How to Cook a Turkey & my Favourite Stuffing Recipe

The turkey is the centrepiece of both the traditional Christmas Dinner, Thanksgiving Dinner and the 4th of July Dinner and it's great for any other special occasion, which is why cooking it properly is so important. Mess it up and not even the best side dishes will save you! 

Turkey is becoming very popular because it is relatively low in cholesterol and high in vitamins that boost the immune system. It's also very juicy and tasty! 

So here are some tips on how to prepare & cook your perfect Turkey! 

A juicy & tender whole roasted turkey really does add to the sense of occasion at Christmas or Any time!

1. First things first. Buy a Fresh Turkey if you can. Don't buy a turkey that has been pre-stuffed as mishandling or incorrect cooking can cause bacteria to multiply inside the stuffing.

2. It's so important that if you're buying a frozen bird, that you thaw your turkey completely before cooking. If it’s done improperly, bacteria can multiply to a point where even oven temperatures won't be able to kill all of them off. This can cause food poisoning. 
The safest thing to do is to thaw your turkey in the fridge, but if you don't have the room, put it into a roasting tray in a cool room, covered with a dry cloth until it defrosts. You should leave the turkey in its original wrapper until you're ready to cook it.

3. If you're placing the turkey in the fridge (raw meat should always go the bottom shelf) also put it on a tray to catch all the juices that may leak out.  It takes approximately 2 days for a 15 pound turkey to fully defrost.

4. Don't wash your Turkey. The water splashing around will spread more bacteria than you are washing off it.

5. Add some extra flavour by loosely filling the cavity of the bird with some peeled vegetables like carrots, celery, onion & garlic which work great together. 

6. Before roasting, coat the outside of the turkey with real butter and season it with sea-salt and ground black pepper. Cover the complete bird with streaky bacon to add more flavour and to keep it from browning too much. Don’t forget to cover the legs too!

7. Loosely cover the complete bird with tin foil and scrunch it up around the edge of the tray. Once you get the turkey in the oven, resist the temptation to open the oven door! Every time you open the door the temperature drops and all the moisture escapes increasing the likelihood of a dry bird.

8. Have your oven Pre-heated to 180°C (170°C for fan assisted ovens), 365°F, so that the turkey is going into a hot oven.

The simple rules for Turkey cooking times are: 

If it weighs Less than 4kg (8½Lbs) weight cook for 20 minutes per kg
then add 70 minutes extra time.

If it weighs More than 4kg (8½Lbs) weight cook for 20 minutes per kg
and add 90 minutes extra time.

• To Convert Pounds (lbs) to Kilograms (kg) multiply by 0.46
• To Convert Kilograms (kg) to Pounds (lbs) multiply by 2.2

Here's a cooking Time example:
20 lbs weight Turkey = 20 x 0.46 = 9.2kg weight

9.2 kg x 20mins =184 minutes.
Add 90 = 274 minutes. 
Divide this by 60 (minutes in an hour) = 4 hours and 35 minutes Turkey Cooking Time.

8. About 30 minutes before the turkey should be done, remove the foil from the breast to crisp up the skin.

9. Test the turkey using a sharp pointed knife by inserted the knife the meaty area above the top of the leg. Push in the blade and the gently ease down on it. Juice from the turkey will run down the blade.
If the juices run clear then it is cooked. If there are traces of pink in it give it another half an hour in the oven and test it again.

If you have a cooking thermometer ensure that the centre of the thickest parts return a temp of 75°C.

10. After you take the turkey out of the oven let it rest, under the loosened foil, for about 15 minutes before carving. This lets the hot juices relax and spread evenly through the meat, giving a moist and juicy bird.

No. 11. Relax and Don't Panic... :)

My Favourite Stuffing Mix

This is a stuffing recipe that I have used for years. It is versatile and adaptable and can be used with any type of meat. This makes enough for 8 people - generous portions!

This is my recipe but you can add whatever herbs you like to your stuffing!

My Ingredients:

250g (10oz) butter

200g (8oz) diced onion

100g (4oz) diced red onion

100g (4oz) grated carrot

1 tblsp chopped thyme

1 tblsp chopped parsley

1/2 tspn cracked black pepper

2 cloves garlic diced

1 tablespoon of Mixed herbs

300g (12oz) white breadcrumbs made with crusts and all

300g (12oz) wholemeal breadcrumbs made with crusts and all
Use Gluten Free Bread if you wish

My Method:

1. Simply place the butter and all other ingredients, except the crumbs, on a medium heat and cook gently, stirring, until the onions and other veg are soft.

2. Add the breadcrumbs and mix in well until the crumbs have absorbed all the butter and juices.

3. If the stuffing feels a little dry (depending on the type of day, the weather, the heat of the kitchen or one of another hundred amazingly uncontrollable conditions) I tend to add a little splash of my favourite white wine at this stage and mix well and then add a little of the cooking juices from the cooked turkey just before serving.

Enjoy your Turkey!

zack

There are Turkeys Roaming Free (range) in the Boyne Valley

If you know Olivia Duff, you'll know that she really is a very busy woman! She is a dynamic character who passionately promotes Irish and in particular county Meath produce at every opportunity. When managing the award winning family run hotel, The Headfort Arms, in Kells, she strives to serve the best of Irish food in all food service areas of the business. An example of this being their unique menu, served in the Vanilla Pod restaurant, in which all the ingredients are sourced within a 30-mile radius of the hotel.

Olivia Duff is passionate about telling the story of great Irish food

Olivia is one of the driving forces behind the Meath Food Showcase and the Meath Food Trail Package. This trail offers visitors an opportunity to visit local producers and on returning to the hotel, an opportunity to enjoy the 'Meath Menu' featuring food from the rich sources of the Boyne Valley. She is also one of the Failte Ireland Food Champions and is dedicated to helping others tell their own 'food story'.

Her passion for food has led her family to breeding turkeys, rare breed pigs and sheep, supplying their artisan produce directly from their farm to the consumer. Maperath Farm is a small mixed farm, just outside Kells, which is committed to involving the customer in the full story of food production and they take great pride in this story. With her husband, Eoin Sharkey, a former builder and keen horseman, they have created an atmosphere of honest farming, one that invites the customer to discover where their food comes from. Whether that is a newly born lamb or a day old chick, visitors can follow the process of the meat from the farm directly to the table.

All the animals on Maperath Farm are traditionally reared and enjoy fodder crop (the first poultry farm in Ireland to do so) alongside natural feeds and acres of free range lifestyle. New for 2015 will see Maperath Farm's ‘Lamb in a Box’ which will offer the customer a chance to order a full lamb direct from the farm. This will be then custom-butchered to the customer wishes and presented in a box, ready to eat or for the freezer. This year also sees expansion of their brand to include Maperath Farm Christmas Relish & Chutneys.

Maperath Farm ‘Lamb in a Box’ will be available in 2015

The farm produces rare breed pigs, grass fed lamb and poultry, but it is the Free Range Turkeys & Geese which are the main event at this time of year. With huge demand for their birds, it proves that consumers in Ireland really do care about the welfare, rearing and production of their food.

Olivia's husband, Eoin, believes in honest food direct from the farm

Maperath Farm is unique because it represents a true model of Sustainable Farming, incorporating models of high animal welfare, natural feed products and low levels of intensity. It also represents a real concept of ‘honest food direct from the farm’. Customers can order their own lamb, turkey or goose knowing that it is traditionally reared, then processed and butchered locally.

Olivia and Eoin's farm offers premium product which involves the customer throughout the full story of farm to the table. The long-term vision for Maperath Farm is to expand into a unique Free Range mixed farm which will involve its customers from day one in the production of food. Customers will be invited to visit their food as it grows and for the farm to become a Food Tourism Destination as part of the Boyne Valley.

The free range lifestyle of any bird is reflected in the quality and flavour of the meat

Maperath Farm has a limited number of their free range Turkeys and Geese available over the next few months, but they're going fast! Contact the Farm today on 087 902 7070 or see www.facebook.com/maperathfarm

Zack

See my 10 Tips on How to Cook a Turkey & my Favourite Stuffing Recipe here: www.irishfoodguide.ie/2011/12/10-tips-for-perfect-turkey-my-stuffing.html

WIN an amazing Christmas Hamper from Hampers & Co.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED - Winner: Val Robus @magnumlady on Twitter

Hampers & Co. is a Luxury online Hamper & Gift retailer set up by Emer Purcell. They ship their hampers all over the world. For over 21 years, they've sourced, designed, packaged and delivered beautifully presented hampers of exceptional quality for both individual orders & Corporate clients.

Read on to find out how you can Win a Christmas Hamper from Hampers & Co. that will be delivered in time for Christmas Day, anywhere in Ireland or the UK!

Emer and her team work very closely with their producers to create a wonderful selection of Irish Food Hampers & Gift Baskets. On their website www.HampersAndCo.com you will also find great Irish cheeses, delicious Irish chocolates, superior Irish relishes & preserves & melt in the mouth Irish cakes & biscuits.

They source their wines directly from boutique vineyards so they won’t be found on any supermarket shelf.
They also take time and considerable care when combining foods & culinary gifts & only use products that they feel will be enjoyed by the recipients.

Hampers & Co. source all their products from exceptional, award-winning and high quality Irish Artisan food Producers and from small indigenous international food suppliers. They also use eco-friendly biodegradable packaging which can even be washed down the sink!

So whatever the reason for giving a gift – business, baby, birthday, anniversary or just because, they guarantee to provide a gift or hamper that will be remembered and very much appreciated. If you're ordering a hamper on behalf of your company, it is nice to know that when you “Create Your Own” bespoke Hamper or Gift to your unique requirements, there’s no danger of your clients or staff receiving the same gift from another source, or in the following year, or at the next conference event!

WIN this amazing Christmas Hamper from Hampers & Co.

Emer, at Hampers & Co. has given us a wonderful Christmas Hamper to give away here on the Irish Food Guide Blog and they will deliver it anywhere in Ireland and the UK.

To Enter the Draw Click the Hampers & Co. Facebook Like button and/or their Twitter Follow button below and tell Emer how much you'd like to Win the Christmas Hamper.

Like Hampers & Co. on Facebook

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This Draw is also being run on the Irish Food Guide Twitter - Enter by Re-Tweeting the Competition Tweet.

This Draw will take place on Sunday 13 December and the winner will receive the prize of the Christmas Hamper delivered by Hampers & Co. in time for Christmas Day!

For full details of the contents of this Hamper go to www.HampersAndCo.com

Good Luck everyone!

My Easy to Make Christmas Pudding and Brandy Custard

Hi!

Christmas pudding is also known as plum pudding because of the abundance of prunes in it! This rich tasty pudding is boiled or steamed, made of a mixture of fresh or dried fruit, nuts and suet (beef or mutton fat). Vegetarian suet may also be used.

This pudding is very dark and is saturated with whiskey or brandy, dark beer, or other alcohols. They used to be boiled in a "pudding cloth," but today they are usually made in pudding bowls.

You can't beat a Traditional Christmas Pudding flamed with Irish Whiskey

People have always stirred lucky charms into their Christmas pudding mixture for good luck similar to Halloween Barmbracks.
These were always:
silver coins (for wealth), tiny silver wishbones (for good luck), a silver thimble (for thrift), a gold ring (for marriage) or an anchor (for safe harbour)
and whoever got the lucky serving, would keep the charm!

Ready-made and cooked puddings are now available in the shops but they will never compete with the pleasure that comes with the flavour of your own Christmas Pudding!

Here's my easy to make Christmas Pudding recipe with a whiskey/brandy custard cream too!

My Ingredients:

125g ready-to-eat prunes, chopped

225g raisins

225g currants

225g sultanas

Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

50g chopped almonds

1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and grated

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated

225g demerara sugar

225g suet (I use vegetable suet rather than beef)

125g fresh white breadcrumbs

125g plain flour

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

3 eggs

150ml Stout

1 tbsp black treacle

35ml Irish Whiskey or Brandy

It sounds like a lot of work - but the Christmas Pudding is very easy to make!

My Method:

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.

2. Whisk the eggs, stout, whiskey or brandy and black treacle together and stir into the mixture.

3. Cover and leave to stand overnight in a cool place.

4. Butter three x 600ml pudding bowls and put a circle of grease-proof paper in the base.

5. Pack the mixture into the bowls and smooth the top. Leave about 2.5 cm space to the top of the bowl.

6. Cut a double layer of grease-proof paper into a 30cm circle. Cover each pudding with the paper and tie with string around the edge. Tie another piece of string across the top of the pudding so that it can be easily lifted in and out of the pan.

7. Put the bowls into a heavy-based saucepan (placing an up-turned plate in the bottom of the pot first, to raise the pudding bowls off the bottom of the pot). Pour boiling water around the edge until it comes two-thirds of the way up the sides of the bowls. Cover with a lid and simmer for 3 hours. Top up the pot with boiling water to the starting level every hour.

8. Lift out the puddings after 3 hours and let them cool. Put on a new grease-proof or parchment cover and then cover tightly with foil.

9. Store in a cool dark place until Christmas. The puddings will keep for up to six months.

10. To serve cut into portion sizes and heat in a microwave, on full power, for 1 minute until piping hot. Warm two tablespoons of whiskey or brandy in a small saucepan. Set alight and carefully pour over the pudding. Serve with my flavoured custard cream (see recipe below).

Christmas Pudding with a Brandy Custard Cream!

Brandy Custard Cream

This is a very simple and tasty Christmas cream that I prefer to serve with my Christmas Pudding more than anything else!..

Whip 250ml cream until it holds a figure eight shape and stir it into 250ml of cold custard (you can make this yourself or buy it pre-made). Pour in 35ml (one shot) of Irish Whiskey or brandy and add a pinch of grated nutmeg and stir until smooth.

This can also be served over warmed mince pies for a delightful change to the usual! Enjoy!

Zack

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