The Perfect Christmas Turkey
Published on: December 22, 2011 – 02:27
By Mini Ribeiro
What is a Christmas without the traditional roast turkey with all its trimmings? Goans look forward to their Turkey on Christmas and many order it in advance. Cooking the perfect Christmas turkey is a precise and time-consuming operation.
But before that, selecting the right one and brining it before roasting it to enhance the flavour and leaving it moist is equally important. Enjoy it with cranberry compote and wine
Roasted turkey on Christmas is a British tradition; but many in India also follow it. I am not a great one for turkey, but ventured into trying one last Christmas in Goa at a friend’s place. She had a marvellous recipe. Not too many breadcrumbs, but lots of tasty ingredients from sausage meat to streaky bacon, orange, apple, lemon, onion, garlic, celery, apple juice, chicken seasoning and a few chopped chestnuts. She had painstakingly stuffed both ends. It was delicious. And I succumbed.
Turkey is popular in Goa as part of an elaborate Christmas meal and definitely has a strong seasonal association. It is not commonly seen on hotel menus throughout the year and is overshadowed by other meats, but is a must-have on Christmas. “Apart from local guests, we have a lot of guests coming from England, Germany and France for whom Christmas is never complete without a turkey,” reveals Shimmjit Bhaskaran, Sous Chef, The Zuri Whitesands, Goa. Other than Five Star hotels, many local caterers and housewives take orders in advance to supply Roast Turkey on Christmas.
Selecting the right turkey is critical. “A fresh healthy turkey weighing around 8-11kgs should be selected. One should always check and get a turkey usually under 12-15 months as an over 12-month turkey is very difficult to roast,” explains Chef Bhaskaran.
Sangeet Kundancherry, Sous Chef, The Park, Candolim Beach, says, “Few things that are quintessential for enjoying a roast turkey for Christmas dinner include: brine – it is the pickling liquor that is used to keep the turkey soft and tender after it is roasted, marinade – is the mixture of ingredients for giving the final taste and texture to the turkey after it is roasted, Stuffing – the mixture of ingredients that is stuffed inside the turkey, accompaniments – the side dishes that are served along with turkey.”
Putting the bird in brine for 4 to 8 hours is indeed helpful. You’ll be surprised how good and moist it turns out.
Chef Bhaskaran agrees, “It is best cooked when it is first braised in stock water with mirepoix (sautéed chopped vegetables to add flavour to sauces), along with marination of salt, pepper and fresh rosemary herb for 10 minutes and then again marinated with mirepoix, olive oil, orange juice, rosemary, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, white wine and brandy and kept to rest for the whole night and on Christmas eve, it is roasted in the oven for at least one hour or till it is 90 per cent done. Finally, it is put for barbeque grilling where it is fully done and the same is carved and served.”
So enjoy your Christmas lunch with a Roast turkey. Don’t forget to pair it with cranberry sauce, or roast potatoes or maple glazed baby carrots. A glass of Pinot Noir if you enjoy red wine or the white wine, Pinot Gris to go with it, will enhance the gourmet experience. Bon appetit!
(Mini Ribeiro is Food Writer & Columnist)
Classic Roast Turkey recipe
by Sangeet Kundancherry,
Sous Chef, The Park on Candolim
Ingredients:
A 6.5 kilogram turkey, which is kept for 24 hrs in brine; 175 grams (g) of butter (this will need to be adjusted if you have a different sized turkey); 3.5 litres (ltr) of stuffing (this will need to be adjusted if you have a different sized turkey); 4 cups of water or turkey stock; salt, ground pepper, 5 chopped carrots, 500g of frozen, mixed vegetables, 500g of chopped mushrooms, 3 large, chopped onions, 3 large, chopped bell peppers
Method: Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 220°C. Remove the giblets from the middle of the turkey. Add the bread stuffing. You should put two thirds in the neck end between the neck and skin and then tuck the neck flap against the back of the bird, securing it with a skewer. Then, flip the turkey over and tuck in the wings. Then put the remaining third of stuffing in the body cavity. When stuffing the turkey, ensure you do not pack it in too tightly. Once the turkey is fully stuffed, you will need to tie the legs together using some heavy duty kitchen twine. Put the marination on the turkey before it is roasted. Place the turkey in a roasting tin.
Place any remaining stuffing in an oven proof bowl and cover this with foil. Spread 175g of softened butter over the turkey’s skin. Add the carrot, mushroom, onion and pepper to the roasting tin. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the buttered turkey and vegetables. Pour two cups of water or turkey stock into the roasting tin. Place the turkey in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes. Remove the turkey and baste it with the juices at the bottom of the roasting tin. Reduce the oven temperature to170°C and place the turkey back in the oven to cook for a further 3½ hours.
Every 30 minutes remove the turkey from the oven and baste it with the juices at the bottom of the roasting tin. Increase the temperature of the oven to 200°C and cook the turkey and stuffing for a further 30 minutes. Remove the turkey and pierce the thigh to see if the juices run clear. Keep testing for readiness every 10 minutes. Once the juices do run clear, insert your meat thermometer into the turkey along the breast bone and check that the temperature is between 71°Cand 74°C. Then insert your meat thermometer into the turkey leg and check that the temperature is 180°F (82°C). Once the turkey is ready cover it and the vegetables in foil and leave them to stand for 45 minutes.
Place the bowl of remaining stuffing into the oven and cook for 20 minutes at gas mark 4, 180°C and then 20 minutes at 200°C. Then remove the stuffing and check that the top is golden brown. If not put the bowl of stuffing back in the oven and keep testing for readiness every 5 minutes. Once ready take the stuffing out of the oven, remove the foil and add the stuffing from inside the turkey to the bowl. Carve the turkey and serve with a portion of vegetables from the roasting tin, some gravy and some stuffing.
Turkey marinade
3 tablespoons of garlic paste, 2 teaspoons of black pepper, 2 teaspoons of salt, Worcestershire sauce 30 ml, Juice of one large lime, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder, ½ teaspoon of clove and cardamom powder, 2 teaspoon of dry rosemary, 4 to5 tablespoons of honey for glazing
Method
Clean a turkey that weighs about four kilos, but make sure the skin doesn’t split. Remove the neck right down to the wishbone. Put all ingredients in a marinating pan (except the honey). Rub the marinade inside the cavity, over the skin and over the turkey’s breast and thighs. Then stuff the turkey. Tie the bottom cavity and legs together with a cotton thread. Leave it for eight hours but turn it over after every hour. Set oven to 200 degrees, put a sheet of foil on the baking pan and oil it. Place the turkey on its back, drizzle with oil and put in the oven to bake for 3.5 hours. Drizzle with its own juice every 20 minutes. After 1.5 hours, cover the leg and breast with foil. After 3.5 hours remove turkey and glaze it with honey.
Port gravy
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a saucepan. Stir in two tablespoons of flour over low heat until it’s well browned. Remove from the fire and gradually stir in 100ml of the reserve vegetable stock (from the stuffing) and juices from the pan. Add 120 ml of port and two tablespoons of sugar. Stir over low heat until it boils and thickens.
Chef’s tip: While purchasing the turkey ask for a male turkey instead of female as the former tends to be tenderer and hence easier to cook than female turkey.