A fair fowl full of flavour

Every now and then, you come across men who are true patriots, men of vision, men of courage, men whose daring and revolutionary ideas make you suspect they have forgotten to take their prescription medication.

Today, I want to tell you about two such men, Craig Evans and Jason Wortzman.

Craig and Jason were deeply moved by a recent column in which I described how a Manhattan bar owner created a culinary curiosity for American Thanksgiving -- a turkey infused with a gallon of vodka.

Some people would have read that column and done nothing, but Craig Evans and Jason Wortzman are not "some people." No, in the world of turkeys, they are major players.

Craig is the chief operating officer of Granny's Poultry, and Jason, a trained chef, is their director of marketing and product development. Manitoba's sole turkey processor, Granny's handles 14 million kilograms of turkey annually.

But that is not the point. The point is, after reading about the U.S. bar owner's booze-drenched turkey, Craig and Jason had the following patriotic thought: "Hey, we are at least as crazy as that guy! Why not do our own turkey?"

"I was inspired by your article," Craig told me. "It got me thinking: If someone in the U.S. can take a turkey and soak it in vodka, then why couldn't we do something?

"From my perspective, anything they can do, we can do better. We produce better turkey than they do, and Canadian whisky is second to none."

Gripped by the pioneering spirit that built this country, Craig and Jason created Doug's Great Canadian Tipsy Turkey, a bird marinated in Canadian whisky, a whisky so famous, so synonymous with Canada, it did not want its name in this column, but it rhymes with "brown boil."

You'll think I'm kidding, but a great deal of research went into our Tipsy Turkey. Chef Jason, armed with turkeys and a supply of whisky, retreated to a lab at the University of Manitoba where, aided by a food scientist, he developed a top-secret recipe, which you can get by looking on our website or calling Granny's at 488-2230.

After developing a working version, Jason did what any good scientist does -- he tested it on his kids. "They LOVED it!" he noted. "I put some in a sandwich for my son to take to school and I was a bit worried he'd get in trouble for his lunch smelling like alcohol."

Before you become unduly alarmed, I will point out the alcohol evaporates in the cooking process, but not until the turkey is in a state of whisky-infused juiciness.

When Craig and Jason invited me to Granny's for the first official tasting, I was honoured. There we were Wednesday evening, proud Canadians, outside in bone-chilling weather, keeping warm by the glow of a charcoal barbecue. I'm confident the pioneers who founded our country must have felt as we did, assuming they were wearing Santa hats and grilling a turkey injected with an entire bottle of top-notch Canadian whisky.

(Note to readers: You may not want to try this at home unless you are (a) a trained humour columnist; and (b) your wife is not at home. As a safety precaution, I let Jason do the grilling in case it burst into flames like the Hindenburg.)

Fortunately, Jason grilled the turkey over a drip pan on indirect heat, meaning the coals were banked on either side of the bird. In the three hours it took to cook, I grilled the chef on how to prepare the Tipsy Turkey.

His technique involves preparing a potent brine composed of salt, sugar, seasonings, water and a bottle of whisky, which is then injected into various portions of the turkey's anatomy. It marinates overnight before being popped in the oven or slowly cooked on the grill.

At this point, you are dying to know how it tasted. Here are some direct quotes from the expert panel:

Craig: "The flavour is uniquely Canadian. It's got that subtle flavour of rye without the buzz. It's not overpowering. There's a smokiness. It just takes turkey to a whole different level."

Jason: "The flavours complement each other. Even if you don't like rye, you'll love this turkey. It's a huge success. It's important we share this recipe with all Canadians!"

Me: "Yummy! I love it. It's unbelievably juicy and delicious. There's just a hint of whisky. Forgive me for getting emotional, but it tastes like Canada! Pass the drumsticks."

Call me a patriot if you must, but I could not be prouder of Craig and Jason. It is comforting to know that, in the face of culinary challenges south of the border, we have men like this standing on guard.

I like to imagine myself standing with them, but after eating several pounds of turkey, I'm currently lying on the floor with my pants unbuttoned.

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 11, 2009 A2