Arista-Style Turkey with Tuscan Chestnut Stuffing (Savage Boleks' Thanksgiving 2021)

It is interesting how a decision to depart from a tradition could, itself, turn into a tradition.  Nearly two years ago, I decided to try prepare a Christmas dinner that was different than what the traditional Italian holiday meal that my family has prepared for more than fifty years. I prepared a turkey in the style of a Tuscan pork roast. That experience gave rise to a blog post, Turkey in the Arista Style with Tuscan Bread Stuffing. My beautiful Angel loved the meal so much, both the turkey and the stuffing, that I have made the dish a few times since that holiday dinner. And, now, it has officially become the traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the Savage Boleks. 

Yet, a turkey in the arista style is itself a departure from tradition in another sense. Since the dawn of the thirteenth century, an arista has always been a pork roast. That roast evolved over time to what it is today: a mass of porcine goodness covered in a rub consisting primarily of rosemary and garlic, along with other ingredients, such as lemon, cloves and/or fennel seeds. While recipes change, the one constant is that the protein used in an arista comes from some part of a pig, either a roast or the loin. The use of a turkey is a break from that tradition. Yet, it is a good break. The reason is simple: much like pork, turkey meat provides a tableau upon which all of the flavors used in the rub come together to provide a culinary image of Tuscan flavors.  If pork is the other white meat, then turkey is the other, other white meat.

The arista-style turkey is just the beginning of this new Savage-Bolek tradition. Another important aspect is the stuffing and, because I make so much of it, the dressing. (As you may know, it is stuffing if it is stuffed in the bird; it is dressing if it is baked alongside the bird.) This stuffing is a culinary mélange of Tuscan flavors and aromas. It begins with the bread, which is focaccia. The bread is cut up and toasted until the moisture is removed. One then adds in diced pancetta (or, if that person is me cooking for my beautiful Angel, diced turkey bacon), along with diced turkey heart, liver and gizzard (that is, all of the giblets in the package provided with the turkey). This step is followed by the addition of the traditional elements of a stuffing, namely, diced onion, celery and carrots. Finally, just before the liquid (turkey stock) is added, one adds a heaping 1/4 cup of rosemary, sage and the chestnuts. after the liquid is added, the ingredients are mixed well, left to marry for an hour and then stuffed into the bird or placed in a dish to be baked.

This stuffing or dressing is perhaps the best stuffing that I have ever made. One does not have to take my word for it, my beautiful Angel has made similar proclamations. This stuffing or dressing pairs perfectly with the ingredients used to make the arista-style turkey. There are major connections in terms of flavor, with the use of turkey bacon and rosemary. Yet, the stuffing or dressing adds to the flavors of the turkey with the use of sage and chestnuts. 

The recipe set forth below is not the same recipe that I used back in 2019. I have made some modifications based upon my subsequent efforts to make this dish. The two major changes are as follows: (1) I have incorporated the juice from the zested lemons into the marinade, as a way to utilize all of the ingredients; (2) I increased the amount of times that I baste the turkey with the juices and butter from once every hour to once every 40 minutes; and (3) I added an uncovered/covered/uncovered sequence to roasting the bird. While this additional work extends the cooking time a little, it is definitely worth it if you are trying to get crispy, brown skin on  the bird. 

ARISTA-STYLE TURKEY

WITH TUSCAN CHESTNUT STUFFING

Turkey recipe adapted from Reinhardt Hess & Sabine Salzer, 

Regional Italian Cuisine, pp. 148-49

Tuscan Bread Stuffing Recipe adapted from Tasting Table

Serves many

Ingredients (for the turkey):

1 whole turkey (about 12 pounds)

4 lemons, zested and juiced

8 to 10 sprigs of rosemary

10 cloves of garlic

4 teaspoons of fennel seeds

4 pinches of ground cloves

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

1 stick of unsalted butter

Ingredients (for the stuffing):

1 1/2 pounds ciabatta bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

8 ounces pancetta, small dice

1 package turkey liver and gizzards (from 1 large turkey)

2 medium carrots, peeled and small dice

2 celery stalks, small dice

1 large yellow onion, small dice

2 sticks unsalted butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 cups turkey stock + 2 cups of turkey stock

1 cup roasted chestnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup minced sage

1/4 cup minced rosemary

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the turkey.  Rinse the turkey well.  Pat the turkey dry.  Separate the skin from the turkey so that you can apply the rub directly onto the meat. Combine the lemon zest, rosemary, fennel seeds, ground cloves, garlic, salt and black pepper into a small bowl.  Mix well. Juice the lemons and pour into a separate bowl.  Whisk in olive oil with the lemon juice and then add it to the small bowl with the dry ingredients to create a paste. Add additional olive oil, if necessary, to create that paste.  Continue to mix.  Once the paste has the desired consistency, apply it to all parts of the turkey, including under the skin.  Reserve some of the rub for basting. Allow the turkey to rest for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

2.  Prepare the stuffing.  Preheat the oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lay out the bread on a baking sheet and bake until dry, about 25 to 30 minutes.  Transfer the bread to a huge bowl.  While the bread is baking, heat the pancetta in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often until the pancetta is crispy and the fat has rendered, about 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to the bowl with the bread.  Drain the fat into a separate bowl. Add back 1 to 2 tablespoons of the fat to the pan and add the liver and gizzards.  Cook the ingredients, turning as needed until golden and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes for the liver and 8 to 10 minutes for the gizzard.  Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop, then add to the stuffing bowl.

3.  Continue to prepare the stuffing.  Add a little more of the pancetta fat back to the pan.  Add the carrots, celery and onion to the pan.  Sweat the ingredients until softened, 6 to 8 minutes.  Transfer the vegetables to the stuffing bowl.   Add the butter to the pan and cook until it begins to brown and has a nutty aroma.  6 to 8 minutes.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cream to warm through.  Add the butter mixture to the stuffing bowl with the remaining ingredients (namely, the turkey stock).  Using your hands, mix the stuffing to incorporate.  Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. 

4.  Prepare to roast the turkey.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Stuff the turkey's cavities with the stuffing, and place the remaining stuffing in a baking dish.  Roast the turkey for about 3 hours or until the turkey's internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. I roast the turkey uncovered for about the first hour and twenty minutes, cover the bird for the next hour and twenty minutes, and then leave the bird uncovered for the rest of the time. Baste the turkey approximately every 40 minutes with melted butter that has some of the rub mixed into it.  Once the turkey reaches that temperature, remove the turkey from the oven and cover it.  Place the baking dish full of dressing in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes to 45 minutes, or until the dressing begins to crisp on the surface.  Remove the stuffing and set on the stove to cool.

5.  Prepare the au jus.  Drain the liquid from the roasting pan into a separator.  Pour the juices into a pot, along with 2 cups of the turkey stock. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper if necessary.  Bring to a boil under medium high heat and reduce to a simmer.  Allow to simmer until you are ready to serve. 

6.  Finish the dish.  Spoon the stuffing and dressing into a serving bowls (one for the stuffing and another for the dressing).  Slice the turkey and place on a serving dish.  Serve immediately.

ENJOY!