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thepopcornkernel said in November 25th, 2007 at 4:25 pm

I have been following your progress as I tried out the new Big Easy this year, too. I was impressed with the moistness but the bird was a bit blacker than I prefer. However, my reason for commenting is I would love to get your recipe for gravy. It looks delicious… what’s your secret? Mind sharing?

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Todd M Johns said in November 25th, 2007 at 10:16 pm

A couple of thoughts on the dark color of your bird. A few things could have contributed.

Sugar and paprika in your seasonings could be burning. Try using a rub with lower amounts of these two ingredients.

Butter burns, so brushing butter on the outside is an instant path to a blackened bird. Sometimes a butter injection can seep out onto the skin. Try olive oil which has a much higher burn or smoking point.

The cover for the Big Easy needs to be used conservatively. It retains a lot more heat than I imagined. Turned my bird black as well.

My gravy isn’t very complicated, but it works everytime. The key is heating your liquid before adding the corn starch or flour. One of the best features of the Big Easy Oil-less Turkey Fryer is the “grease trap”. LOL!! I had a quart of drippings from the turkey. The liquid went into the freezer to separate the fat that then was skimmed off. The rest of the gelatin was heated to a low simmer in a skillet. I dusted with flour and whisked until it was the right viscosity. Adding flour to hot liquid doesn’t produce lumps. Cold liquid does. If I don’t have a lot of drippings or fond, I’ll add some milk with a couple drops of that browning stuff. Maggi seasoning is good stuff to add, too. The gravy in the picture was purely flour and the drippings from the turkey. It was excellent. Some of my best gravy yet.

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thepopcornkernel said in November 26th, 2007 at 6:58 am

Thanks for the tips on how to reduce my chances of getting a blackened bird. I used a garlic butter injection so that might have contributed in addition to the tablespoons upon tablespoons of paprika I used.

Also, I did not know that about the cover for the Big Easy and left it on the entire cooking time. Clearly, I’ll need a bit more practice with my new toy.

As for the gravy, thanks so much for your help! It sounds simple and your gravy looked delicious.

I hope you will continue to blog about your experimentation with the Big Easy. I look forward to learning more about what is possible with it. I will likely try a beef roast next but I do not know when. Please keep us in-the-know on your progress.

Thanks again and have a great day!

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