 0 4101121 Lured in by Richard Gehman's vivid prose, I once attempted this; unfortunately, the recipe contained in the article, as entertaining as it is, contains a crucial typo (2 instead of 12 eggs), rendering the crust less than fantastic. Also, I was too timid and selectively omitted ingredients that didn't sound good to me--most notably the pineapple--which I realize now was probably a mistake. This is my first time posting on Chowhound. In the course of battling what was becoming an uncomfortable dependency on the contents of various bottles, I am rediscovering my youthful love of cooking. All sorts of interesting things have been happening since I "dropped out" -- silicon muffin "tins," panko, umami, Alton Brown--who knew? . . . and now I'm inspired to take another run at Mr. Thompson's turkey. I *did* search the archives (any way to go back farther than one year?) before posting and could not find a discussion, so I hope this is a new and interesting topic. http://www.bigdaddyskitchen.com/Tall%20Tales%20and%20Anecdotes/Stories/Morton%20Thompson's%20Turkey.htm This is the less entertaining link to the more accurate recipe: http://home.tiac.net/~cri/1997/turkey.html BTW, I am in the East Bay region of California but lived in Austria for 13 years as a teen/young adult--sometimes when I read a post I wish I knew where the writer lives, though after lurking awhile I do know where some of you hang out! Mon Oct 13 10:06:16 -0700 2008 230802 kleine mocha 1 4102198 I have never made this (never even heard of it before today), but if you do cook this again, PLEASE write a followup post. This is hilarious--veering toward the Rube Goldberg School of Cooking! Now I'm tempted to try this, except as a singleton, I'm not sure I can justify an 18-22 lb. turkey. I may just have to live vicariously through others! Mon Oct 13 17:09:00 -0700 2008 4101121 131171 nofunlatte 2 4102389 But what a great excuse to invite all your "orphans"! (You know, all the singletons of your acquaintance geographically stranded from their families.) Put 'em to work, too! ;-) Mon Oct 13 18:45:33 -0700 2008 4102198 230802 kleine mocha 3 4103010 Good idea, but they often leave (and this year I'm spending T-giving with friends in Iowa). But who says that the turkey need only be cooked on that certain Thursday in November. I think I need to plan a dinner party around the Thompson Turkey! Tue Oct 14 07:40:18 -0700 2008 4102389 131171 nofunlatte 1 4102387 Welcome! I've never made it, but every time it's mentioned around Thanksgiving, I'm always intrigued. Someday.... Here are some links. You can go back further than a year if you use the Search field on the upper far right as opposed to the "search this board" above. I typed in Thompson Black Turkey. Also, regarding your question of where posters live, some put their home area in their bio (click on the poster's name). Five Star Thanksgiving Recipes http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/341456#2010834 Black Turkey Report http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/288201 Has anyone ever made or eaten an Infamous Thompson Turkey? http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/289184 Mon Oct 13 18:44:13 -0700 2008 4101121 10271 Rubee 2 4105715 Thanks so much for those links, Rubee. I had forgotten that Jeffrey Steingarten had written about it; must check his book out from the library again. Hope you see you around! Wed Oct 15 08:03:12 -0700 2008 4102387 230802 kleine mocha 1 4105814 That was a treat just to read! Many thanks. I'd love to give it a go, but it really looks as though it would be fun to make with several other cooking cohorts. Wed Oct 15 08:36:23 -0700 2008 4101121 75332 Gio 1 4140904 My family and I have made Thompson's Turkey a couple of times. First time in the late 70's, we followed the recipe to the letter! On subsequent times, we've edited as we saw fit. But the basics were there. Results? We found the crust was very difficult to remove. But oh, once removed, watch out! First pierce of the skin can result in juices squirting across the counter. Delicious, and a fun way for several people to spend time together in the kitchen on a holiday weekend. Fri Oct 31 10:21:41 -0700 2008 4101121 236421 lalexander 1 4141878 I've made it, and although it didn't make the kind of crust the recipe described, it was still good (to my suprise) and it got eaten up quickly. It was just weird enough to be fun, and traditional enough to be tasty. I regret not having taken a photo - maybe next time. Let us know how you fare! Fri Oct 31 18:14:04 -0700 2008 4101121 11388 Marsha 1 4151794 Yes, several times. It looks like a Benchley joke, and is fiendishly complicated, but worth every minute. i do make a lot more of the exterior coating, the datum that it should read 12 eggs rather than 2 is a new one on me but it makes sense. The first time I made it, I had a living room full of beta-testers and there was nothing left but bones picked bare. The second time, I brined the bird ahead of time, a'la Alton Brown, thinking it would be even more juicy and flavorful. It wasn't, it just got kind of watery. Don't do that. Wed Nov 05 13:59:11 -0800 2008 4101121 237513 SeleneSue 1 4203614 A variation on this turkey has become a Thanksgiving tradition for my household. There are two versions of this bird floating around; we use the second one (scroll down to "the original black turkey" at http://sewayoleme.wordpress.com/2006/11/14/a-turkey-tale/ ). We've only made the stuffing once. I didn't like it particularly much; way too heavy and, well, meaty. These days we just use a handmade bread stuffing of the basic celery/onions/garlic/chicken broth/homemade dried bread variety, and it tastes just fine. Additionally, we have one ceremonial Ramos Fizz to toast Mort Thompson, but switch immediately to something else, as that particular drink is not to our liking. Because we invite all our friends to come to dinner, this has resulted in us making TWO smaller birds at once for the past six years or so. It's not much more trouble to make two than one :) We call them Hanzel and Gretel. The recipe does not lie - the bird does practically carve itself. One year we lifted it up out of the pan and the meat gently fell off of the bone with a mouth-watering flumph. Making this bird is ALWAYS worth the hassle. (Even last year, when our oven DIED halfway through the process, and we ended up finishing the birds on two grills in the backyard.) Photo proof attached (I think this was Gretel). Wed Nov 26 09:58:42 -0800 2008 4101121 243676 cr0wgrrl