DU foodies! I need to pick your brains, if I may...

[opiate69]

Hi all.. so, for this thanksgiving, turkey duties have fallen on me this year. I was thinking of trying something a bit different but I'm not sure how it would work out.. I was thinking of making a basic Thai red curry sauce with coconut milk and my ever-present red curry paste, and using it to baste and/or inject into the turkey. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether or not the coconut milk solids would wind up burning and becoming unappetizing being in the oven at that temperature for so long. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

[tigereye]

1. hmm, can't really help you since I have never considered this, but it sounds

really interesting. I will be curious to see what others say. Didn't see anything related when I googled this. Lots of turkey curry, but not much on the big bird itself...

[The empressof all]

2. OK..Here's the deal

It's Thanksgiving...It's an important food holiday to people. It's my observation that people don't want to muck around too much with tradition. Your Turkey may be delicious as a curry but honestly.....It's probably not what people are gonna really want.

They want Turkey (or veg equivelent), gravy and stuffing. If you choose to do this you won't have traditional gravy and you'd need to really think about what kind of dressing you are going to make. Lentil? Chick Pea? Potato?.......


Just my opinion and of course you know your guests best....But I'd try it out first some other time and not use T-Day to experiment.

[opiate69]

4. Luckily, my family's pretty adventurous, even on T-day

And I'm not looking to necessarily give it an overwhelming curry flavor, I just think the creaminess of the coconut milk would be incredible if I could get it infused into the meat, with a little bit of curry flavoring, particularly on the skin.. but you did make me think a bit about sides/dressing..

[grasswire]

6. in my family one year someone slipped some Tabasco into the gravy

And boy was there a fuss! Wow.

[Arkansas Granny]

9. The tradition is really important. You might be able to change your

methods or recipes up some, but most people expect and prefer the standard T-Day dishes. Our family loves to experiment with food any other time, but there are certain dishes that they associate with holiday meals and it just wouldn't seem right without them.

[yellerpup]

3. That might work as an injectable if you cut the red curry-

coconut milk mixture by half (or more) with chicken or turkey stock. For basting you could use coconut oil instead of the milk and you wouldn't have to worry about the milk solids burning. You could always infuse coconut oil with a fresh pepper or two a few days before you plan to use it if you want fire in the skin. Just use that as your basting medium. Two Thanksgivings ago I took a side dish of sweet potatoes mashed with coconut milk, which was wonderfully subtle. My friend's dinner guests gobbled them down without specifically identifying coconut as a flavor. If you are determined to baste with coconut milk, hold off until the last 30 minutes or so of roasting, then brush it on and see what happens. (or try it with a few chicken pieces for practice--I know you don't want to end up with coconut-blackened turkey!) Good luck, and let us know how it turns out. :hi:

[opiate69]

5. Hm.. lots of good ideas here.. thanks!

I especially like the idea of infusing coconut oil.. makes me think of a bunch of other possible uses for it

[yellerpup]

7. I really like Thai food.

And I buy coconut oil by the gallon to use in stir-fries. It also makes a tremendous after-shower body moisteurizer!

[daleanime]

8. Not sure about the milk....

but I use a spicy rub after I butter up my bird and it seems to work well for me. Like you I would worry about the milk burning.