I don’t think that I’m going to survive the winter. It’s been fun doing this blog, but I must say farewell. Tomorrow the wind chill in Boston is supposed to be -30 degrees, negative 30 degrees! Are you kidding me? People in the South ask why a lot of New Englanders are in a bad mood, did I just answer that question for you? If you saw the sun for 20 minutes a day, you would be in a bad mood too. So yeah, I’m a little pissed off that going outside is painful. Am I going to complain about it? You bet your ass.
I’d love to tell you that this braised turkey leg stew is going to make the winter all better, and help you forget that every part of your body is a frost bitten waste of space. I’d love to say that this savory bomb of umami will make you forget about the hopelessness of a neverending winter, that will, ummm, never end. I’d love to say that spring is just around the corner and this stew will cure what ails you. But I can’t do that. It will however help, just a little bit. And after all isn’t that what we are all looking for in a time of trouble, a little help? Well I hope that this recipe can give you a slight respite from this frigid winter. Hopefully next January I make this somewhere south of the mason dixon line.
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs Turkey Drumsticks
- 1/2 lb Dry Pinto Beans Rinsed and Sorted
- 1/2 Bottle of Dry Red Wine
- 1 Quart of Water or Stock
- 4 Slices Bacon Cut into Lardons (dice)
- 2 Medium Parsnips Roughly Chopped
- 2 Medium Carrots Roughly Chopped
- 1 Medium Onion
- 1/2 lb Beets
- 1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Smoked Paprika
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Adobo Sauce From Canned Chipoltle Peppers (Optional if you don't want heat)
Instructions
- In a large oven proof pot or dutch oven cook the bacon until slightly crispy, remove and reserve bacon. Keep grease in the pot
- Thoroughly dry turkey legs, apply salt and pepper and sear in the bacon grease until all sides are brown. Should take 10-20 minutes. Remove and reserve
- Cook onion until translucent
- Preheat oven to 300 F
- Add Carrots and parsnips for about 5 minutes to soften them
- Push the veg to the side and cook the garlic for 30 seconds in the middle until fragrant
- Add paprika and adobo sauce and cook for 2 minutes
- Add beets and wine, reduce wine by half
- Put everything in the pot including turkey, beans, bacon and water. Bring to a boil
- Cover the pot and put it in oven
- After an hour flip the legs to promote even cooking, recover
- After two hours remove the lid and let cook for an hour in the oven
- At this point the stew is done. You can remove the turkey and place on the stove top to reduce to the consistency you want. I hit it with a stick blender to make it thicker and silkier. You could use a potato masher if you don't have a stick blender. Serve with parsley or cilantro
You want to complain about the cold, mister?? Try this! I haven’t had heat for three days now! I’m staying warm by huddling around a candle. Send me some of that stew and make sure it’s hot when it gets here!!
It isn’t lamb you won’t like it
Why you!! 😡 😡 😡