The most important thing you should know about Turkeys

stefejb

julieq wrote: »

The best advice, Vicky, is to keep your sense of humour and not to try to make everything perfect.

I

brilliant advice - some of our best christmas dinner memories are the times it went wrong - like the time i was doing the dinner out of GH magazine - about an hour from the end I read for the first time, despite what I thought was a thorough read-through, "now in your second oven ..... :eek: ", or the time that the veggie centrepeice refused to set after 3 hours in the oven and the time that i was cooking at MIL's house. She went to pick up the rack of lamb form the butchers on christmas eve that she'd reserved only to find that there'd been a mix-up their end and what we got was lamb chops LOL

aliasojo

stefejb wrote: »

I read for the first time, despite what I thought was a thorough read-through, "now in your second oven ..... :eek: ",

:rotfl: ............................

x_raphael_xx

Really really really dumb question...Would this work for a goose as well??

I have limited space in my oven and if I can pre-cook the goose and keep it warm this would be a great help! (Never cooked a goose before!!)

If I cook it and then cover it in foil on a plate do I carve it first? Or is it better to cover it 'intact'?

competitionscafe

x_raphael_xx wrote: »

If I cook it and then cover it in foil on a plate do I carve it first? Or is it better to cover it 'intact'?

No carve it just before serving but rest it before carving.

competitionscafe

julieq wrote: »

The best advice, Vicky, is to keep your sense of humour and not to try to make everything perfect.

Well said. I think HFW summed it up well in his article last week:

"We expect so much of Christmas lunch. It's only a meal, yet we load it with the responsibility of spreading happiness, creating memories, building bridges and strengthening ties. The hopes and fears of all the years are placed squarely on the turkeys' "shoulders", and the burden's too hard for the poor old bird to bear. The other tradition is that you half kill yourself getting the meal to the table, and that's not for me. I'm all for the comfort of the familiar, the calm of certainty, but I want to create my own body- and soul-feeding traditions. I want to have fun, open presents with the kids, peel a chestnut, pull a cracker."

"This week, I'm pressing you to take a fresh look at Christmas lunch. What does your heart, or indeed stomach, truly desire? Well, that's what you should cook"

..........................At Christmas, everything around us urges excess, but me, I'm urging pleasure, and surely there's nothing more festive than that."

:T
From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/dec/13/fearnley-whittingstall-deer-christmas-recipes

:xmassign:

blueberrypie

x_raphael_xx wrote: »

Really really really dumb question...Would this work for a goose as well??

I have limited space in my oven and if I can pre-cook the goose and keep it warm this would be a great help! (Never cooked a goose before!!)

If I cook it and then cover it in foil on a plate do I carve it first? Or is it better to cover it 'intact'?

Yes, it will work.

Cook, rest, carve - the juices are apparently forced towards the centre of the bird (or any joint or piece of meat) by the heat of the oven, amd allowing it to rest lets them redistribute throughout it. You'll probably find it easier to carve after resting it too.

The length of time you rest it isn't critical - experts recommend anything from 20 minutes to over an hour. Decide based on when everything else is ready