Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Turkey
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"Package is here."
"Oh, finally. Let's open it up."
My sister and I tore open the massive delivery box. What came out was a huge chicken—no, a turkey, about the size of two whole chickens.
We'd been brainstorming content ideas for Christmas.
A bunch of suggestions flew around.
Home party foods for the holidays, drinks for boozehounds, Christmas desserts, or cakes perfect for gifting. In the end, we settled on turkey.
Turkey isn't a familiar ingredient in Korea.
We use chicken way more, and turkey costs a pretty penny compared to it.
But plain old Christmas dishes wouldn't rack up the views, so we decided to go with turkey cooking, the staple in English-speaking countries.
"Looks good. Let's thaw it and get filming."
"How long does thawing take?"
"It's partially thawed already, so about two days. If it were fully frozen solid, it'd be three or four."
"What? That long?"
I nodded. Turkey's such a big hunk of meat, and proper thawing is key, so slow-thawing in the fridge takes that much time.
We'd ordered it a week ago, but delivery issues delayed it until today.
"No way we can upload on Christmas Day, huh?"
"Yeah."
We posted a delay notice on our community tab. Two days passed.
Sister prepped the camera while I got everything ready for cooking. We had to film and edit as fast as possible, so we hustled.
I hit record and launched into my intro naturally.
"Hello, subscribers. Kim Haneul here. Today, we're cooking turkey for Christmas."
It had been three months since we started our YouTube channel. Talking to the camera solo felt natural now.
"Turkey is the iconic centerpiece of Christmas feasts in English-speaking countries. A quick origin story: it's a symbol of abundance and sharing."
Indeed, in Europe and America, turkey is standard for important guests.
Up until the 16th century, goose or roast beef was more common, but it caught on with the nobility and went mainstream. Now it's the go-to for Christmas dinners.
I held up the turkey with both hands. It was twice the size of a regular chicken.
"Turkey can be tricky to cook. It's huge, and with so little fat, it dries out easily and gets tough."
The key was simple.
Eliminate any off-flavors, lock in moisture, and make even the leanest cuts juicy.
"First up, our special butter sauce."
I added unsalted butter, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Basic butter sauce so far. Now for the magic that makes turkey delicious.
"A bit of lemon zest and juice. Toss in Italian parsley and garlic, and we're done."
This recipe came from a famous American chef. I'd made it a few times in my past life—it was so good, I kept coming back to it.
I peeled four cloves of garlic, then paused. I'd lived in Europe so long my garlic tolerance had dropped, but Sister grew up in Korea her whole life.
She probably loved that garlicky punch.
"Normally four cloves is ideal, but for Korean tastes, you can bump it up to eight."
I mixed the butter thoroughly, blending the lemon's tang, parsley's freshness, and garlic's bite perfectly.
Seasonings ready. Time to prep the turkey proper.
"Stuff the cavity with as much pepper and salt as you can. Fill the rest with whatever ingredients you like."
As the turkey roasts, moisture and aromas from the stuffing circulate inside. Meanwhile, the turkey's juices infuse the stuffing with umami.
I added button mushrooms and onions.
Onions and potatoes are the tastiest combo, but Sister preferred mushrooms over potatoes, so that's what I went with.
"Now the most crucial step. Pay close attention. Editor? Tighten the focus, please."
Sister zoomed in on the turkey.
I scooped up a handful of butter and separated the skin from the meat.
"As I mentioned, turkey has little fat for its size. Just slathering butter on the outside risks a dry interior. Plus, the flavors won't penetrate fully."
I shoved butter between skin and meat by force. As much as possible, everywhere—even beyond the breast.
"Be thorough, but don't overdo it. It'll all melt in the oven anyway."
The bulging butter looked a bit grotesque, but it was necessary for flavor.
Into the preheated oven for 10 minutes to brown the skin. The top, where heat concentrates, crisped up nicely.
To prevent burning, I draped it with bacon.
"Now roast until the internal temp hits 74 degrees Celsius. It's big, so it'll take a while."
I basted periodically, spooning juices from the tray over the top for extra moisture and even cooking.
Size meant time and care.
After three hours, it was done.
"Smells amazing."
Sister filmed, swallowing hard. Her eyes locked on the bird—she was dying to dig in.
It'd been ages since I'd seen that reaction. Made me want to tease her.
"You could eat it right away, but I'm adding one extra step."
While the turkey rested in residual heat, I collected the pan juices. The tray was half-full of turkey goodness mixed with lemon, mushrooms, and spices—the perfect sauce. Too good to waste, so I added asparagus and potatoes to simmer in it.
I spent 10 minutes enjoying Sister's reactions before pulling everything out for plating.
"Time to eat."
We set up the camera.
Running a cooking channel, we'd agonized over this part. Gotta film the eating tastily too. But my solo reactions fell flat.
Simple reason: the food's quality.
Harsh truth—home cooking, no matter how hard you try, can't match restaurant level.
To me, with over half a lifetime in pro kitchens, home food just didn't cut it.
After trying every angle, best was camera on the table: Sister off-screen, me on, eating together.
"Let's eat~"
"Hold on. I'll cut it."
I sliced with a knife. Long oven time made it yield easily with minimal pressure. I passed her a tender leg piece, steak-smooth.
"Here's the leg. Here's the breast. Try it."
Normally she'd decline and film me, but not today. The aroma was irresistible.
She chewed.
"Mmm! Mm."
"How is it?"
Her eyes sparkled. She mumbled to describe the taste but gave up, savoring instead.
She swallowed.
"Whoa, this is seriously good. No joke. Crispy skin—chewy-crisp. Then sous-vide-soft meat inside... Hurry and try."
She carved off a big leg chunk and held it out.
Leg meat. The best part.
I took a bite without hesitation.
As she said: crisp outside, juicy within. And the flavor—phenomenal. Butter sauce stuffed everywhere brought lemon brightness and parsley freshness to kill any gaminess. Each chew burst with butter, juices, and deep savoriness coating the tongue.
"Totally worth the effort. Not one-note—layered, so it doesn't cloy."
High-class for home cooking.
Basic tasting done, we dove into mukbang mode.
"Try the breast too. It's a treat."
Sister doesn't like tough breast meat. But this long-roasted version was special enough for me to recommend.
She eyed me skeptically, took a bite. Slow at first, her jaw sped up.
"How does chewy and tender coexist like this?"
"Turkey breast has both textures. Skill brought it out, of course."
I pressed the turkey for the camera. Juices poured out like from a soaked sponge.
But not done yet.
"Try the mushrooms and bread."
I offered stuffing mushrooms, onions, and oven-baked bread, all steeped in juices and butter. Indirect heat kept them moist.
"What are these mushrooms? How do they taste like this?"
"Good?"
"Just roasted in juices, right? But the flavor... meaty."
Seeing her thrilled made it all worthwhile.
That's why I cook—for that face. I'll keep making tasty stuff, so keep loving it.
"Eat slow."
I poured cola and sliced the rest.
"Views are still crushing it."
Weekend. Na Kyung-mo lounged in bed, watching Sky and Kite's latest turkey video.
A few months back, views hovered near 100k. Now, with 200k subs, average was 300k.
The turkey vid was killing it.
-Looks delicious.
-Delivery delay means no Christmas upload.
-Can you do it with chicken?
-Time for my stingy meta again.
-Haa. Next video pls!
"Way beyond my growth projections."
Na Kyung-mo enjoyed it, then switched to marketer mode as it ended. Lunar New Year was a month away—prime time for certain sales.
"Maybe make a suggestion?"