Thanksgiving in One Bite from Netflix's The Final Table

Winning the American national dish episode on the hit Netflix original cooking competition show The Final Table, runners-up Chef Mark Best and Chef Shane Osborn of Australia present their Thanksgiving Turkey Burger aboard the Genting Dream Cruise. As legends in the culinary industry, this burger is all of Thanksgiving in one delectable deep-fried patty! Gather your friends and family to recreate this masterpiece, and celebrate the occasion of family and gratitude.

*Serves 5

Ingredients:

Stuffing

100g smoked slab bacon

1 whole turkey, 10-12lb (4.5kg-5.4kg)

1 bunch sage

1 tsp mace

6 slices white sourdough bread

100ml Madeira

1 bunch thyme

2 cloves garlic

100g pork pack fat

6g salt

1 tsp white pepper

50g (3 and 1/2 TBsp) butter

1 brown onion

8 eggs

100g (3/4 heaping cups) flour

300g (2 and 3/4 cups) panko breadcrumbs

Yams

1kg orange yam

50g (3 and 1/2 TBsp) butter

20g (5 tsp) brown sugar

100g (6.5 TBsp) mascarpone

1 tsp allspice

100g pecans

9 leaves gelatine, titanium

240g (8 large) egg white

570g (2 and 7/8 cups) white fine sugar

150ml water

200g (3/4 cups) corn starch

100g (7/8 cups) icing sugar

Brussel Sprouts

500g brussel sprouts

30g (2 heaping TBsp) butter

1 tsp salt & pepper

Chestnuts

250g raw chestnuts in shell

Cranberry

1 tin whole berry cranberry sauce

1 tin jellied cranberry

Sauce

1 onion

2 sticks celery

1/2 bunch thyme

100ml Madeira

500ml chicken stock

2 slices smoked bacon

50g (3 and 1/2 TBsp) butter

5g (1 tsp) xanathan

Method:

Stuffing

1. Remove legs from turkey. Skin and debone. Reserve skin and bones. Cut turkey leg meat into cubes.
2. Remove the breasts from the frame and reserve both.
3. Remove the rind from the bacon and reserve. Cut the bacon into cubes. Cut the pork back fat into cubes. Mix the bacon, fat, and turkey leg meat. Add finely minced garlic and 1 tsp black pepper. Weigh. Add 1.5% salt by weight. Mix well. Put through a 5mm mincing blade. Spread onto a tray in a layer 1cm thick. Chill.
4. Peel onion and cut into fine dice. Sauté in butter until translucent. Add Madeira and reduce. Add finely chopped sage, thyme, mace, and cubed bread. Season well. Chop coarsely in a food processor with 1 whole egg. Spread onto a tray in a 1cm thick layer and chill.
5. When both preparations are semi-frozen: Cut 10 pucks of turkey sausage with a large circular cutter. Cut 5 pucks of stuffing with same cutter. Remove centre of each circle of stuffing with 5cm ring cutter. Place a puck of stuffing on top of a puck of sausages. Fill the cavity with whole cranberry sauce. Place a puck of sausage on top. Press down on each and chill.
6. Beat 6 eggs. Roll each puck in flour, egg, and panko crumbs. Deep fry at 180 degrees Celsius until golden. Place into a low oven until internal temperature reaches 65 degrees Celsius.

Yams

1. Peel yams and dice into 1cm cubes. Sweat down in butter until soft. Add brown sugar, salt, pepper and all spices. Mash with a fork and whip in the mascarpone. Adjust seasoning. Keep warm.
2. Sauté pecans with butter and brown sugar until caramelised. Spread out on a tray and reserve.

Marshmallow

Bloom gelatine in iced water. Boil sugar with 150ml water and cook to 121 degree Celsius. Squeeze out gelatine and add to sugar syrup. When syrup reaches 115 degrees Celsius, start whisking egg whites to stiff peaks. Pour in the syrup (at 121 degrees Celsius) in a thin steady stream. Whisk until cool then stir in cranberry jelly. Put into a piping bag with 1cm plain nozzle. Sift together the icing sugar and corn starch. Place on a flat tray. Pipe the marshmallow onto the starch and roll to cover. When set, cut into 1cm lengths. Place yam mash into small serving bowls and cover with marshmallows. Toast with a sear. Garnish with pecans.

Brussel Sprouts

Trim stem and remove dark outer leaves. Trim stem again and pull off as many leaves as you can per sprout. Heat a sauté pan and cook quickly to set the color without wilting. Season with salt and pepper.

Chestnuts

Cut a cross in the broad base of the nut. Put into a hot oven until the outer shell browns and peels away with the inner shell. Shave to order with a mandolin.

Sauce

Chop turkey carcass and leg bones into small pieces. Brown in a hot pan with a little oil. Place into pressure cooker. Chop the celery and onion finely and sauté until golden. Add to the pressure cooker. Deglaze the pan with Madeira. Add to the bones with bacon and stock. Pressure cook for 20 minutes. Strain and reduce. Season to taste and thicken with xanthan.

Skin

Scrape any fat from the breast skin and place between sheets of baking paper and heavy baking sheets. Place into a 170 degree Celsius oven until crisp and golden.

To Serve:

Place a turkey burger on each plate. Spoon over brussel sprout leaves and shave chestnuts on top. Spoon some turkey just around the plate. Garnish with a piece of the crisp skin.

*For an abridged version of this recipe, check out our simplified version on The Expat, November issue, available here.