Of course Krystal isn't open on Thanksgiving or on Christmas day, but as I learn from my Manny-time with Sean and Josh, we can always pretend.
What would it be like if Krystal did serve Thanksgiving Dinner, or Christmas Dinner? Well obviously we'd have to have fresh, small, hot (not square) turkeys! That's not a really big pan, that a small turkey! Most people would call it a Cornish hen, or perhaps it's a Kornish hen? Since I am cooking it, not Krystal, we need to season it up (baste with butter, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning) and then plug in the super amazing thermometer probe. I suppose if you don't mind picking up food borne illnesses, now may be the time to stuff your Krystal Turkey. If you choose to use my Krystal Stuffing, I suspect one Krystal would be plenty. Two Krystals would overstuff the bird and that's how you get big time problems with undercooked turkey. Why not just get over "stuffing" your turkeys and just toss some carrot, onion and celery inside, perhaps with a sprig or two of thyme? These little babies cook quick. While technically it should be steamed to stick with the traditional Krystal cooking, have you ever seen steamed, skin-on poultry? It may be cooked but no one wants to eat it. Nothing is brown, nothing is crisp, and it pretty much looks exactly the same as when you put it in.
Guess what? Chicken Butt! Yes that interesting little triangular portion of the bird. While up at my parents there was plenty of discussion on that part. My parents call it a Parson's Nose, for various reasons. I learned years ago it was called the Whistle because when you're cooking them over a fire, you'll sometimes hear the bird make a whistling sound. That's the juices in the tail. When we would do barbecue chicken fundraisers for wrestling team in high school they cooked half chickens on big racks over burning coals. Obviously since these were half chickens only half of them would have the tail. When you saw one, you made sure no one was looking and twisted it off to eat. It is sinfully delicious containing a lot of greasy, oily, juicy fat, but you had to be careful of the occasional tiny bones. The best thing about a Krystal-size turkey is you get your own whistle and two drumsticks! A little dressing and mashed potatoes as well as a bunch of cranberry sauce, and it's a meal fit for a king. |
