| RECIPES FROM THE ICE |
Christmas TurkeyTo really get the most out of your turkey it’s important to have the gravy right, after all no matter how nice the meat is cooked everyone smoothers the meat in what sailors call `GPGPas’ (pronounced: gh-ip-ahs – General Purpose Gravy Powder) commonly known as gravy!Christmas day is even to a professional chef like myself a manic time! Although I make a proper gravy I am going to give you a few ideas to enhance your bisto! When you go to cook your turkey take a look in your vegetable cupboard. You’ve probably got some carrot, onions & mushrooms in there. Roughly chop them up and drop them into the bottom of the dish where your turkey is going to go. Throw in a few stock cubes - chicken, beef or vegetable cubes are all wonderful. Cover the vegetables with water. Stuff pieces of butter into the turkey’s skin where possible, along with fresh thyme to really give it a unique but exquisite flavour. Next, sprinkle salt & pepper over the turkey. Now place your turkey UPSIDE DOWN the dish. Why? That way for the first half of cooking the juices run into the breast and enhance the moisture and flavour! After ˝ the required amount of cooking time for your turkey, turn it over to face the normal way in an oven and cover it with tin foil and baste on regular intervals. (Basting is the process of covering the meat in its own liquids; again this adds moisture and flavour). For the final hour remove the tin foil and let the skin crisp up. To ensure the turkey is cooked cut down to where the leg bone meets the knuckle of the main body. The juices should run clear. Then take the turkey out of the dish and allow to rest for 30-45 minutes. This will let the meat shrink slightly so it’ll be much easier to carve. With the juices in the bottom of the dish pour them into a pan bring to the boil and add your choice of gravy powder. It’ll be really quite delicious. I promise! If you’re wondering what to do with the remaining vegetables, I personally like to blend them down by adding a touch of water and serve as soup on Christmas evening. The flavour is out of this world because of the turkey juices. |
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