WASHINGTON — If you’re not cooking for Thanksgiving and don’t want to deal with the
hassle of calling around for whatever reservations remain, there’s one place you can go
to get an award-winning meal and learn more about the nation’s first
Thanksgiving: the National Museum of the American
Indian.

From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Executive Chef Jerome Grant and his team at the museum’s
Mitsitam Cafe will prepare and serve
maple-brined turkey, cranberry sage stuffing, wood-fired oysters,
yellow-eyed bean and white corn succotash, wild rice and watercress salad, pumpkin
cornbread, pie and more. And the meal won’t break the
bank — all dishes are under $20.

“Thanksgiving dinner is one of the staples of modern American society, and we really
[show] more of a native side to it,” Grant says. “We really focus here on the more of
the indigenous aspect of it, really promoting the real foods of those times.”

Unique and enticing dishes — such as duck egg maple flan, cedar-planked wild
salmon and buffalo chili on fry bread — will also be available, but the star of
Grant’s Thanksgiving dinner is his turkey.

Grant brines the turkey in a maple, salt, herb and spice liquid for three days before
cooking it.

“The longer, the better; it will take on a lot more of the flavor, and at the same
time,
it will make your turkey ultra-juicy,” says Grant, who explains that the museum has
been making
Thanksgiving dinner since it opened in 2004.

“It picks up a really nice maple flavor, and when you roast it, you get that nice maple
glaze to it. And to me, I look at it like it has that guaranteed no-dry-turkey effect.”

Grant’s turkey is a crowd-pleaser among Washingtonians. On Thanksgiving Day,
he says, he serves between 600 and 700 people in the café’s six hours of operation;
approximately 50 to 60 customers order complete Thanksgiving “take-home” meals for
pickup too.

“We get a lot of visitors that come in and do a small lunch before their Thanksgiving
dinner, or come out, walk off their Thanksgiving dinner and eat again.”

But food isn’t the only focus of the day at the museum.

Thanksgiving is the kickoff for the museum’s four-day Comanche Festival, which
celebrates the heritage and culture of the Plains tribe. The festival will feature dance
performances, singing, shawl-making demonstrations, traditional flute playing and more.

Visitors can also check out the museum’s new Nation-to-Nation exhibit, which highlights
influential Native American diplomats and leaders of Indian Nations in the history of
U.S.-American Indian diplomacy.

“We really delve into Native American culture and civilization and how it really was
one of the big steps of what modern day America is,” Grant says.

Want to try Chef Jerome Grant’s turkey at home? He shares his recipe below:

Roasted Maple-Brined Turkey Breast with Crabapple and Cranberry Relish

Maple Brine

• 1½ cups maple syrup
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 fresh sage leaves
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs
• 3 bay leaves
• 8 cloves
• 1 teaspoon crushed dried juniper berries
• 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon allspice berries
• 8 cups water
• 4 cups ice cubes

Turkey

• 1 6-pound organic bone-in single turkey breast or one 2- to 3-pound boneless turkey
  breast

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Maple Butter Baste
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ¼ cup maple syrup

In a large, nonreactive stockpot, combine all the brine ingredients except the ice.
Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for three
minutes.

Remove from the heat, add the ice and set aside to cool to room temperature. Add the
turkey breast, cover and refrigerate for at least two days, up to three days.

Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Remove the turkey breast from the refrigerator and the
brine. Rinse, pat dry and rub with the butter, both under and on top of the skin.

Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the turkey breast on a rack in a
roasting pan and roast two to two and a half hours for a bone-in breast, 30 to 45 minutes
for a boneless breast.

Meanwhile, for the maple butter baste, melt the butter over low heat in a small
saucepan. Add the maple syrup and increase the heat to high. Bring to a rolling boil
and remove from the heat.

Cook the turkey for about 15 minutes longer, basting with the maple butter every 5 minutes. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center
of the breast and not touching bone registers 150 to 165˚F (150˚F will
provide juicier
white meat).

Remove from the oven and transfer to a carving board. Tent with aluminum foil and let
stand for 10 minutes. Carve the turkey breast and serve with the relish, if desired.

Reprinted with permission from The Mitsitam Cafe Cookbook.

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