Turkey Tips Appleton

Appleton is two of my favorite places, though I have only been to one of them. Appleton, Wisconsin is home to many of Pam's cousins, and we enjoy visiting there -- almost always in summer -- every three years or so. When this plague ends, I hope to squeeze in a visit with all the Lauermans and Lauerwomen there. The other Appleton is an estate in Jamaica that produces one of my favorite rums: Appleton Reserve, a blend that is aged six-ish years.

Because Pam and I (mostly Pam) have been careful to map out our food purchases and meals, I knew that turkey tips were on the menu for yesterday evening, and I had only vague plans to prepare them with some kind of sauce. Previous successes were a barley soup Pam made earlier in this lockdown and a bourbon turkey bourbon I made last year.

This time, I knew that I had relatively few resources for a sauce, and somehow the term "deglaze" hit me in the middle of the afternoon. Whatever I did with this turkey, deglazing our indispensable cast-iron skillet would be involved. As would some sliced mushrooms we had on hand.

So I dethawed (as we say in our kitchen) the Dole & Bailey Bourbon Street Turkey Tips from Crescent Ridge, and cut them into what I would call tip-sized chunks, about 1-1/2 inches each. These are marinated and incredibly tender; as a substitute it might be helpful brine some high-quality turkey breast or tenderloins (if that is even a thing).

I started cooking organic, whole-grain Carolina brown rice because we have plenty of time on our hands, and let the marinated turkey drain while waiting about 15 minutes before starting the rest. I then heated a bit of olive oil in said cast-iron until it was quite hot. I added the tips and seared them on one side before turning and allowing to cook through but not overcook -- probably around five minutes total.

I then removed the turkey to a warm bowl and deglazed the hot pan with a generous splash of aged rum (in this case, Appleton) and added about 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms.  I reduced the heat and added a dollop of butter, a glug of Worcestershire, and a dash or three of Tabasco. I simmered until the mushrooms were softened and the sauce reduced.

We then plated the tips and spooned over the mushroom and sauce. The result was savory and tender; it was nice to have the more substantial rice; we usually use a very light basmati.

Regular readers will not be surprised to learn that this paired well with a Malbec, in this case Broquel (shield) Malbec from our favorite Trapiche vineyard in Mendoza. And in this case the pairing claim is not just me -- the tasting notes from Trapiche specifically mention mushroom sauce! We are fortunate that our wine tastes have become so narrow -- social-distancing now involves curbside delivery of Malbec by the case from a wonderful local shop, which was nice enough to find us this wine.

Pam noticed this bonus right away -- a map to the vineyard!
(See our Malbeclipse story for more detailed direction.)