Spiedini of Turkey

by Katherine Kagel, author of The Café Pasqual Cookbook: Spirited Recipes from Santa Fe.

Serves 8

Four hours before serving, prepare a fire in the fireplace. (Lay in brick for support for the grill before building and lighting fire.) Soak bamboo skewers for 30 minutes in water before threading.

• 3 to 4 pounds naturally raised organic turkey breast, cut in 1 1/2-inch by 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 12 sprigs fresh rosemary, strip leaves of 4 sprigs and reserve remaining for skewering
• 10 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and slivered
• 2 lemons, peel removed in 6 equal pieces each
• Juice of 1 lemon, reserving other lemon for future use
• 16 bay leaves, fresh as you can find (optional)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• Potatoes and cherry tomatoes (optional, see notes below)

Combine all together in a glass or stainless steel bowl, cover and refrigerate 6 hours. An hour or two before grilling, thread 8 of the soaked skewers with turkey, lemon peel, bay leaves and reserved rosemary sprigs. Cover and refrigerate until 30 minutes before grilling when they need to be removed to take the chill off before cooking.

Meanwhile, without using any starter fluids, only kindling and paper, begin the fire and burn until the floor of the fireplace is deep with glowing embers. You may have to add additional wood until the embers cover the area sufficiently. Begin cooking just when there are no more flames. Forty-five minutes before cooking, place rack on supports to heat through. Place turkey on preheated grill and turn as needed to cook through. Flames will appear as the juices and oil drips into the fire ­ this is the synergy that makes for great flavor and cannot be achieved by conventional broiling. This is where experience and practice come into play so make some mental notes for future adventuring. Do not overcook, but cook until meat is no longer pink.

Notes: About 1 1/2 to 2 hours before grilling the turkey, you may want to place foil-wrapped yams, sweet potatoes or baking potatoes into the embers or on the grate. (Don’t forget to poke holes in their skins before wrapping.) Turn once halfway through cooking with long tongs. Cherry tomatoes, skewered and put on the grill until they’re just cooked through, add terrific color, texture, and flavor to the meal. There will be lingering cooking smells the next day ­ enjoy them and remember to congratulate yourself for participating in this most ancient of rituals.