Nici Wickes: Christmas Turkey Tips

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

I’m still stuck on turkey for Christmas! I never think we’ll include it in the menu but in the end it just screams ‘festive season’, and I can’t resist.

How to keep the darn thing from drying out?

• Stuff stuff under the skin of the breast – herb butter, chopped spinach, sausage, bacon.
• Consider using a large oven bag to cook it in.
• Rest the cooked bird on its breast so that the juices all run into the white meat.
• Brining can work too, but who has the time or fridge space to do it!

Stuffing:

• Breadcrumbs as a base with herbs, onions etc – make sure you soak the crumbs in milk.
• Sausage or ground meat
• Rice & mushrooms
• Chorizo and corn bread
• Consider a punch of sweetness like currants, apples or cranberries.

Gravy:

The roasting dish scrapings are your best friend, so always add in some halved onions and oil at the start of the cooking.

1. Once cooked, remove the turkey and set aside to rest.
2. Sprinkle ¼ cup plain flour into the roasting dish, mix to a paste with the fat and pan scrapings.
3. Add a splash of wine or bubbles and simmer for 1 minute then add in stock, vege water or plain water and seasoning and whisk or stir for 5-6 minutes until you have a dark, lump free gravy.

Leftovers:

• Make a pie.
• Fry turkey meat and leftover veges in a pan, drizzle in some pomegranate molasses and once a little crispy scatter over some lettuce or baby spinach leaves for a fab salad.
• Serve lettuce, warmed turkey and gravy in soft white rolls.

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