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| DECEMBER 2007/JANUARY 2008
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An
Authentic Thanksgiving Beer Dinner
The
History of Thanksgiving and Beer (Recipes Included)
Article: Horst Dornbusch | Photos:
Tom Dalldorf |
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No meal is more quintessentially American than Thanksgiving
dinner, not just for the seminal historical event it commemorates
— the founding of the Pilgrims’ colony at Plymouth,
near Cape Cod, Mass., in December 1620 — but also for
its ingredients. Turkey, corn, potatoes, pumpkin and cranberries
are all foods that are indigenous to the New World. Yet it is
hardly known that beer, especially English ale, might have played
a role at that first Thanksgiving dinner, too.
Everybody, of course, is familiar with the story of the Pilgrims:
Perhaps their most hallowed achievement is the Mayflower Compact,
a covenant by which they organized their daily lives based
on the principles of religious freedom, self-reliance and
the rule of law.
This Compact now ranks as the oldest constitutional document
in the history of American democracy. Its immense impact,
however, might not have occurred had it not been for the local
Wampanoag Indians, who taught the settlers how to farm, hunt
and fish in their new and unfamiliar surroundings, especially
after the Mayflower had returned home. Without this help,
the Pilgrims probably would not have survived their first
winter in the New World.
Things also began to look up after two ships from England
called at Plymouth Plantation in the summer, bringing more
settlers and some badly needed provisions — maybe even
some ale. Therefore, in October 1621, once the settlers had
reaped their first life-sustaining harvest, including some
20 acres of corn, they threw a little cooking party as a thank
you to their Indian benefactors.
That feast set the precedent that is still being imitated
today in virtually every American household, once a year,
on the fourth Thursday in November.
Our modern-day Thanksgiving dinner, however, tends to deviate
in two important ways from that original culinary bash in
1621: We use a grotesquely altered bird, and we wash it down
with wine, which is the wrong beverage. Let me explain.
The Pilgrims Drank Ale
It was beer, after all (or rather the lack of it), that was
a key reason that the Pilgrims, their ship critically off
course, ended up where they did, on the shores of an expansive
crescent bay in what is now the “Bay State” of
Massachusetts, instead of on the shores of Chesapeake Bay
in Virginia, their original destination. As Pilgrim leader
Governor William Bradford put it in his journal: “We
could not now take much time for further search, our victuals
being much spent, especially our beer.” Yup, there was
no sailing on, as the casks aboard the Mayflower were running
dry ... and, to the best of our knowledge, the Pilgrims had
no wine. Besides, wine is much too delicate for the fare preferred
by the Pilgrims. Even the Wine Spectator admits, “Thanksgiving
has never been an easy meal to match with wine ... because
in the traditional menus, sweet, earthy, early American flavors
dominate” (Vol. 26, No. 13, November 2001).
| Beer might have played a role at that first Thanksgiving
dinner. |
The beer that was “much spent” on the Mayflower
was almost certainly a malt-accented, low-hop English-style
brown ale, simply because that was the universal brew of the
English at the time. It was brown as a result of the direct-fired
kilns of those days, which yielded nothing but moderately
to severely scorched malts that gave the brews their darkish
color. The beer was relatively mildly hopped, because hops
had only just been introduced to England, and many ales were
still brewed without any hops or were flavored with herbs,
such as yarrow, gale or mugwort. The hoppy English IPA was
still about two centuries in the future.
Though there appears to be no record that would tell us which
beverage the Pilgrims shared with their Indian friends at
the first Thanksgiving, we do know that the Pilgrims drank
as hard as they prayed and that they started brewing ale shortly
after they had settled into their New World Plantation —
and they brewed with ingredients that are still the subject
of much speculation and controversy. Initially, they may have
used roots, corn and birch sap. Yet, it is safe to postulate
that the proper beverage for an authentic, Pilgrimlike Thanksgiving
has got to be beer, not wine.
Will the Real Turkey Please Fly Up!
Turkey, incidentally, was not the only dish in 1621. There
was also venison from five deer contributed by the Indians.
Significantly, however, the poultry came from wild turkeys,
which are a far cry from the white-feathered, obese, mega-chested,
wobble-ball gobblers that we now breed for our Thanksgiving
carving platters! Turkey domestication began in Mexico in
the 16th century. It was introduced to Spain by priests in
conqueror Cortés’s entourage. Domestic turkeys
soon spread throughout Europe, from where they were brought
back to North America. But when the Pilgrims reached the Massachusetts
wilderness, all the turkeys were still wild.
When shopping for your authentic Thanksgiving turkey, therefore
— assuming you cannot obtain a wild bird — be
a nonconformist! Definitely stay away from the standard large,
white, broad-breasted variety, especially if it is sold as
“self-baste.” Such turkeys are injected with butter
and brine and often with artificial flavor and color. At the
very least, get a bird that’s described as nonprocessed,
free-range or organic. Even better are dark turkey breeds,
such as bronze or bourbon red. They are rarer and much more
expensive than the whites. They have thicker bones, smaller
breasts and more delicious dark meat and are thus closer in
taste and texture to wild turkeys. Perhaps the most authentic
wild-turkey substitute is the Narragansett, which is a cross
between domestic and wild New England turkeys and is itself
part of the foundation stock of many modern dark turkey breeds.
With these two provisos — about brown ale and wild,
dark or at least free-range turkeys — please see the
sidebar recipes for a complete menu that I developed for a
possibly more authentic Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving Dinner.
Its preparations are based entirely on beer, not wine. For
a table beverage, too, stay within the theme and offer brown
ale, not wine. For an aperitif before and a digestif after
the meal, consider serving a slightly stronger brew, such
as a British or a craft-brewed barley wine — Thomas
Hardy's Ale, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot and Anchor Old Foghorn
are widely available examples. A Belgian Trappist triple might
work, too. |
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| THANKSGIVING
(& BEER) DINNER RECIPES DOWNLOAD
PRINTABLE VERSION HERE
Roast Pilgrims’ Beer Turkey
Ingredients:
1 turkey (about 1 pound per person; preferably
dark-plumed or wild, if you can get it)
1 large cooking apple such as Granny Smith, cored,
peeled and diced into 1⁄2-inch pieces
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
8 ounces of cornbread bread, crumpled up or cut
into 1⁄2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs
2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs (thyme, sage, marjoram,
savory)
English brown ale (such as Newcastle Brown Ale
or Samuel Adams Brown Ale); 12 fluid ounces per
pound of meat
8 to 12 thick-sliced strips of fatty bacon
Directions:
In a cool place, marinade turkey in brown ale
for 24 hours, turning it once or twice.
In a large roasting pan, place turkey on wire
rack.
Truss drumsticks and wings together with butcher
twine.
Mix all ingredients (except beer marinade and
bacon) in a bowl.
Add about 11⁄2 cups beer marinade to make
a moist stuffing. Save remaining beer for basting.
Place stuffing in turkey cavity.
Skewer turkey cavity shut.
Douse turkey with beer.
Set oven rack to bottom level and preheat oven
to 450°F.
Place turkey on its side and roast for 10 minutes.
Turn turkey on other side, baste with beer and
roast for 10 minutes.
Turn turkey breast-side down, baste again with
beer, and reduce oven to 350°F.
Roast turkey for a further 30 minutes while basting
it once again.
Turn turkey breast-side up, drape with bacon strips,
and baste every 15 minutes.
After a total of about 20 minutes per pound minus
30 minutes, remove bacon and set aside. Baste
again.
Finish roasting the turkey for another 30 minutes.
Insert meat thermometer (not touching bone!);
turkey is done when thermometer reads at least
165°F.
Roast longer, if needed.
Transfer turkey to carving board, cover with foil
and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
While turkey rests, make gravy.
Remove trussing and skewers from bird, scoop out
stuffing, carve and serve warm with gravy and
trimmings.
Gravy
(Adapted from Grilling with Beer by
Lucy Saunders, F&B Communications 2006, page
42; used by permission)
Ingredients:
8 to 12 crispy bacon strips (from roast turkey)
2 cups chopped white onions
12 fluid ounces English brown ale
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups turkey pan drippings
2 tablespoons malt vinegar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Directions:
If bacon strips are not crispy, fry them until
crackling in a heavy saucepan; otherwise, omit
step.
Chop bacon into bits.
Skim fat off turkey drippings (or use a separator).
Pour about 2 cups degreased drippings into saucepan
and reduce to about one-half over high heat.
Turn heat to medium and stir in chopped onions;
simmer for about 10 minutes.
Stir in remaining ingredients (except beer and
flour) and cook for about 10 minutes.
Deglaze with beer and reduce for another 10 to
15 minutes over high heat.
Place pan in ice-water bath to cool a bit.
When lukewarm, purée gravy in blender and
strain through sieve.
Return gravy to pan and reheat over medium burner.
Stir in flour and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring
constantly, until gravy thickens.
Cranberry-Beer Relish
The bogs of Cape
Cod, Mass., are, of course, the nation’s
traditional center for cranberry cultivation.
You can purchase prepared cranberry sauces and
relishes for your Thanksgiving groaning board,
or you can make your own. Here is a recipe for
a cooked relish that can be made the day before.
It even uses some brown ale.
Ingredients:
4 cups (1 pound) fresh or two 6-ounce packs
of dried, presweetened cranberries
1 to 2 cups Grade A maple syrup
1 quart water
12 fluid ounces brown ale
Directions:
Rehydrate dried cranberries, if used, in a quart
of tepid water for two hours.
Boil fresh cranberries in a quart of water for
about 5 minutes, or rehydrated ones for 15 minutes,
until skins burst.
Strain.
In a food processor, macerate cranberries.
Mix the pulped fresh cranberries with 2 cups,
or the rehydrated ones with 4 tablespoons, of
maple syrup.
In a saucepan, while stirring constantly, bring
mixture to a boil and gradually stir in brown
ale.
On low or simmer, reduce mixture to about half
its volume while stirring frequently (may take
an hour).
Remove from heat, pour into ramekin; let cool,
then refrigerate.
Serve cold as an accompaniment to roast turkey.
Corn on the Cob
Use one ear of corn per person, dehusked, snapped
into two and boiled in salt water for about 20
minutes.
Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
Select red potatoes, medium-size, with relatively
unblemished skins, two per person.
Directions:
Boil for about 20
minutes. Drain and mash in their skins with 1⁄2
tablespoon of cream, 1⁄4 tablespoon butter
and a pinch of salt per potato.
New England Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin pie apparently
was served at the second, not the first, Thanksgiving
dinner. Today we spice it up with cinnamon, ginger,
cloves and nutmeg, and optionally you can add
a pinch of these if you wish. But the Pilgrims’
filling more likely got its flavor complexity
from just maple syrup and honey — a robust
mouthful requiring something big and powerful,
like an ale.
Ingredients (for a 10-inch deep-dish
pie):
2 cups fresh or about 17 ounces canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup (8 fluid ounces) English brown ale
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
A 10-inch deep-dish pie shell
Whipping cream with a touch of maple syrup (optional,
but wonderful)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Macerate fresh pumpkin (if used) in blender or
empty can(s).
Mix sweeteners, pumpkin and salt.
Beat eggs lightly.
Gently fold into mix eggs, cream and beer, in
that order.
Ladle filling into shell.
In 450°F oven, on middle rack, bake for 10
minutes.
Reduce heat to 325°F; bake for another 40
minutes.
Pie is done when a knife inserted into filling
comes out clean.
Serve warm or cold, topped with whipped cream
if desired. |
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| Horst Dornbusch
is an internationally known authority on beer, an award-winning
beer author and brewer, and a multilingual beer raconteur. A
native of Bavaria, he now lives in Massachusetts. Visit his
website at beerexperience.com. |
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