This site saved Christmas dinner last year when I did beef, can you help with Turkey?

Olliebeak

With a turkey I would always leave the body cavity empty - unless you want to put a quartered onion/halved lemon/bunch of herbs in there for flavour! I do stuff the neck end to help keep the shape. The remainder of the stuffing goes in a dish or gets made into stuffing balls and cooked in a smaller roasting tin.

IF you do decide to stuff the body cavity you would have to re-weigh the turkey and re-calculate the cooking time to be really certain that the turkey is thoroughly cooked through.

lil_me

Phew, so much to remember. I might be best writing a list of times we have to be places, then decide when we are eating, then write a list of when everything needs to go in the oven, or I will end up naffing it all up. Hmmm, lemon, I have some spare lemons, got some herbs aswell, god knows what this is going to end up with inside it.

I will have a look in those for tins, just spoke to my Mam who works in a shop, they've ran out, eeek, I'll get one, somewhere, even if I have to borrow one!

nearlyrich, are you allowed to share the family stuffing recipe? I'm a complete stuffing addict I have absolutely no problem in making loads and eating just stuffing sandwiches when the meat runs out :rotfl:

Penelope_Penguin

kethry wrote: »

lil_me - i have only ever followed Saint Delia's instructions for Turkey.. i got mine out of the christmas book but its done me good every year i've done it.

recipes here and here.

yell if i can help / advise further!

keth
xx

Hi, lil_me :beer: I know it's too late for this year, but I'd heartily second Keth's suggestion. You can pick up Delia's Christmas book quite cheaply. It's brilliant, as it gives you precise instructions on what to do and when to do it. We use it every year, and find a Christmas dinner is hardly any more stressful than a Sunday roast.

Hope you enjoy it, and a :xmassign: to you all :xmastree: :snow_laug :rudolf: :santa2:

Penny. x

dolly_day_dream

Yet another one recommending Delia. We have used her recipe for well over 20 years and I have never had a dry turkey. She explains the whole process really well. I have cooked all types of turkey over the years from free range to cheapo frozen allways using this recipe and allways turning out well so definately follow the instructions on the website and relax - all will be fine. If you can't access the website pm me and I will send you the info from my book - a rather ancient Complete Illustrated Cookery Course. Happy Christmas

lil_me

Right, Delia's book, if one of those shops do it I am buying myself it, if not definately for next year. I suppose if it's the same as on the link Kethry posted I could just follow that if I can't find the book

Thanks everyone, I will have the laptop on in the kitchen on Christmas day, taking all of you (well your advice and help) in there with me I know I shouldn't panic but I just want to get it right

Happy Christmas to you all aswell, I will let you know how it goes

Angelraesunshine

Pollybear wrote: »

This website was mentioned in the Daily Mail television guide today:

http://www.britishturkey.co.uk/cooking/

quite a lot of helpful stuff on there.

thanks for that i was wondering how long it was gonna take me to cook my turkey and there roasting time calculator told me a fab 4 hours and 15 mins

kethry

lil_me wrote: »

Right, Delia's book, if one of those shops do it I am buying myself it, if not definately for next year. I suppose if it's the same as on the link Kethry posted I could just follow that if I can't find the book

Yep you can follow the link. The book is better, i think, because it provides more of a breakdown, which is totally absolutely invaluable - i use it every year to work out my own breakdown of what i do, when. I turn into a regular sargent major on christmas morning, strutting around with my little clock.. "roight, now the roasties go in!".. "roight, quick march to the mulled wine, everybody!".. heh, you get the idea. :rotfl:when you get the book the chapter you need is chapter 11, the last 36 hours. she breaks it right down into everything surrounding the turkey, including the turkey itself: giblet stock (I would make it, it really is worth it), stuffing, the turkey, bread sauce, rum sauce (for the pudding), when to do what things, and you just amend her timings for your own - she tells you how to do that.

for next year, you'll see the book is full of other recipes - how to cook duck, goose, ham, beef, christmas cake, christmas pudding, mince pies, your own mincemeat, really.. everything you could want for christmas!!!

good luck with it!

keth
xx

nearlyrich

lil_me wrote: »

nearlyrich, are you allowed to share the family stuffing recipe? I'm a complete stuffing addict I have absolutely no problem in making loads and eating just stuffing sandwiches when the meat runs out :rotfl:

My stuffing recipe is really simple but it always goes down well, I don't mind sharing;)

I sweat chopped onions in a pan with a lid and a little butter, add in some fresh sage roughly chopped add some stock made from either the turkey giblets or just vegetables if it's for vegetarians. whilst that's cooking I whizz up a white loaf that's been hanging around for a few days (ie not totally fresh cos it doesn't crumb up as well) in the food processor, then I add the cooked sage and onion to the breadcrumbs along with an egg to help it stick together better. Once it's all blended together I put it into a shallow dish and dot butter on it and put it into the oven with the meat for about an hour.

You can stuff it inside a turkey if you want but we have a crown these days so I have to cook it in a dish.

You can also use dried sage but I love fresh it's so strong and lovely I have had my sage plant in the kitchen for a couple of weeks and I keep trying it in other dishes :j


I am another follower of Delia I have the Christmas book and I get the butcher to write the exact weights of all my meats on a piece of card which I use to work out the cooking times before I hit the cooking sherry LOL. I have a plan, which I follow on Christmas day, lunch for 16 at 1pm so I need to know what I have to do when LOL.

cdodd

sausage meat stuffing recipe

This is what I do;-
1 1b sausagemeat
2 onions chopped
6-8 slices white bread made into breadcrumbs (250g)
2 tspn dried sage
1 egg, beaten
Salt & pepper

Mix all ingredients together
Either stuff in neck end of turkey or shape into balls and cook around turkey or in separate tin for 30 minutes OR
Pack into 900g/2 1b loaf tin, turn onto baking sheet and cook for 30 mins until crisp at the edges.
I do the latter and then slice, great for turkey and stuffing sarnies and yes lil_me I could just eat stuffing sarnies too

D&DD

lil_me I'm sure it'll be delicious I think all the hype makes everyone so nervous of cooking turkey its all added stress!!
I did ours today and will whack it in the micro to reheat it for dinner always do this so I don't have too much to do on the day as I'm always at my parents from 9 til 1 :eek:
*must confess to having had a minor glitch upon finding a second set of giblets still in the neck cavity halfway through cooking it tho* :rotfl: