Thanksgiving, Craft Beer Style

The Thanksgiving holiday is the culmination of the fall season. Each year, we take all that Mother Nature has to offer to decorate the dining table with a bountiful feast. This holiday, for me, has always been a time to reflect on what life has offered, including family and friends and community support. The recipes I’m sharing this month bring together food and libation to create incredible flavors that will complement your Thanksgiving holiday traditions. I hope you enjoy!

Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown Beer Brine Turkey
This beer brine is infused with the flavors of fall. The melanoidin malt profile of a Brown Ale along with a touch of smoke from this Sierra Nevada brew combine with caramelized onions, leeks and brown sugar to really pack a punch in complementary flavors. Sage, thyme and tangerines create a contrast to the rich, caramelized essence, resulting in an updated classic flavor that is perfect for a juicy turkey, chicken or Cornish game hen.

Makes: 10 quarts, ideal for one 18- to 26-lb. whole turkey

Beer Brine Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
6 each yellow onions, large, peeled and chopped
1 each leek, washed, sliced in half and chopped, using just white/light green part
4 each carrots, peeled and sliced
5 each bay leaves, preferably fresh (or 8 dried), torn into pieces
10 each garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 bunches fresh thyme
1 bunch fresh sage
4 each tangerines, quartered
1 qt water
2 cups kosher salt (do not use iodized salt)
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
6 lb. ice, or 3 quarts cold water
4 qt Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale, cold

Beer Brine Directions:
In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onions and leeks. Sauté the onions and leeks, stirring frequently (if they burn, the brine will become too bitter). After about 10 minutes, add the carrots and bay leaves, sautéing for an additional 5–8 minutes or until the onions are caramelized and have turned a dark brown color. (The caramelization process will enhance some the melanoidin flavors from the crystal malts used in the Tumbler beer.) Turn down the heat to medium, and add the garlic and brown sugar, stirring to combine; cook for another 2–3 minutes. The sugar will dissolve into the vegetables and help them caramelize. Add the thyme and sage, cooking for another minute.

Deglaze the pot first with the tangerines (squeezing their juice into the vegetable mix, and then adding the rind), and stir for a minute, then add a quart of water. Stir in the salt and pepper, increasing the heat to high and bringing the brine to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes. Then add the ice or cold water, stirring to cool down the liquid. Once the liquid is cooled, add the Sierra Nevada Tumbler to the stock pot. It is important that the mixture is cool to preserve the flavor integrity and alcohol of the beer. Mix to combine, and make sure the temperature of the finished brine is 40°F or lower before adding the turkey (you can put the pot in a refrigerator until 40°F or lower is reached).

Turkey Ingredients:
1 each turkey, 18–26 lb.
1 bunch fresh sage

Turkey Preparation:
Remove the fresh turkey from its package in a kitchen sink. Remove the neck, gizzards and liver, setting aside for stock or gravy. Rinse the bird under cold water, turning it over a few times, washing any blood from the cavity and under the neck flap. Inspect and remove any remaining quills from the skin. Lightly dry the turkey with paper towels.

Beer Brine Instructions:
If there’s room in your refrigerator or kegerator, have ready a large food-grade bucket, large stock/brew pot or a large heavy-duty plastic or Ziploc bag. Place the turkey into the container, then top off with the chilled brine, completely submerging the turkey. Then place in the cold space.

If cold space is an issue, use a large cooler and either clean it with a bleach-water solution or use a large heavy-duty plastic or Ziploc bag. Place the turkey in the cooler or bag, and cover with the brine. Use gallon-size, sealable bags filled with ice to keep the bird and brine ice-cold.

Beer-brine the turkey for at least 24 (for a 16-pound bird) to 48 hours (for a 22-plus-pound bird). Keep the turkey and brine cold during this marinating process. Every 12 hours, rotate the turkey in the brine to ensure that it’s evenly marinated. Another option, if time is an issue, is to invest in a syringe to inject the bird with the brine in all the main muscle groups.

Oven Roasting Instructions:
Remove the turkey from the brine and dry well with paper towels, inside and out. This will help the skin brown, versus steam. Place the turkey, back side down, in a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack. Ideally, you should let the turkey sit at room temperature for 2 hours prior to being placed into the oven. This will allow the turkey to warm up and cook more evenly. Discard the brine.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (convection roast/bake, if this setting is an option). Add the bunch of sage to the cavity of the turkey. Truss the bird with twine. I highly recommend using a temperature probe to make sure the turkey is cooked to the appropriate temperature (160°F) versus estimating a length of time. Insert the probe into the middle of a breast or in the thigh. Make sure the probe isn’t touching a bone, as this will result in a false reading.

If you don’t have a probe, a 16- to 20-pound turkey should take between 3 1/2 and 4 hours to reach 160°F. Check both the breast and the thigh temperature to make sure that the turkey is evenly cooked. Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a tent of aluminum foil and let rest at room temperature for 20–30 minutes before carving.

Smoking Instructions:
Instead of using an oven to cook the turkey, re-enforce the hint of smoke from the Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale with a smoker. I would recommend using pecan or cherry wood chips soaked for 30 minutes in enough Tumbler (about 12 ounces) to cover the chips. Set the temperature to 250°F, and cook the turkey until the internal temp is 160°F.

Variations: If turkey isn’t the main entrée of your Thanksgiving feast, try using this beer brine for four 4- to 5-pound chickens and brine them for 24–36 hours. Eight to 10 Cornish game hens can also be brined in this recipe.

Bacon, Pork and Beer Stuffing, in a Pumpkin
This year, I’m using a hollowed-out pumpkin as my serving dish for the stuffing. Note that using the pumpkin as a cooking vessel versus a casserole dish exposes less surface area of the stuffing while cooking, so it steams with the pumpkin as it cooks, creating a moist texture similar to a bread pudding, making an excellent side dish.

Serves: 16 guests

Ingredients:
1 loaf sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup unsalted butter, organic (2 sticks)
3 each leeks, washed, halved and sliced (about 5 cups)
2 each yellow onions, large, peeled and chopped
4 each shallots, minced
4 stalks celery, washed and chopped fine
6 each garlic cloves, sliced
2 tbsp kosher salt
12 oz bacon, thick cut and something smoky
2 lb. pork, fresh, ground coarse (ask your butcher or use a meat grinder)
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 bunches fresh sage, chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds or pepitas, shelled
22–24 oz beer, preferably a Bock, Doppelbock, Imperial Brown Ale or Pumpkin Ale
2 cups chicken, vegetable or duck stock, preferably homemade
1 each pumpkin, heirloom variety, about 10 to 14 lbs.

Directions:
Begin by cutting the loaf of bread into 1-inch cubes. Place the cubed bread on a sheet tray and let it dry out. This can be done a day in advance, or for quicker results, place the cubed bread into a 200°F oven for at least an hour, until the bread is dry and lightly toasted.

In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add the butter and allow to brown slightly (the butter will bubble and begin to smell nutty, about 2 minutes). Add the leeks and sauté for 6 minutes, until tender. Add the onions, shallots and celery to the leeks, stirring periodically for another 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, seasoning with salt. Remove mixture from the pan, and place into a large bowl. Place the pan back over medium heat, and add the cut bacon (medium-thick pieces). Cook the bacon until the fat is rendered out and the bacon becomes slightly crispy on the edges. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the pan and add to the bowl with the leeks. Using a flat-edged spatula or other utensil, add the ground pork and break up any lumps of meat as it cooks, seasoning with the remaining salt.

Once all the meat is fully cooked, add sage and pumpkin seeds, and cook for another minute. Transfer the meat to the reserved leek mixture and mix well, along with the cubed bread. In a large measuring cup or pitcher, blend together the beer and stock, and pour over the stuffing. Squeeze the bread with your hands to help fully saturate the cubes. Taste the stuffing and adjust the seasoning.

As this is cooking, hollow out the pumpkin and remove all its seeds. If the gourd is thick (more than 1-1/2 inches), par-bake the pumpkin for 20 minutes before stuffing. Lightly stuff the pumpkin with the stuffing (do not over-pack). Place the pumpkin in a roasting pan, or on a sheet tray or other large skillet.

Cook the stuffing-filled pumpkin at 350˚F for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the thickness of the pumpkin. The stuffing is done when the internal temperature is 160°F and the pumpkin is fork tender. This can be cooked ahead of time and will keep warm for at least an hour if wrapped in aluminum foil. Serve on either a serving platter or sliced into wedges.

Variations: For a vegetarian version, add the sage or pumpkin seeds to the sautéed vegetables, omitting the bacon and pork.

Pairing:
With the bounty of seasonal and holiday craft beers filling the shelves, create a flight of different beer styles to pair with these two Thanksgiving staples, taking account of all the other side dishes on the table. Try some new brews and some of your favorites, looking at similar and contrasting flavors to pair. Beer styles with lots of melanoidin character will enhance the natural turkey flavor, along with the sweetness found in pork. ■