Thanksgiving turkey talk
Print Edition
TODAY is Thanksgiving in the US, the holiday when turkeys are roasted, Macy’s holds its annual parade in New York, the official Christmas shopping season begins and football fans watch an NFL game from chairs as stuffed as their stomachs.
And, yes, it’s a tradition every year that the president of the US makes a grand gesture of pardoning a turkey from the axe.
Thanksgiving started as a harvest feast to offer thanks for a year of good crops. Entwined with that tradition is the story every child is told of Native Americans and Pilgrims in Massachusetts sharing a meager meal after a poor harvest.
The Native American angle has some historic basis.
Turkeys were domesticated by indigenous tribes beginning in 800 BC, for their feathers not their meat at first. Eating turkeys dates back to about AD 1100.
Turkey is rich in protein, low in saturated fat, but quite high in cholesterol and sodium. Whole turkeys are mostly reserved for special occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but ground turkey meat and cold turkey sandwiches are consumed the year round.
Bruno Brusch, executive chef of Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai, said there are five steps in preparing a turkey for the table.
They are brining, stuffing, seasoning, buttering and roasting. The trick is to keep the turkey breast moist by covering it with aluminum foil for the first 30 to 45 minutes in the oven. It’s important to avoid high temperature when roasting.
In Shanghai, turkey is becoming a more common commodity. More restaurants are offering Thanksgiving menus, and some supermarkets sell whole turkeys, beginning the week before Thanksgiving.
You may have already seen various advertisements and promotions for turkey dinners from city restaurants that offer both full takeaway meals and in-house service. Many of these deals will last through the Christmas holiday season.
Most restaurants and supermarkets in Shanghai that sell turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas offer the birds cooked and ready-to-reheat. That’s a time-saver. Frozen raw turkey takes a long time to defrost and then more time to prepare and cook.
The price of takeaway turkeys varies according to the bird’s weight, the style of cooking and the number of side dishes included.
There are also restaurants offering Thanksgiving and Christmas menus with turkey as just one of the dishes. That’s a good choice for those who think a whole bird is a bit too much but want a bit of turkey to observe the holiday spirit.
If you haven’t had the chance to partake of the jumbo turkey drumsticks served up at Shanghai Disneyland, don’t worry. The trendy neighborhood shop called My Butchery at 315 Middle Wulumuqi Road has you covered.
This clean, chic butchery known for its rotisserie chicken is also roasting turkey legs through January 28. The drumsticks are priced at 99 yuan (US$14.5) each, and they can be paired with a side of roast vegetables for extra 25 yuan. The butchery also offers delivery service. Phone 131-2056-8079 for more information.
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