The following article may not be suitable for all readers, as it contains fowl language. But for those who really love turkey, be "braisen" enough to read on...
I probably lost credibility, as friends groaned their reaction. Now, guess what?! I really do have a recipe for popcorn stuffing. I found it while thumbing through Betty Fussell's Food in Good Season (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1988). So I tried it, and it's more than edible. In fact, I quite like it. OK, so you're going to get a few unpopped kernels that can't be chewed. But those who eat popcorn expect that. You're also going to have some white dust flying around as you grind the popped corn in the food processor. But if you can live with that, you're in for a treat. And you'll certainly be popular with the popcorn lovers in your family.
I've made a few adjustments to the recipe, cutting back on the amount of butter in particular. As most of you know, I'm a fan of butter, but there are limits. While I was at it, I decided to look seriously at Betty's recipe for braised turkey. The little rhyme she included may be ancient, but I was intrigued:
"Turkey boiled is turkey spoiled
And turkey roast is turkey lost,
But for turkey braised
The Lord be praised."
I decided to give it a try. But I was a bit leery of the short cooking time, so I added half an hour. Wrong! To braise means to cook, covered, in a small amount of liquid, so, with the closed heat coming at the turkey on all sides, it's not going to take as long to cook as open roasting does. If you want to try braising your Thanksgiving bird, I would suggest that you follow Betty's instructions, as given on page 50.
Of course, braising won't give you the nicely browned finish of the roasted bird, and maybe that's why the method has died out. However, you can brown the turkey on all sides in hot oil before putting it in the oven. It's an awkward procedure, though, so I suggest you do as Betty does and run it under the broiler. But, if the turkey is going to be carved and served in the kitchen, does browning really matter?
Whichever way you cook this year's Thanksgiving turkey, I hope you'll give the popcorn stuffing a try.