This is Kent --A hhhh, Christmas dinner conjures up lovely images of roast turkey with all the trimmings… or does it?
Some of us find it hard to get excited about the idea of yet another traditional dish on Christmas Day and long for an alternative festive feast.
But don't go thinking you have to have pizza and chips if you don't fancy a classic turkey roast. There are so many wonderful ways to cook a turkey which will satisfy the most choosy of palates.
Feast your eyes on these mouthwatering recipes from www.britishturkey.co.uk , where you can also find lots more ideas, cooking tips, leftover inspiration, videos and advice from celebrity chefs.
Ingredients
1 x 800g / 1lb 12oz British turkey breast roll joint
4-5 tbsp redcurrant jelly
1 tbsp oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
50g / 2oz button mushrooms, wiped and sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
225g / 8oz streaky bacon
Flat leaf parsley and fresh red currants to garnish
Preparation time: 12 mins
Cooking time: 86 mins
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ Gas Mark 4, 10 minutes before roasting. Weight the joint and calculate the cooking time at 20 minutes per kg + 70 minutes at the end. Wipe the turkey joint and reserve. Warm the redcurrant jelly until smooth and brush 1-2 tbsp over the turkey.
Heat the oil in a pan and gently sauté the onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for further 2 minutes. Add seasoning to taste and the chopped parsley and arrange on top of the turkey.
Arrange the streaky bacon across the mushroom topping so that the mushrooms are completely encased. Place in a roasting tin and cook in the oven for the calculated cooking time. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes. When ready to serve, warm the remaining redcurrant jelly and pour over the joint, garnish and serve with freshly cooked vegetables and gravy.
Ingredients
For the stuffing:
1 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
2 onions, chopped
2 large sprigs rosemary, leaves only, chopped
100g cooked wild and long grain rice
50g dried cranberries
100g dried apricots, roughly chopped
175g fresh white breadcrumbs
6 good quality pork and herb sausages, skinned
1 lemon, finely grated rind
1 egg, beaten
For the turkey:
5.6kg British turkey, thawed if frozen, giblets removed
1 lemon, halved
1 bay leaf
50g butter
1/2 tsp saffron threads
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 202 mins
Method
Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan and fry the onion and rosemary for 5-6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining stuffing ingredients until well combined. Season.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the saffron threads and leave to cool slightly.
Push some of the stuffing into the neck end of the bird packing it right up to the breast meat. Secure the neck skin with cocktail sticks. Roll the remaining stuffing into balls (these can be cooked separately for 30 minutes).
Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time at 20 minutes per kg + 90 minutes at the end. Push the lemon halves and bayleaf into the cavity and place in a roasting tin. Brush the whole bird with the saffron butter and season well.
Cover with foil and roast. Remove the foil and baste with any remaining saffron butter and roast uncovered for the last hour of cooking time. To check to see if the turkey is cooked push a metal skewer into the thickest part of the leg - if the juices run clear the turkey is cooked if the juices are slightly pink pop back into the oven for a further 15 minutes. Cover with foil and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving. Reported by This is 9 hours ago.