The online magazine
dedicated to the
discussion & revival
of British foodways.

NO.72
FALL/WINTER2023

Devilled turkey & pulled turkey.

Serves 4-6.

If you play your cards well, or not, depending on your point of view, you will have turkey leftover from festive gatherings like Thanksgiving and Christmas. If not, these two preparations are good enough to justify boiling some chicken for the express purpose of serving this dish. Jane Grigson calls her version of an eighteenth-century recipe “one of the best of all English dishes.” As usual it is hard to disagree with her. You can serve either devilled or pulled turkey alone but they complement each other and belong together.

 


 

Lucifer Paradise LostFor the pulled turkey:

- about 1 lb cooked turkey breast, pulled apart by hand into thin 2 inch strips
- 4-5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- juice of ⅓– ½ lemon
- salt and pepper
- about 3 Tablespoons minced parsley

For the devilled turkey:

- about a pound of cooked dark turkey meat cut into boneless chunks about 1 ½ inches square
- about 2 Tablespoons neutral or olive oil
- a heaping Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon or more cayenne
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1 Tablespoon steak sauce
- salt to taste

 


 

  1. Prepare the devilled turkey first by scoring the dark meat at half inch intervals.
  2. Whisk together all the ingredients for the devil sauce and paint it onto the surface and into the slashes of the dark meat, which you have arrayed on your broiler pan if serving immediately or in a bowl or freezer bag to marinate for a few hours.
  3. Set aside the devilled turkey, ideally for at least those few hours, while or before you prepare its pulled cousin.
  4. To make the pulled turkey, heat the butter over medium heat until just melted in a skillet big enough to hold the white meat and then stir in the cream.
  5. Bring the cream to a boil, fold in the white meat and stir while the dish heats through and begins to steam.
  6. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley, taste for salt and pepper, then reduce the heat as low as possible and cover the skillet while you finish the devilled turkey in the broiler. If you are serving pulled chicken alone, it is ready for the table.
  7. To finish the devilled turkey just leave it or place it on the broiler pan and broil cook until the sauce is brown and bubbly.

Notes:

- Jane Grigson’s version uses fruit chutney instead of steak sauce for the devil but the Editor finds that version a little sweet, though also very good. If using chutney add more cayenne or some hot sauce.

- All you need with this are hot toast and a salad, as Grigson also observes. A crisp Riesling is perfect for drinking with P & D.

- If you have any jelly that has emerged around the carcass of your bird, and you should, save it to incorporate into the pulled turkey at Step 5.