Braised Turkey Thighs

This week was Jan's turn to select the recipe for the Sunday Slow Supper group to play with. The selected cooking technique was braising and the recipe was Braised Turkey Thighs. After two weeks in the California sun and heat it was a shock to return home to Ontario. Yes, it was still 'braising weather' here!

Jan wrote:

I have made this bunches of times and probably never the same twice. So, you can easily fool with the veggies. Sometimes I throw in a handful of frozen peas at the end or grated lemon zest. To me one of the keys is removing the skin from the thighs after they're browned.

For a change I made few modifications to the recipe at all.

Once you recover from the shock of that last sentence, feel free to continue.

I did remove the skim from the turkey thighs prior to browning. I also cut back on the oil considerably to reduce the fat content (after munching my way through California nd Texas for more than 2 weeks I NEED to do that! *smile*).

Tonight with dinner the braised turkey thighs were served on some white polenta.

MMMMM This was classic comfort food - perfect for those of us who jetted back to cold, gray Ontario after having been in the warm sun of California.

Thanks for sharing Jan!

Braised Turkey Thighs

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 turkey thighs
1 cup dry white wine
2 large onions, diced
4 medium carrots diced
3 medium stalks of celery diced
8 oz. Mushroom, sliced
4 medium cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or water
2 bay leaves
1 28 oz. Can crushed tomatoes
parmesan cheese rind (if available)

¼ cup chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 325

Heat 2 tbs oil in a Dutch oven, over medium high.

Salt and pepper both sides of the thighs.

Brown them, about 6 minutes each side, in the oil.

Remove from pot. Pour off all the fat.

Add the next 2 tbs to the pot to get hot. Then add the onions, carrots and celery and cook about 7 or 8 minutes until soft. Add the mushrooms and garlic for another couple of minutes. Add the wine and deglaze the pot (scrape up the brown bits left on the bottom).

Mix in the stock or water, the crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and more salt and pepper. Add the cheese rind, if you have one. Remove the skin from the turkey thighs and return them to the pot, nestling them down into the liquid. It should just cover the thighs. Bring it up to a boil and then put into the oven with the lid on.

Cook until the meat is falling off the bones—about an hour and a half—maybe 2.

You can get all the meat off and serve it in the sauce or just cut large pieces off. Don’t forget to remove the cheese rind and the bay leaves.

Great over hearty pasta, sprinkled with the parsley and some grated parmesan