How do you cook two joints......

kippers

I've noticed on here that some of you are having turkey and another joint, ie beef or gammon, for your xmas dinner....how do you do this?...My oven is full with just the Turkey and when that comes out then in goes my roast pots/ parsnips/pigs in blankets etc. So how do you do it?...Have you all got double ovens or hugh ovens?

sunshine6650

Im trying veal & 3 bird this year (prob some ham as well) im cooking mine xmas eve so oven free for all the roasting bits!

purpleivy

I have 2 full size ovens....but I'm not cooking for Christmas this year. even if I was, I feel that turkey is quite enough at lunchtime, as we (because of maintaining 2 familys' traditions)have

Turkey, gravy, bread sauce, bacon rolls, sausages, sausage stuffing, herb stuffing, chestnut stuffing, roast and mashed spuds, all manner of veg,.

We tend to have a ham or piece of gammon for eating at other times though.

Little_Belle

I'm not cooking this year but we often have 3 meats (small joints of each though!)

Turkey cooked in the oven, Gammon cooked the night before, Salt beef - this is cooked on the hob in a large saucepan. mmm love salt beef! I always find it so much more tender than normal beef joints nomnomnom...

Most of the Veg is done in the steamer, pots and parsnips in the same tin, leaving plenty of room for pigs in blankets and yorkshire puds when the turkey comes out - it helps i have a double oven so my small one has anything already cooked in it to keep warm (ie the gammon)

benny1981

Could you please post the recipe for your salt beef lil_belle
It's sounds gooooood!

kittyscarlett

Just cook it in advance as has been suggested. My mum always did a ham or gammon, boiled, and a piece of beef roasted ( traditionally on Christmas Eve in my family so we could indulge in hot roaste beef sandwiches :P ), to have cold with the Christmas dinner and on Boxing day etc. Anyone trying to cook more than one joint/bird in a normal oven on the day itself must really enjoy stress

Little_Belle

hmm, I've never actually salted my own beef, although I know it is possible. But I buy mine from Sainsburys cooking instructions on the outer sleeve. Don;t think it is very expensive and we got loads out of the joint last year cause we cut it quite thin

Bongedone

I will have a look in Sainsburys for Salt Beef. I was looking at recipes to make it myself but you need to buy saltpetre. You can get it on eBay but I bet it sets alarms off as it is an ingredient of gun powder.

richyg

Try googling "salt beef" and there is a video from videojug.com with complete instructions that i have used before. I would post a link but the search engines seem to be having a problem.

If you are going to do it for XMAS it is about the right time as it take 5 days or so to brine.

You use a joint of boneless brisket, brined in a cold spiced brine for up to a week and then simmer on the hob after a couple of rinses for 3 hours . It is melting delicious - like pastrami but more tender.

A half inch tick slice of hot salt beef in a sandwich sandwich or bagel with gherkins and mustard is pretty fantastic and brisket is cheap.

For interest I believe it is Jewish in origin as the brining removes visible traces of blood from the meat which was classed as not kosher.

Give it a go when I did it I couldnt keep my father away as he remembered it from Amercian/Italian deli's in the 60's in London

richy

ps in this recipe you dont need to use salt petre - and I agree you may get a visit from MI5 if you try to get some.

sweetnskint

i cook the meat the night before- it makes everything so much easier!

nesssie1702

I'll cook my beef the night before and reheat it on the day, but cook the turkey crown on the day itself.

Remember that meat should always be rested before it's carved and served up, so that frees up the oven for a while.