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Help!!Cooking tons of meat for party and need inspiration

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I'm cooking all the meat for a birthday party buffet for Sunday lunch. I currently have defrosted ready for cooking tomorrow and slicing:

13lb of unsmoked gammon (split in two joints)
8lb of turkey (split in two joints)
18lb of beef (split in two joints)

I have a double oven and a 6.5l slow cooker. I want the meat, particularly the beef to be very tender.

I'm losing the plot over logistics and tastiness.

1) I'm putting the turkey in one oven now for the whole evening but am worried it will dry out too much and be tasteless. Any suggestions?

2) I think I'm going to try cooking gammon joints in coke in the slow cooker, one overnight tonight and one during the day tomorrow. Q: will I need to rinse the joints in water overnight or can I just bung them in the slow cooker? For obvious reasons, that will screw me up on the cooking tomorrow unless I get up disgustingly early and start the slow cooker's first run.

3) What do I do with the beef tomorrow? Would they be better off in the same oven together or will they take too long? How can I make them extra tasty?

I've suddenly realised 85 people could sit there on Sunday thinking: "bleurch. Tough and tasteless old meat"

Help!
"carpe that diem"

Comments

  • seabright
    seabright Posts: 639 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Gammon - I just put mine in the slowcooker as they are. Quick rinse under the tap if I remember, but nothing more than that. My mum does hers in coke (a la Nigella) and that's yummy to. Neither of us soak the meat.
  • Psykicpup
    Psykicpup Posts: 1,398 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    edited 23 April 2010 at 7:45PM
    With the Beef I would seal the meat first - if you havent done this before, you just need a really hot frypan with a little oil & cook on each side quickly for a min or so until it browns slightly on the outside... try to make sure there are no red bits left or very few.
    You could also put some onions round the meat as it cooks, and or, cover with mustard, horseradish or cracked black pepper.
    Sealing the meat keeps most of the juices in giving a lovely flavour.
    Also I would cook it less than you usually would & when you take it out of the oven - should be medium rare -to test this press on the meat to feel how firm it is -(a rule of 'thumb' is that if you put your thumb & first finger together - like making the ok sign, the meaty part of your thumb when you press it with the finger of the other hand, will have the same firmness of very rare beef, 2nd finger = rare, third or ring finger is medium & your little finger is well done) cover loosley with foil & a tea-towel for at least 15-20 mins it will continue to cook gently with out drying out & will be perfectly cooked.
    You could do one plain & one flavoured as you have two & should be able to cook them both together in the same pan if you have room...
    HTH

    edit: BTW - I cook for about 15mins per pound in a medium hot oven
    I THINK is a whole sentence, not a replacement for I Know



    Supermarket Rebel No 19:T
  • Steel_2
    Steel_2 Posts: 1,649 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Thanks Seabright.

    I've just done a dash to Mr T's and before I went put the gammon in water to soak but now you've said that, I will yank it out and get it ready to cook overnight.

    Psykicpup - I never even thought about sealing it thank you! I will do that. I was going to do it 30 minutes per pound plus 30 minutes as my MIL is a real stickler for not having anything less than well done.

    I think I will have to avoid anything spicy or hot like mustard or horseradish unfortunately. A lot of the guests are elderly (it's an 80th birthday) and I know it churns my FIL guts a bit. I didn't want a sudden run on the loos by all the OAPs in the hall :rotfl:

    I'll probably stick to a bit of salt and pepper.

    I've been turning the turkey quite regularly to avoid letting it dry out and I must say it is looking really yummy.
    "carpe that diem"
  • Steel_2
    Steel_2 Posts: 1,649 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Arrgghhh. Cooked the turkey last night and cut it in half to check it was cooked through. Came down this morning and checked when cold to find the bottom outside looks pink :mad: I've chucked it back in the oven for a bit to cook longer.

    One 3kg gammon joint went into the slow cooker last night and has been cooking for around 8 hours on low.

    Is that long enough to cook it properly or will it need longer?
    "carpe that diem"
  • Psykicpup
    Psykicpup Posts: 1,398 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    How did the buffet go?
    I THINK is a whole sentence, not a replacement for I Know



    Supermarket Rebel No 19:T
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