Oregon Truffle Recipes

Truffle and Rabbit Pot Pie from Verdigris in Portland.

photos by Jenine Huang


Oregon Truffle & Nicky Farms Rabbit Pot Pie

Portland | Verdigris
Johnny Nunn

Truffle and Rabbit Pot Pie from Verdigris in Portland

2 ounces Oregon truffles (1½ ounce chopped and ½ ounce reserve for slicing)
2 teaspoons black truffle oil, more to garnish
1 pound Nicky Farms Oregon rabbit, diced
¼ pound unsalted butter
⅔ cup medium diced carrot
⅔ cup medium diced onion
⅓ cup medium diced celery
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped thyme, more for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped parsley, more for garnish
1 bay leaf
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup Madeira
¼ cup white wine
1 quart brown chicken stock, heated (substitute rabbit stock if available)
¼ cup heavy cream
8 6-inch discs of pie dough, chilled
1 cup cleaned frisée or arugula
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper

For Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place four pie dough discs in a 4-inch ramekin or pot pie mold. Gently push down the dough into the corners so it fits neatly and there are no folds or pockets. Fold the dough over the edges and trim excess dough by smacking it with the back of a spoon. Prick the bottom with a fork and then prepare the crusts to “blind bake” by placing small squares of parchment paper weighted with dried beans. Allow crusts to cool and rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Blind bake crusts for 12 to 14 minutes and remove parchment and beans immediately. Let cool to room temperature.

For Filling:
In a thick-bottomed sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat, add rabbit and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir and cover, cooking on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add chopped vegetables, bay leaf and herbs, sprinkle with more salt and pepper and cook covered for another 10 to 12 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the flour and cook on low for about 5 more minutes, stirring all the while. Deglaze with the Madeira and wine and cook on low until the alcohol odor has dissipated, 7 to 10 minutes. Once the alcohol has cooked off, add the stock and cream and cook on low for another 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the truffles, taste, adjust and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Place filling in the baked pie crusts so the center is slightly higher than the edges of the ramekins. Brush  the edges with the beaten egg and place the remaining crust discs over the top of each ramekin. Using a fork, mash the edges of the ramekins to seal and decorate them. Then, using a fork or paring knife, prick holes in the top of each pie, allowing steam to vent. Brush the lids with more beaten egg and garnish with more salt and pepper, thyme and parsley.

Bake at 350 degrees for 17 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate the pies once during the cooking process.

Allow to cool slightly before serving, or refrigerate and hold for one day. In small bowl garnish the frisée with salt, pepper and truffle oil. Garnish each pie with small salad. Using a truffle slicer or a Japanese mandoline, slice the remaining truffles over each plate.

 

Black Truffle Scalloped Potatoes

Dayton | The Joel Palmer House
Christopher Czarnecki

2-inch hotel pan
1 pint black truffle butter or 2 to 3 ounces fresh Oregon black truffle
3 pints cream
1 ounce minced garlic
1 ounce dried porcinis rehydrated and pureed in blender
4 ounces cornstarch slurry
2½ tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
8 pounds Russet potatoes (nine large Russets), sliced 1/8-inch thick on mandoline
1 large yellow onion, sliced very thin on mandoline
Shredded Gouda

Combine sauce ingredients. Bring to boil—reduce to simmer. Adjust seasonings and consistency. Spray pan with pan spray. Blot dry the potatoes and layer them and onions alternately in hotel pan. Sauce each layer of potatoes before adding the next. When complete, sauce should come about three quarters of the way up the height of the potatoes.

Top with shredded cheese. Place in 350-degree oven until cheese browns. Reduce oven to 250 degrees and bake until potatoes are mostly tender to a skewer. 

Cool and refrigerate. Cut portions with pastry cutter while cold. Skewer with toothpick to hold vertical and microwave. Plate with spatula.

Cognac-brined Turkey with Black Truffle Butter

Portland | Beast
Naomi Pomeroy

Equipment
Large roasting rack
Roasting pan
5-gallon bucket for brining
Cooking twine for trussing
Meat thermometer
Large piece of foil

For Turkey Brine:
1- 13-15 pound turkey
8 cups water
¾ cup salt
¾ cup sugar
Zest of one orange (taken off in wide strips)
2 heads fresh garlic, cut in half
6 leaves fresh bay
¼ cup toasted whole black peppercorns
1½ cups medium quality cognac
4 pounds ice


For Truffle Butter:
8 ounces soft butter
1 tablespoon black truffle puree
½ teaspoon black truffle salt
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

For Turkey Stuffing:
1 large yellow onion (unpeeled and cut into quarters)
1½ lemon (in halves)
Several sprigs rosemary and thyme

For Butter Blankets:
3 each 2-foot pieces of cheesecloth (6 feet total)
1 pound butter, melted
Forty-eight hours before serving the turkey, make the brine by heating up the water and all the brine ingredients (except the cognac and ice). Bring it to a simmer and then maintain thegentle simmer for about 10 minutes to marry the flavors. Add the ice to the brine until cool to the touch, then add the cognac. Set brine aside.

Remove the turkey from the bag, remove any wire or plastic it might have, and remove any neck, gizzards or paper that might be hiding inside the turkey. Place the turkey in the bucket and pour the brine over the turkey. Weight the turkey into the brine with a heavy lid that fits into the interior. If you can’t get the turkey submerged all the way, set a timer for 12 to 15 hours (whatever is easy, don’t stress) and flip the turkey at that halfway mark to submerge the other half.

After 24 hours, remove the turkey. Dry the bird well, and allow it to sit uncovered in the fridge for about 12 hours (again, time is approximate, don’t stress!). Remove the turkey from the fridge about 4 hours before you are going to cook it. Total cooking time will probably be between 2½ to 3 hours. While the turkey is coming to room temperature, take the soft butter and mix in all ingredients for truffle butter with a wooden spoon.

After the turkey comes to room temperature, stretch the skin with your hands, but be careful not to tear the skin. Use all the truffle butter and spread it between the meat and skin. Lightly sprinkle the interior and exterior of the bird with salt and pepper. Remove extra racks from your oven so only the low rack remains. Place your roasting rack inside the roasting pan or hotel pan. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Stuff the interior of the bird with the onion, lemon, and the herbs. Truss the turkey. Melt the 1 pound of butter, and then with the heat off, add the three pieces of cheesecloth. Allow them to soak completely.

Roast the bird breast side up for 20-30 minutes until golden. Then, lower the heat to 350 degrees, remove the entire roasting rack and flip the bird. It is a bit of a challenge, but just place two towels on either side of it and rotate—have faith!

Employ the butter blankets in strips across the backside of the bird to protect it and “auto” baste it. After an hour at 350 degrees, rotate the bird, drizzle a little more of the residual melted butter, and set a timer for 30 minutes. Check the temperature between the thigh in the thickest part. If it is around 145 degrees to 150 degrees, it’s time to flip the bird and remove the butter blankets. This may take up to an additional hour or more depending on size of turkey and speed of oven. When the breast reads 145 degrees and the thigh is around 165 degrees, remove the whole roasting pan and create a foil tent over the bird. Rest for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to an hour (it will stay hot).

If you need to reheat the bird, it’s probably best to carve it after resting, and then return to the oven briefly while heating other things. Hot turkey isn’t a necessity. Get your gravy hot and your sides hot—a rested piece of meat is better than a dry one!

 

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