Over 80% of British families have roasted turkey on Christmas Day. They simply would not have anything else but roast turkey and all the trimmings. It is the commonest meat eaten at Christmas.
As with all poultry, turkeys must be cooked thoroughly. Salmonella food poisoning could be contracted if the meat is left even slightly undercooked. This is particularly relevant to frozen birds. They must be all the way through defrosted.
Most turkeys nowadays come specially prepared, no need for removing the feathers or removing the insides. The first thing that needs to be done is to remove the giblets from the plastic bag inside the bird. These giblets can be boiled in a pan to make a basic meat stock for gravy or stuffing and the liver can be finely chopped and used in stuffing.
If the turkey is going to be stuffed more time must be allowed for the turkey to cook completely. Cooking times will be increased if the legs of the turkey are trussed. The turkey should then be covered in streaky bacon and the whole bird covered in foil which should only be removed when the meat is cooked to allow the skin to crisp and brown. Consult recipe books for cooking times as larger turkeys will obviously take much longer to cook.. And don’t fprget the gravy boat for that perfect turkey gravy.
When placing a turkey inside the oven ensure that it is in a dish that is large enough to catch all the fat and juices that will ooze out. Also, do not place the pan that is too high in the oven as this will result in the skin and outer meat being cooked but the inside will still be raw. The darker meat takes longer to cook than light meat so always place the turkey in the oven legs first as the back of the oven tends to be hotter. When carving the bird, make sure you have a chopping board that is large enough to hold her.
Make sure that family and friends have been invited round well in advance of the big day and on Christmas Eve make sure that preparations are well advanced. An early start will be needed to Xmas Day to make sure everything is cooking prior to the meal. When the roast turkey is cooked, serve everything up and enjoy. The dishes can be washed later!
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