Drunken Turkey

Growing up as a winemaker’s daughter, I am accustomed to having wine with most meals. However, the first time my dad made this wine-soaked turkey for Thanksgiving, I thought he had gone a little overboard. After sitting in Zinfandel for four days, our pre-cooked bird had a purple, pickled flesh and had all of us gasping. It looked like a corpse heading into the oven.

However, when it emerged, it was gorgeous, and it tasted as good as it looked. The meat was golden reddish brown, and tender and juicy. Accompanied with a red-wine reduction sauce—much better than any gravy I’ve ever had—it turned out to be a most memorable Thanksgiving dinner.

The original recipe appeared in a 1981 Richard Alexi article in the Vallejo Times-Herald; my dad saved the recipe, making adaptations throughout the years. My dad uses his Tulocay Zinfandel for the marinade, but any dry, red, wine will do.

Ingredients

One fresh turkey

Thirty bay leaves, fresh is preferable

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

Ten garlic cloves

One bunch flat leaf parsley sprigs

2 tablespoons dried thyme

2 tablespoons dried sage

Two bottles Tulocay Zinfandel

1 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup cognac

Red Wine Reduction Sauce

Neck, gizzard, and turkey scraps

1–2 tablespoons olive oil

One large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

Two carrots, sliced

One celery stalk, sliced

2-1/2 cups reserved marinade

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

5 cups chicken stock, plus more for deglazing

1/4 cup cream sherry

1/2 cup orange juice

Directions

Rinse a clean, large towel or piece of bed sheet in hot water. Spread out and place turkey on it. Strew peppercorns, herbs, and garlic around and in cavities.

Tightly wrap the cloth around turkey and place it in a large heavy plastic bag (black garbage bags work great). Pour wine, vinegar, and cognac over turkey and into the cavity. Bring the bag up tightly around the turkey until meat is partially immersed in marinade. Tie the bag tightly, making sure there are no leaks. Marinate in refrigerator four to five days, turning the turkey a couple times a day.