xmas turkey

[mentality]

hi everyone. I,m cooking a xmas dinner this year for first time ever, and am dreading it! not the greatest of cooks as it is. Am cooking for 7, and jus wonder if any1 can give me any useful tips for cooking the turkey and prep stuffing etc.. I am wondering whether to cook it overnight xmas eve, to save stress and time in the morn? Any ideas thanks x

[welshlibranr]

It's a personal choice really, but I like to cook mine on Christmas morning, have a look on the ITV 'This Morning' website, Phil Vickery gave some really good tips on cooking your Turkey in a shorter time, and a really good recipe for stuffing too, I'm going to try them both, hope this helps, Have a lovely Christmas.......................welsh

[sara3]

if you cook it overnight it will taste like cardboard!

work out what time you want to eat, then work out a timetable, eg;

10.45am - turkey in oven
12pm - potatoes on to boil, oiled tray in oven
12.15 - potatoes in oven
12.45 - brussels on
12.50 - carrots on etc etc.....

make sure you've included all the food needed! and don't forget to allow for leaving the turkey to stand before carving.

you can prepare veg as you're going along, but don't panic.. it's just like any other (biggish!) meal :o)

[puddicat]

Times have changed its less stressful,u are only cooking for 7 not the nation,get a turkey that serves up to 10,it will have cooking instructions,for that amount of people hardly any you could cook it in the morning and let it rest!!!

[wakeover]

I usually put the bird in the oven on a low heat at about midnight Christmas eve and turn it up about 1 hour before being served...that's half an hour on full and half to rest. The beauty of this is that you wake up to the gorgeous smell of roast turkey wafting through the house.............................................................and not a hint of cardboard when devoured.

[Lucy-Thomas]

The most important thing is the weight of your turkey. You should allow 20 minutes per pound plus 20 minutes. To serve 7 people I would buy a 10lb turkey. If you stuff the bird, you will probably add 2lb of stuffing bringing the total weight to 12lb. Therefore the cooking time would be 260 minutes or 4 hours and 20 minutes.

A turkey this size should also rest for at least 20 minutes and a good tip is to let it rest breast side down. that way all the juices run into the breast meat and keep them moist.

Remember that you can stuff the bird on Christmas eve and keep it in your fridge. So if you plan on eating at 1pm then you should put the turkey on at about 8.20am. Not too early and if you have young children, you will be up long before that.

Good luck.

[funnygirl]

I cover my turkey in bacon and baste it regularly.

I don't like my stuffing inside the bird, so I cook mine separately.

I cook mine, normally a smallish turkey for about 4 hrs on maybe number 5 in a gas oven.

[terambulan]

Place salted turkey in Gas 6 on its breast at 6pm Xmas eve. At 10pm turn turkey over to cook breast & place foil on breast to protect from drying. At 11pm poke skewer into turkey to check for bleeding. Another half hour without foil to crisp breast - done! Par boil spuds & root vegs (keep water for gravy stock) ready for roasting Christmas morning.

Remove turkey from oven to cool, replace foil on top to keep moist. Easier to carve when cooled

I roast stuffing in own dish. Vegs etc can be roasted & done xmas morning. Heat plates in oven - bon apetite!

[Brooksy]

I believe the Americans soak their birds for 12 hours in brine (cup of salt in 1 gallon water.before cooking which makes for tender, easy to carve meat instead of the dry, crumbly result sometimes obtained. These days, to reduce the risk of salmonella, it is not recommended to stuff the cavity. I usually put streaky bacon slices on top & loosely cover with foil until the last 1/2 to 3/4 hour. Perhaps the handy Clanad could comment on the soaking if she spots this.

[funnygirl]

I saw Nigella do that in one of her cookery programmes.

Apparently she filled a clean bucket with water and various herbs n spices, such as bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns etc and left the bird over night!!

[angiebaby57]

If you can get hold of the Jamie Oliver Xmas DVD you will find it a great help! My husband always does the lunch for us and he says that this DVD was invaluable - lots of handy hints and time saving ideas. Our lunch was amazing last year so I can highly recommend it. The DVD should be pretty cheap as it came out about 2 years ago. I prefer our Turkey to be cooked on Xmas Day as otherwise it can be a bit dry. Another trick is to roast it up-side down for 75-80% of the cooking time...this way, all the juices run to the breast meat! I would never stuff the cavity of a large turkey, only the neck...cook stuffing seperately.
I would also recommend that you sit down a week before the event and write yourself a schedule, including all the jobs you can do on Xmas Eve. Everything from what time you need to peel the carrots to when you will lay the table, when to put the spuds in, etc, etc. It really does help..it takes a bit of time to formulate, but I always do it for dinner parties as it really helps to keep things organised and reduces my stress levels. I always peel the veggies the day before and leave them in a cool place, in cold water. Its all in the planning! The very best of luck!

[thugulike]

I cook mine upside down so that all the juices run to the breast. (If the profanity filter removes that word it is the white meat). I can't help with timings as I buy a local (Penrith) fresh turkey and they cook very quickly.

[hammerman]

If you mix up a pack of softened butter with some lemon juice and chopped lemon thyme, and then, try to slip your hand under the turkey skin so it seperates from the breast, you can then pack the butter mix under the skin.

I roast for half the time "normal" way up so all the butter melts down and then turn the turkey over for the second half and cook upside down so all the juices flow back into the turkey.

Cram the turkey cavity with quatered onions, quatered lemons and loads of herbs such as thyme, rosemary and oregano.

I always cook my turkey on christmas eve and keep it covered in foil until xmas day.

[woozer]

Try the Nigella recipe mentioned by someone else - the brining really works - I did it last year and the turkey was beautifully moist and tasty - even I enjoyed it and I dont really like hot turkey!

[johntywino]

Try the "British Turkey" site !