Christmas Lunch















Christmas Lunch is always a challenge. Lots of mouths to feed, often a tight time line, and coordinating everything so it is on the plate at the same time...Our menu this year was....

Roast Whole Turkey with stuffing
Ham
Green Beans with Onion, Bacon and Almonds
Crushed potatoes
Roast Butternut Pumpkin



Turkey and stuffing

This recipe came from my mum, and I'm pretty sure that it was the way my grandmother prepared Christmas dinner. My brother and myself have both used this with great success on various Christmas days. [This recipe feeds about 14 people] Dinner time is set for 1.30pm.










Ingredients
1 Whole Turkey [we used an 8kg fresh Turkey]
20 rashers middle bacon

Stuffing Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped ham
3 cups breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
3 spoons melted butter
750g sausage meat
3 beaten eggs
2 slices of white bread
Handful of chopped parsley

Method
8.45am
Wake up and go straight to the Kitchen. Preheat the oven to 160ºC on the Fan Forced setting.
Firstly make the stuffing. Mix together all the ingredients above and place inside both cavities [front and back] Once stuffed cover the cavities with a slice of bread to hold the stuffing in place. Tie the turkey legs together and string the wings close to the body of the bird. Cover the outside of the turkey, including the legs, with the bacon rashers. This helps keep the turkey moist throughout it's lengthy ordeal in the oven!
9.15am
Grease the roasting an with a little oil and place the turkey in the oven
12.00pm
Remove the bacon from the outside of the turkey and return the turkey to the oven. I normally chomp on some of the crispy bacon bits while I start to get the vegetables ready.
12.30pm
Remove the turkey from the oven and wrap it n foil and a blanket.
1.30pm
Carve. I like to remove the breasts from the turkey in two whole pieces and then slice them into individual large medallions. This keeps the meat warm during serving and maintains its moisture. Plus it's easier.... and looks great.

Gravy is made with the nice cooked on bits in the bottom of the pan with some stock, flour butter and wine.

Serve the turkey in the centre of the plate with the sliced stuffing and leg ham along with a good slosh of piping hot gravy. Put your vegetables [beans,potatoes,pumpkin] in a couple of bowls and put them on the table for the guests to serve themselves. Not only does this add to the festive food sharing environment, it also makes your job easier as you don't have to divide everything up in the kitchen.




Comments

  1. How long should I cook the turkey if it is a smaller bird, say 4.5kg?

    ReplyDelete

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