Taking the Irk out of the Turkey

Non-irksome Turkey

I have a rather radical way of cooking a Christmas turkey to share with you.
All of the preparation is done on Christmas Eve and the carving will be entirely stress-free.
No doubt you have already ordered your bird so what you need to do is go to your friendly butcher and ask him to prepare it for you.  Ask him to remove all the bones so that you will get the boned crown and also, boneless leg meat.  Don't forget to mention that you want the bones for your gravy.

When you get it home, brown the bones in a large pan and then add lots of boiling water, onion, carrots, celery, bay leaves, a small piece of star anise, half a cinnamon stick and black pepper.  Simmer for ages to make delicious turkey stock.  This will be transformed in to the best gravy ever by passing through a sieve and thickening with butter and cornflour. 

To prepare the leg meat:

Take a large piece of strong foil and smear with butter.
Lay out the leg meat in a nice even layer.
Add a filling of sausage meat stuffing and roll up.
Now wrap the foil around nice and tightly and place in the fridge.

This will be roasted in the foil at 200 degrees centigrade for about an hour - perfect to slot beside the roast potatoes.

To prepare the breast meat:
Lay strips of streaky bacon across a roasting dish so that they drape over the side.
Now put one side of the crown in the middle of the bacon.
On top of this put your stuffing - this year I've made cranberry, apple and sage.
Now the other half of the crown goes on.
Smear with butter and then bring the bacon strips over the top.
You can now cover it with foil and put it in the fridge for the big day.
This joint will require about 1 and a half hours at 180 centigrade.
Take the foil off with about twenty minutes to go.  Make sure that your turkey is cooked by skewering and testing that the centre is piping hot and the juices are running clear.
Rest under foil for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

If you need to cook both joints in one oven, turn the heat up when you take the foil off the crown. You can then put the leg meat in when the crown comes out and this will be fine resting under foil for an hour.



Around the Grounds

This little robin is paying more frequent visits. 
The robin is one of only a few birds that defend a territory. This is why you will seldom see more than one at a time.  The red breast is for territory defence, not courtship which is why male and female birds are identical.  They have been known to attack stuffed robins.

Remember to keep your feeders topped up and provide fresh water when the bird bath freezes.





Frozen Assets

Mince Pies

You don't need to make your own mince meat from scratch. 
Start with a jar of the gloopy, bought stuff and add:
Sultanas, raisins, pecans and hazelnuts toasted and chopped, shredded suet, marzipan chopped in to little cubes and a nice slosh of cherry brandy or port.
Now put your superior mince meat in a large jar and give it a festive hat.  Every time you see it on your worktop you will be reminded that you are a Christmas cracker.

To make the pies you will need sweet, shortcrust pastry:

8oz plain flour
4oz butter
1oz caster sugar

Rub the fat in to the flour and then stir the sugar through.  Add enough cold water to make a nice soft ball of dough.  Wrap in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for about half an hour.
Cut the bases and fill with your lovely mince meat.
I made mini ones this time and I prefer to cut holly leaves for the top for less pastry in each bite.
Wash the top with a little milk and sprinkle on some sugar.
They freeze really well. Cook them until they are just pale golden so that you can re-heat before you need to serve them.

Funny of the Week.

A timely reminder of why we are celebrating next weekend.

http://youtu.be/fTzXJMU1sLc