With Christmas fast approaching many of us are already starting to stash away gifts, organise parties and also plan what it is that you are going to cook on the day.
While we have had some more relaxed and informal Christmas Days at our place, this year the white tablecloth is coming out, as are the cloth napkins and Christmas is going to be rightfully restored to the special occasion that it is.
Along with this is a fruit and brandy laden Christmas pudding and of course the roasted turkey.
A roasted turkey packed with flavoursome stuffing and surrounded with vegetables and sauces is about as Christmas perfect as it really can get!
And, it really is pretty easy to achieve, as long as you follow a few tricks and tips!
Choosing a whole bird
First things first, while it may seem completely obvious, do make sure you buy a turkey that will actually fit into your oven, ovens vary in size and if yours is on the smaller then choose a bird accordingly. Also think sensibly about how many people you are catering for and buy to suit.
Tip: For truly moist and delicious turkey’s, Tegel’s whole birds are “Tender-basted” so you can be sure that they will not dry out.
Once you have made your choice then defrost your turkey in the fridge (or a chilly bin with ice packs that you replace) for 2 days.
Cooking your turkey
1. Take the turkey out of the fridge at least 2 hours before roasting. This is to take the chill from the meat which will help the meat to cook evenly. It will also help the skin to dry which is good for colour and crispness.
2. Calculate your cooking time. The turkey will need about 20 minutes per 450g plus an extra 25 minutes at the end of calculated time. Preheat the oven to 180°C (375 F)
3. Turkey breast meat is lean so adding some extra fat is great. You can either drape it with streaky bacon or rub with butter but another suggestion is to melt 180g of butter and pour it into a bowl with a piece of fine muslin approximately 75cm x 75cm.
Set aside until the muslin has absorbed the butter.
4. Prepare the stuffing and insert into both the main cavity and also into the neck flap. Secure the cavities with skewers.
5. Sit the turkey in a roasting dish and completely cover the bird with a doubled layer of the buttered muslin or drape with bacon or rub with butter.
6. Roast the bird for the required time, to check if it is cooked insert a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh. If the juices run clear then the turkey is cooked.
7. Remove the muslin and rest the turkey with a tent of aluminium foil for about 20 minutes. While the bird is resting you can make the gravy.
8. Carve the turkey exactly the same way you would carve a chicken.
Having difficulty working out your timing? follow our time check.
7.00am Remove turkey from the fridge.
9.20 Prepare turkey stuffing and soak muslin in butter
9.35 Turn on the oven
9.50 Stuff the turkey, place in roasting dish, tie the legs, cover with buttered muslin and place in the hot oven.
12.00 Prepare vegetables and have them ready to cook. Roasted vegetables take approximately 1 hour to cook,
1.00pm remove the turkey from the oven, Remove from the roasting dish to a platter, lift off the muslin and cover with an aluminium foil tent.
1.15pm Make gravy with the pan juices and cook your green vegetables.
1.30pm Carve and serve the turkey with accompaniments
Fabulous Turkey Stuffing
3 cups fresh breadcrumbs
75g butter
2 large onions, finely chopped
4 rashers bacon, chopped
½ cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped sage
1 tsp dried oregano
finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt
Heat a large frying pan over a moderate heat and gently toast half of the crumbs until crisp and golden. Remove from the heat and mix in a large bowl with the remaining fresh crumb and the herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Wipe out crumb residue from the pan and then melt half of the butter and gently cook the onions and bacon until tender. Add the remaining butter and stir to melt. Pour the mixture into the breadcrumb mixture and mix well, adding enough yoghurt to bind the mixture together.
Cooking a Boneless Roast
For those that enjoy the flavour of turkey but want something easy to deal with then the new Tegel 1.8kg free range boneless turkey roast could be for you. Made using the finest quality breast and thigh meat from a whole turkey, with a cranberry stuffing. It comes in an ovenproof tray, just thaw then simply cook.
Ideas for leftover turkey
Turkey tacos – shred turkey meat and heat in a small frying pan with a little water and some taco seasoning mix, Combine with finely sliced red onion, coriander leaves, avocado, corn kernels and spoon into warmed taco shells.
Turkey salad – toss chopped turkey meat with dried cranberries, mixed leaves, avocado, red onion, mint and toasted cashew nuts. Drizzle over a citrus vinaigrette.
Turkey Hash Breakfast – fry chunks of potato with chopped bacon, red capsicum garlic and onion, add some chopped herbs and shredded turkey. Serve with a fried egg and toast.
Turkey Carbonara – add finely chopped turkey meat to your favourite carbonara recipe.
Turkey Sliders – finely chop new season peaches and combine with red onion, red capsicum and coriander leaves, drizzle with lemon/lime juice.
Warm slider buns and fill with sliced turkey, peach salsa, and a sprinkle of salad leaves.
Perfecting a Roast Turkey was originally posted by foodlovers.co.nz