Oven Roasted Turkey And All The Trappings Of Xmas Day
Over 80% of UK families have roasted turkey on Xmas Day. They simply would not have anything else but roast turkey and all the trimmings. It is the commonest meat eaten at Xmas.
In order not to contract salmonella food poisoning turkey must be cooked completely and if a frozen bird has been chosen it must be well defrosted before cooking.
Today most turkeys come ready to put in the oven, there’s no need to gut or pluck feathers although the giblets will need removing from a plastic bag that will have been placed inside the cavity of the turkey. Boil the giblets in a saucepan and the stock can be used to make delicious gravy. The cooked liver can be chopped up finely and used in the stuffing.
If the turkey is going to be stuffed the turkey will take much longer to cook completely and time must be allowed for this. Cooking times will also be increased if the legs are trussed up inside the bird. Streaky bacon should be placed over the breast of the turkey and the whole bird should be wrapped in aluminium foil. The foil should only be removed when the carcass is fully cooked to crisp and brown off the skin.. And don’t fprget the gravy boat for that perfect turkey gravy.
If the dish holding the oven is not large enough the fat and juices will ooze out and make a mess in the oven. Place the turkey on the bottom shelf of the oven. If the turkey is placed in an oven that is too hot, the meat will only cook on the outside and will be raw inside. Light meat does not take as long to cook as dark so the turkey should be placed inside the oven legs first as the back of an oven tends to be hotter. The best cutting boards will hold a full size bird
Don’t forget to ask family and friends round before Christmas Day. Make sure all other preparations are well advanced on Xmas Eve. Get up very early on Christmas Day to get the oven cooked turkey cooking. When everything is ready open the drinks, sit everyone down and enjoy the meal. Wash the dishes another day!
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 3:49 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.