Chef’s Table
By: Michael Formichella
Trash can turkey
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)
With the passing of Memorial Day and summer festivities getting into full swing I am reminded of a sacred event that started about 20 years ago at our family reunion. Each year, over Memorial Day weekend, my wife’s side gathers for a family reunion in New York State. Forty-ish people show up from all over the country…and we all stay in the same house, tents and Winnebagos!
Now feeding this hungry group takes a fair bit of planning and execution. The four-day menu varies a bit from year to year, but Saturday night’s dinner is always Trash Can Turkey with summer fixings. Early Saturday morning we thaw two 20-plus-pound turkeys and apply a spicy rub all over them. Then we place them back in the refrigerator for another couple of hours while the pit is rebuilt from last year’s feast. A stack of wood is piled alongside three bags of charcoal briquettes and a metal trash can. The pit construction is made of loose bricks stacked five high in a C shape. The bricks on the floor have been dug in several inches so they are level with the ground. My brother-in-law had a metal, trident-like holder welded after our first-year attempt of using a large wooden spike (duh) to hold the bird upright. The metal trident is placed in the center of the floor, driven securely into the ground, and does a much better job.
The charcoal is started and wood is slowly added until a pile of glowing coals warms the surrounding area. The coals are pushed to the side in a doughnut shape, exposing the trident. The bird is placed on the holder and the trash can is placed over the bird. The coals are pushed up around the sides of the can. Methodically, wood and charcoal are added to keep the glow around the same level. It takes roughly six to eight minutes per pound (and several beers from the ice cold keg). Times vary, so use a thermometer and cook the bird thoroughly.
I must admit I have no idea how this idea was forged, but it’s a ritual woven into the fabric of our family. In no time at all it will produce some of the best tasting, flavorful, smoky and moist turkey you’ll ever eat. Enjoy and let me know what you think if you try it. All variations work, so be creative and share. This flavor profile and these textures remind me of a turkey carnitas. That would make a great new manufacturing profile. Do you agree?
June 11, 2010
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BK promotion spurs demand for QSR pork
By Lisa M. Keefe on 6/11/2010
Pork is not typically a big item at fast-food restaurants after breakfast. But Burger King’s limited-time menu offering of pork ribs is changing that dynamic.
As long as Burger King can keep the ribs coming, that is.
Some Burger King Holdings Inc. restaurants are running short of ribs, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. In fact, the chain might run out of its entire rib order, supplied by Tyson Foods Inc., before the promotion is due to end later this month, the Journal says.
“The U.S. consumer has really enjoyed this product and purchased it beyond our expectations. That’s causing us to run out a bit early,” the Journal quoted John Schaufelberger, Burger King’s senior vice president of global product marketing and innovation, as saying.
Good news for Burger King, who has at times been at odds with its franchisees over the company’s desire to push value-menu cheeseburgers and other items that are not extremely profitable for the restaurant operators. It also may be good news for QSR companies overall, if customer prove willing to spend on more expensive items after a period of value-menu preeminence.
Marketing tests before the product roll-out had indicated that customers were likely to buy the smaller, less expensive versions of the rib order, costing $1.99 to $2.99. But on a national scale, customers proved to like the larger six- and eight-piece servings, costing $5.69 and $7.19.
