Thanksgiving, deconstructed

This Thanksgiving, we decided to do things a little differently.  My wife found a recipe for turkey meatballs that we decided we had to try, since it came from The Meatball Shop in Brooklyn.  The recipe can be found here  We used the thighs and tenderloins for the meatballs, and used the rest of the bird for other meals....

I spent about twenty minutes breaking the Turkey down into the various parts we wanted,  salted and roasted bones and neck for turkey stock,

Here's what we did with them:

Thanksgiving dinner:
We're always hungry while we cook, and we're big on meat, so I grilled the heart, gizzard, liver, oyster, and shoulder and served it with a sage aioli.  Very tasty start to the least traditional Thanksgiving of my life.

Amuse Bouche of grilled giblets and tidbits with Sage Aioli

I'm also a big fan of any kind of cracklin - crispy skin is one of my guiltiest pleasures.  I love the way the skin turns out on the traditional roasted bird, so I decided to crisp all of the skin.  lightly salted, and baked in the oven while the sweet potatoes were roasting.

 Crispy Skin was a fun snack throughout the day.

The meatballs in all their glory.  we ate them with a roasted sweet potato, cranberry/tangerine sauce and potato pancakes with turkey gravy.

Friday: One of the breasts, grilled with Chinese five spice, and served on an onion roll with sriracha/hoisin/lime mayonnaise and a simple cabbage slaw

Saturday: Giant Buffalo Wings!

 Season the wings with salt and pepper, and fry at 350 degrees until skin is golden brown.  dip fried wings in a mixture of 1:1 butter and your favorite hot sauce (I used Louisiana).  Allow to drain and cool, and enjoy.

Sunday: Turkey "po'boys" The other Breast, seasoned with Creole seasoning on an onion bun with Remoulade

Remoulade:
1/2 cup mayo
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 hungarian pickle, minced
1 scallion, minced
black pepper to taste

5 lbs carrots
3 stalks celery
1 mendium onion
1tsp caraway
1 tsp dill seed
1 tsp dill weed
6 cups chicken broth
3 cups water

1 cup sour cream
2 tsp ground cumin

chopped cilantro

Chop carrots roughly, toss in olive oil, and roast in the oven until lightly caramelized.
chop celery and onions, add to soup pot along with roasted carrots and spices.  Combine sour cream and cumin a few hours before serving.