Turkey with Pomegranate Sauce: A Renaissance Recipe

The first turkey recipes appear in the Italian cookbook in L'Opera di Bartolomeo Scappi (who happens to be the protagonist in my novel, The Chef's Secret). Turkeys found their way to Italy during the Renaissance, but it wasn’t until the latter half of the century that they were deemed suitable for eating. As you might know, turkeys are a bird native to the Americas and were prized by the ancient Aztecs and Native Americans alike. Christopher Columbus noted the bird when he first came to America, but it wasn't until around 1519 when Spanish and Italian explorers first brought turkeys to Europe. Initially they were regarded as a beautiful and strange oddity, and many nobles kept them as pets or gave them to others as extravagant gifts. They were loved for their unique look, with artists depicting them in sculpture and paintings. The sculpture you see here, by Italian sculptor Giambologna, is from 1560, of the prized pet of Cosimo di Medici. The Italians called them gallo d'India (or birds of India) because of general geographical confusion  by early explorers. Eventually, however, turkeys became even more loved for their delicious and unusual flavor.  

The methods that Bartolomeo Scappi uses to prepare turkey are generally not feasible for modern chefs today. They include plucking, washing and hanging the bird for a few days before boiling it, then eventually putting it on a spit to roast. While we don't need to do that these days, we can take advantage of the other flavors that Scappi uses for fowl in the cookbook, and it is that interpretation you find on this page. My husband and I find it delicious and it works well with any type of fowl, be it turkey, pheasant, game hens or chicken. You might even try it with duck! 

Roast Turkey with Pomegranate Sauce

An adaptation/combination of several recipes for fowl in L'Opera di Bartolomeo Scappi

Yield 10-12
Total time 8 hours or overnight

For the brine

• 1 gallon water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• zest and juice of one large orange
• 1 gallon water

Make sure to mostly thaw your turkey ahead of time. A partially thawed turkey will be fine if you are brining it as it will continue to thaw in the brine. 
Combine the water, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon in a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar and salt has dissolved.

Remove the brine from the heat and cool to room temperature. Add the orange juice and the zest. Combine brine and additional water (using more to cover the turkey if needed) in a container large enough to hold the turkey or in a brining bag. 

Remove the giblets (set aside for gravy or stuffing). Placed thawed turkey breast side down in the brine. Make sure the bird is fully immersed (weight it down if you need to), cover and place in refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight. Turn the bird once part way through the brining period. Remove the bird from brine and pat dry inside and out. Discard the brine.

• Thawed turkey
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 fennel bulb
• 1-2 onions
• fresh rosemary
• fresh thyme

Making the pomegranate sauce

• 3 cups of unsweetened pomegranate juice
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
• 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• fresh pomegranate seeds/arils for garnish

Combine all ingredients except seeds in a saucepot on the stove and reduce over medium heat by at least half, until it becomes a little syrupy. Be careful not to let it cook so long that it begins to caramelize. Add seeds and serve with the turkey.

And if you want even more recipes, you can pick up The Chef's Secret Companion Cookbook for free by clicking the image:

Want to read more about Bartolomeo Scappi? 

The Boston Globe said of the book: "King’s characters are drawn as lovingly, as sensually as the food and the Vatican world she describes, and the plot itself — part secret-code mystery, part love story — moves like a well-paced meal."