Roast Turkey, with Truffles

Stuff the raw turkey with raw pork fat and truffles, then leave it two days so the perfume migrates.

From: Housekeeping in Old Virginia
Published: 1879
Yikes Scale: Yikes

Exactly as printed, 1879

Truffles must be peeled, chopped and pounded in a mortar; one and a half pound will do for one turkey. Rasp the same amount of fat bacon and mix with the truffles and stuff the turkey with it. This dressing is usually placed in the turkey two days beforehand, to impart its flavor to the fowl. Lay thin slices of fat bacon over the breast of the turkey, cover it with half a sheet of white paper, and roast two hours. Chestnuts dressed in the same way as truffles are found an excellent substitute.--Mrs. S. G.

Housekeeping in Old Virginia, 1879. Public domain; transcription unaltered.

So what happens if I make it?

A raw bird packed with raw pork fat and left for two days is a cavity full of bacteria at larder temperature. The perfume does migrate into the flesh; so does everything else.

The roasting then compounds it. A stuffed turkey heats far more slowly than an empty one, and a dense pound and a half of truffle bound with bacon fat insulates the middle.

Notes from the 21st century

Two hours will not do it. The recipe's roasting time is for a bird without a heavy stuffing. Stuffed, the centre needs far longer to reach temperature.
Truffle under the skin is the fix. Slice it thin, slide it under the skin the day before, and cook the stuffing separately. Same perfume, no cavity.
The technique is genuinely old and admired. Truffled turkey held to ripen is classic French practice, described by Brillat-Savarin. It predates refrigeration and assumes a cold larder.

Also in this book

Brandy Peaches — Five minutes in boiling lye to strip the fuzz, and blanched kernels added to the jar.
Calf's Head Pudding — Boil the head until the bones drop out, pick the meat fine, then lay the brains over the top and bake.
Pickled Cucumbers (Gallon vinegar) — Line the brass kettle with grape leaves and boil, to green the fruit.

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