turkey talk

a few mushrooms thrown in makes it nice as well. 

I do a sausage stuffing at Christmas - sausage meat, sage, poultry seasoning, onion, celery, egg and dry breadcrumbs.  And with the flavour of the turkey drippings, lovely!

I tried some sausage stuffing one year, used jimmy dean and it ended up tasting like a lump of jimmy dean sausage!  Yuck!     I am sure it can be wonderful with the right recipe!

I put corn flakes in my stuffing, along with the bread and a lot of mushrooms, green peppers, celery and onions. Soooo yum!

So, I did my turkey the Nigella way, 10 lb. turkey for 2 hours and it is perfect! I cooked it and then let it sit for about 45 minutes. I just carved it and put it in a shallow pan with some broth to reheat for later. I have spent too many Thanksgivings in the kitchen sweating and carving the turkey while my guests have been in the other room...no thanks!

tell me the nigella way!!  i've got a 13 lb bird in my fridge at the moment.  planning on brining it friday during the day and then letting it dry out in the fridge overnight friday.  i ALWAYS undercook turkey and then dinners late and then i'm all flustered.  not pretty.

so you cook it ahead of time.  carve it, and put in in a pan with broth and just reheat later.  sounds good b/c my smallish oven will be swamped.  tell me more...

Here is the info on cooking the turkey. I didn't completely trust it because of the short cooking time, so I popped in my thermometer at the end and the temps were perfect. I think that the real important thing is that the turkey is cooked from room temperature.
I got the information about reheating it from another site. I haven't tried that before, but it seemed like a good idea. Essentially you are just steam heating it because you keep it covered to reheat it.

From the Channel 4/Nigella website:

Don't be alarmed by the shortness of the cooking time below. Do remember to take the turkey out of the fridge in good time; it should be at room temperature when it goes in the oven.

To roast the turkey:

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6 and keep it at this temperature for the first 30 minutes. Then turn it down to 180C/Gas 4.

Put it breast down in the roasting tray: the only fat deposits in a turkey are in the back and this allows them to percolate through the breast meat as it cooks; it makes for the tenderest possible, succulent meat. Turn it the right way up for the last half hour of cooking to brown.

Cooking times:

For the following weights of turkey you need to cook it for these times. Remember when stuffing the bird to weigh the stuffings before adding them to the turkey as you'll need to count them in the total cooking time.

Weight           Time
2.25kg   1 1/2 hours
4.5 kg   2 hours
6.75 kg   2 3/4 hours
9kg   3 1/2 hours
11.5kg   4 1/2 hours

It is not possible to give one serve-all timing based on per kilo; this time decreases as the weight of the bird increases. But if you are buying a true Bronze turkey as recommended (and these times are for this superior bird) you can consult those who are selling it to you.

To see for yourself that the turkey is ready, poke a skewer or fork where the meat is thickest - behind the knee joint of the thigh - and if it is cooked the juices will run clear.

And one final reminder - if you are using the times above ALWAYS cook the turkey from room temperature, not straight from the fridge.

that's a similiar method to the cooks illustrated.  breast side down, blast with heat, turn over and cook cooler.

the room temp thing does make a difference.  thanks for the reminder!

what the heck is a bronze turkey?

what the heck is a bronze turkey?

one that's only third best?

HELP ME!
Im roasting a turkey crown. I put it in at 215. How long does it take? Its just a medium sized crown. Anyone have any ideas?

HELP ME!
Im roasting a turkey crown. I put it in at 215. How long does it take? Its just a medium sized crown. Anyone have any ideas?

how much does it weigh? what temp did you put it at? (2:15 was the time, right?)
OY VEY, Ricki!!

Just finished our turkey dinner. Yawn!  That old tryptophan is kicking in.  In about an hour we'll be falling asleep in front of the telly watching UEFA football.  The more things change the more they stay the same.
 
Does anyone else think the English turkeys (the flying kind) taste different to US ones?   Besides the fact that you can't get them  free with $50 worth of groceries!  It seemed tougher and  just less tasty.  I've cooked many turkeys but this one just didn't seem to measure up. 

Love to hear your opinions!   And Happy Turkey Day all you Ex-pats!

Kathleenb

I am still cackling (gobbling?) over Twistedncynical's post.

I am going to try roasting a turkey breast on Saturday & doing a dinner with most of the trimmings.  I've not done this in more than 10 years!

Does anyone else think the English turkeys (the flying kind) taste different to US ones?   Besides the fact that you can't get them  free with $50 worth of groceries!  It seemed tougher and  just less tasty.  I've cooked many turkeys but this one just didn't seem to measure up.

Maybe it's b/c the English actually let their turkeys act like real turkeys?  The whole free-range thing allows them to build their muslces and I think that's where the tougher meat comes from.    ??   

i keep reading this thing about eggs in stuffing.. do you'all use it as a binder?  confused as i just use chicken broth.

i keep reading this thing about eggs in stuffing.. do you'all use it as a binder?  confused as i just use chicken broth.

Yes, I use it instead of broth as a binder.

HELP ME!
Im roasting a turkey crown. I put it in at 215. How long does it take? Its just a medium sized crown. Anyone have any ideas?

Dying to find out how it turned out!