Not So Traditional Recipes For Christmas
Make 2011 the year that Christmas gets a little makeover.
When it comes to Christmas recipes, specifically your Christmas Dinner, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut – generations worth of a rut in fact.
Here we take you through how to create a cider-roasted turkey with apple and sage stuffing.
Perfect for pleasing the grandparents and impressing your friends.
The Modern Christmas Dinner
Before we begin, we need to gather and tick off the ingredients needed for both the turkey and stuffing.
For the turkey, you’ll need:
- 4.5-5kg bronze turkey
- 30g melted butter
- 2 litre bottle medium-sweet cider
For the stuffing, you’ll need:
- 454-500g packet sausages
- 1 cooking apple – quartered, cored, peeled and chopped
- 30g breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsps. chopped fresh sage
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
To start cooking, we’re going to focus first on the stuffing.
Gather all the above ingredients, and tip all into a bowl – mixing until they bind together.
Now it’s time to get your hands dirty, and if you’re doing it right – break a sweat in the process.
Stuff the neck end of the turkey, packing the stuffing in firmly – but make sure not to overfill it.
Remember that any leftover stuffing can be shaped into balls and cooked on the same baking trey as the sausages later on.
Move yourself oven’wards now; position a shelf towards the bottom of the oven and one to the top to allow enough space for your turkey below and vegetables above.
Return to your turkey and weigh it to calculate the cooking time. Generally, 20 minutes is designated per Kg., plus an extra 90 minutes on top.
It’s also advised to leave the turkey to rest for an additional 20-30 minutes before carving so consider this when timing your dinner and ultimately when you want to put it in the oven.
Note. There are many online calculators that can help you work out the ideal times for you turkey so fear not!
Now we want to place the turkey into a roasting tin and brush with melted butter.
Taking your bottle of cider, pour into the roasting tin and cover with foil.
Place in the oven, keeping the turkey fully covered with the foil until the last 45-50 minutes of your calculated cooking time.
When the time comes, you’re going to want to test that your turkey is cooked – after all these calculations should always be considered more as a guideline.
Pierce the thickest part of the flesh around the thigh with a skewer – if the juices run clear, then you’re good to go, otherwise if you notice some pinkness then continue cooking checking back every so often.
Once the juices are clear, remove from the oven and cover with a clean, fresh sheet of foil leaving to rest for the designated 20-30 minutes.
Finally, using the juices left in the pan – strain and use to make deliciously rich gravy that will compliment your turkey and stuffing no end.
About the Author: Emily Amelia Inglis is a fan of tasty recipes
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