Christmas is coming
hopefully the poultry is nearly fat
It is obviously getting to that time of year when soon the turkey order will have to go in, pay the deposit at your local butcher or farmers market or possibly leaving it to pot luck at the last minute. Good luck with that.
There is always a conundrum about what to buy, which will be value for money, which will taste the best. The general guidelines are the old fashioned breeds like Norfolk Black or Bronze will have a much better Flavour profile and will be less dry when roasted properly. The down side is that the cost of a small bronze will probably be app £12-15 per kg.
However if you go for a cheap white variety, frozen or even fresh, they will be tasteless and dry. But the alternative Bronze or Norfolk Black will be a revelation when you eat them with your guests on Christmas day.
It is however not that simple because if you have a fast growing commercial white turkey, those marvellous genetic boys can alter them to be the same white bird but with bronze or black feathers! So be aware. But how to sort this out? Well, buy from your butcher or farmers market. Ask him where he gets his birds from and what breed are they and get as much detail as possible!
Lastly but by no means least, hanging and maturing. As we have all got used to our beef being aged and appreciate the difference this makes, wether it is 21 days or 35 days, this is also important for your turkey.
I would say app ten days NYD (which is plucked and not eviscerated) will add masses of flavour and tenderise the bird. Ask the butcher or farmers market trader if they do this, and it is absolutely worth paying a pound or two more for.
Cooked to perfection for the perfect Christmas Dinner
and how to achieve the best results- Get the Turkey out at least two or three hours before you are going to start cooking it. If your kitchen is not too hot, get the turkey out last thing at night on Christmas eve. If you do get your turkey straight out of the fridge, your cooking time will be increased, as it is too cold when you start.
- NEVER stuff with bred crumbs or anything that is going to absorb moisture. This will make your turkey dryer. Cook your stuffing in the oven in a separate dish.
- First put a couple of quartered medium onions, a generous bouquet of herbs like sage, thyme even rosemary, and for me a full bulb of garlic. Prepare for the oven with plenty of salt and pepper. Moisten the skin and rub some salt in the skin of the breast as well.
- The cooking time should be 15 min per pound at most. Start your turkey for half an hour of the cooking time at nearly maximum heat, breast up. Then for the remainder of the time roast the bird breast down. This will allow some of the juices coming out of the bird during roasting to keep the breast moist. For the last half an hour turn the bird breast up to brown the skin and make it lovely and crispy ready for serving.
- The way to check is to get a thin knife, or better a skewer, pushed into the thick part of the leg, and as soon as there is no blood in the juice coming out and it runs clear it is done. As it often happens, if your turkey is cooked before you are ready to serve, take it out of the oven and cover in foil until you are ready to carve it.
There is always a conundrum about what to buy, which will be value for money, which will taste the best. The general guidelines are the old fashioned breeds like Norfolk Black or Bronze will have a much better Flavour profile and will be less dry when roasted properly. The down side is that the cost of a small bronze will probably be app £12-15 per kg.
However if you go for a cheap white variety, frozen or even fresh, they will be tasteless and dry. But the alternative Bronze or Norfolk Black will be a revelation when you eat them with your guests on Christmas day.
It is however not that simple because if you have a fast growing commercial white turkey, those marvellous genetic boys can alter them to be the same white bird but with bronze or black feathers! So be aware. But how to sort this out? Well, buy from your butcher or farmers market. Ask him where he gets his birds from and what breed are they and get as much detail as possible!
Lastly but by no means least, hanging and maturing. As we have all got used to our beef being aged and appreciate the difference this makes, wether it is 21 days or 35 days, this is also important for your turkey.
I would say app ten days NYD (which is plucked and not eviscerated) will add masses of flavour and tenderise the bird. Ask the butcher or farmers market trader if they do this, and it is absolutely worth paying a pound or two more for.
The Norfolk Black has become the quality standard for Christmas Turkeys and it seems the only one that people have heard of, one of the other breeds is Bronze which is championed by the Kelly company. There is a plethora of other breeds which are grown in the UK but not in large quantities like Bourbon Red, Narragansett, Buff. In general these, lets say less common breeds, tend to not have as much flesh and more akin to their wild ancestors.
The now eponymous Kelly Bronze which is one of the most common non white breeds grown commercially in the UK
The Norfolk Black more commonly grown than the breeds pictured below and a great option.
It should by the nature of its name be black all over and have no other colours in its feathers.
The now eponymous Kelly Bronze which is one of the most common non white breeds grown commercially in the UK
The Norfolk Black more commonly grown than the breeds pictured below and a great option.
It should by the nature of its name be black all over and have no other colours in its feathers.
The Narragansett is a turkey from Rhode Island and is to some extent what people have in mind when they picture a turkey in the farm yard.
The Buff is named after the rich reddish-buff colouring of its body feathers, and the Buff is a paler cinnamon shade than the Bourbon Red with white on the wing and tail feathers. Today there are very few of them in the UK.
The Bourbon has dark, red plumage and white in the flight and tail feathers; the main tail feathers have a soft red bar at the tip.
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