Spagetti with Mushrooms and Turkey Confit

I know that the photo above does not show the humble turkey drumstick to its best.

It is, however, a great way to get maximum flavour without making the meat dry.  I took six of the drumsticks above, placed them in a suitable roasting dish and added about 2 litres of bran oil, 10 garlic cloves, twenty peppercorns and about a dozen sage leaves, and put in the oven for around four hours at 100 degrees Celcius.  Once cooked, I removed from the oil which I strained and reserved, and placed in the fridge.  This helped to drain off any remaining oil.

The idea was to slowcook the drumsticks withouut making them too dry, something that I am not a real big fan off.

The meat shredded off just one, albeit large, drumstick was enough to make enough sauce for three people.  Once it was reheated, the meat softed and fell apart but retained the fantastic flavour.

You could cover the drumsticks in the oil and leave in a fridge for a week but since this is a bit of a special treat, I shredded the remaining meat, divided into four portions, topped with a good splosh of oil just for flavour and have vacuum sealed for use in the future. 

This will be a great week night meal that can be prepared in around 20 minutes.

Ingredients


For the confit

6 turkey drumsticks
2 litres of a neutral oil such as bran
10 garlic cloves whole
20 peppercorns
10 sages leaves

For the Pasta Sauce

300 grams thin dried spaghetti
1 onion finely diced
reserved garlic from the confit
6 stalks of thyme, leaves only
250 grams large mushrooms, sliced roughly
4 tablespoons of the confit oil
Shredded meat from one drumstick
Six large basil leaves, finely chiffonade
2 tablespoons thin cream


Method

In a large saucepan, cook the spaghetti according to instruction.

In a large saute pan, please the onion, garlic, thyme and mushrooms over a low heat with the confit oil and soften down without browning.

Add the shredded meat and heat through for a couple of minutes until the meat is falling apart.

Add the basil and the cream and heat through.

Drain the spaghetti and toss through the pan to coat, before piling onto warmed pasta plates.  Serve with lots of seasoning.