大象传媒

How to prepare a turkey for roasting

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1.听Place the whole turkey on a chopping board and set aside the giblets and neck for the gravy. Remove the wings. Pull them out to the side so the skin is taut, and cut as close to the crown as possible.

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2.听Remove the legs. Hold the leg at the joint, pull it out to the side so the skin is taut, and use a sharp knife to remove the entire leg as close to the crown as possible.

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3.听Remove the turkey carcass. Turn the turkey so it is vertical, grip the top tightly and slice down the right and left of the back bone. Prise the back down so that it is flat and using the knife, cut across the top of the back to remove it completely. You will just be left with the turkey crown, which is the breast meat on the bone.

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4.听Separate the thigh joint from the leg. Grip the bottom of the leg and cut just above the joint. Use the thighs for roasting and place the legs with the wings etc to use for the gravy.

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5.听You will be left with the crown and the thighs ready for roasting. Using a really sharp knife, chop the wings, legs and carcass ready to use to make a really good turkey gravy.

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How to stuff a turkey crown and turkey thighs:

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1.听Marco used a 50 / 50 mixture of packet stuffing and sausage meat mixed with some finely chopped saut茅ed onions to stuff his turkey. He recommended听reducing the water content of the stuffing by a third for the stuffing inside the bird.

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2.听To stuff the crown, pull back the skin slightly and insert the stuffing into the neck end only. Pull the skin back over the meat to seal it in place.

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3.听To stuff the thigh joints, peel back the skin, insert the stuffing underneath and pull the skin back over to seal.

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How to cook a turkey crown and turkey thighs:

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1.听Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/160 fan/gas mark 4. Bring the turkey to room temperature before it goes into the oven.

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2.听Place the chopped up bony turkey bits at the bottom of two roasting trays, along with a couple of chopped onions, a chopped garlic bulb, a knob of butter and a splash of water. This will allow the juices to collect in the tin for the phenomenal turkey gravy later on.

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3.听Brush the crown and thigh joints all over with butter or sunflower oil and season with salt.

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4.听Place the crown in one of the trays on top of the chopped bones and put in the oven on the top shelf. Place the two thigh joints into the second roasting tray on top of the bones and place on the bottom shelf.

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5.听Marco recommends for a 10lb turkey (prepared as above) roast the crown for approximately 1 hr 30 minutes and thighs for approximately 55 minutes. However, every oven is different, this is just a rough guideline.

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6.听Test to check the meat is cooked using a meat probe inserted into the thickest part of the meat. When the breast reaches 66C and the thigh 72C the turkey is cooked to perfection. If you don鈥檛 have a meat probe, insert a clean skewer into the thickest part. If the juices run clear, the turkey is cooked. If pinkish, return to the oven for a little longer then re-test.

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How to carve a turkey crown and turkey thighs:

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1.听Let the turkey rest before carving. Make sure you have a sharp good quality carving knife and be confident.

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2.听To carve the crown, first take out the stuffing by carefully holding it with your finger tips and gently cutting around it, then slowly removing it from the bird.

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3.听Slice the turkey breast by cutting downwards and moving the knife lengthways in long, smooth diagonal strokes. Avoid pulling the slices back and forth as this will cause the meat to break.

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4.听After carving one side, turn the crown around and start to carve the other side using the same technique.

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5.听Before carving the thighs, remove the skin and the stuffing from the joints by slicing around the stuffing and gently removing it.

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6.听To carve the thigh meat, hold the joint at the bone and run the knife down either side to remove it. Use your fingertips to gently hold the meat and carve lengthways.

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7.听Once you have carved all the meat, carve the stuffing into thin slices to serve with the turkey.听

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How to make turkey gravy

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1.听Place the chopped up bony turkey bits at the bottom of two roasting trays, along with a couple of chopped onions, a chopped garlic bulb, a knob of butter and a splash of water. Roast in the oven along with the turkey (see above preparing and cooking the turkey).

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2.听Put the tray on the hob and top up with boiling water. Add some turkey paste or bouillon and give it a really good mix. Allow to simmer and scrap the bottom of the dish to remove all the brown sticky bits stuck to the bottom of the tray which have all the lovely flavour. Spoon away any fat from the surface.

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3.听Pour the turkey gravy through a fine mesh sieve into a saucepan. Use a ladle to push everything through the sieve as much as possible to give the best flavour.

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4.听Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer in the saucepan. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornflour in around 150 ml of water. Gradually add the cornflour mixture, simmering and stirring all the time, until the gravy has reached your desired thickness. The gravy should be thick enough to stick to the meat, but not overly thick.听Keep warm until you're ready to use.

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Crispy roast potatoes

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Time:听 15 mins听prep + 40-50 mins cooking
Cost: 听27p per serving*
Calories:听 313 per serving*

*based on 6 servings with sunflower oil

• 4 tablespoons sunflower oil (or duck or goose fat for a treat)
• 1.5 kg Maris Piper potatoes
• 1 tablespoon semolina
• Few sprigs or thyme or rosemary (optional)
• Salt to taste

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1.听 Pre-heat the oven to 220 C / 200 fan / gas mark 7. Put the oil or fat into a large oven-proof dish and pop the dish in the oven to heat the fat while you prepare your potatoes. The dish should be large enough for the potatoes to cook spread out in one even layer.

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2. Peel your potatoes thinly using a vegetable peeler and cut each potato into three or four even pieces depending on their size.听

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3. Rinse the potatoes and put them in a saucepan. Pour over enough water to cover them and add some salt.

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4. Put the pan on the hob, bring to the boil and simmer for 1-2 minutes, just until you can scrape the outside of the potato with a fork (but the inside must be hard).

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5. Drain the potatoes and toss them a few times in the colander to rough up the outside. 'Fluffing' them up like this will make them crispy on the outside.

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6. Sprinkle the semolina over the roughed-up potatoes and toss them around (in the empty pan or colander) until the potatoes are evenly coated with it.

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7. 听Take the dish out of the oven - be really careful as the oil or fat will be screaming hot. Tip the potatoes into the fat and toss them around using a spatula until they are all evenly coated with the hot fat. Wear oven gloves and be really, really careful as it will spit. Add the rosemary or thyme (if using) and return the dish to the oven.

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8. Roast for 40-50 minutes in the oven turning the potatoes every 15 minutes or so until they are brown and crispy all over. Season to taste with salt and serve immediately.听

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Cranberry Sauce

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200g cranberries

125g white sugar

250ml water

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Put everything into a pan and then simmer for 15-20 minutes until thickened.

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Apple, Onion, Chestnut and Sage Stuffing

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1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small apple, finely chopped

80g cooked chestnuts

400g sausages

1 tbsp fresh chopped sage

Butter for frying

Salt and pepper

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Melt a large knob of butter in a frying pan and add the onion, apple and sage. Fry for 8-10 minutes or until softened. Add the chestnuts and salt and pepper and fry for a few more minutes. Remove the sausage meat from the sausages into a bowl and add the onion mix. Mix well together then form into balls. Cook at 200C for 30-35 minutes turning occasionally.

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Carrots and Parsnips

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500g carrots, peeled

500g parsnips, peeled

Olive oil

Few sprigs fresh thyme

Salt and pepper

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Halve all the peeled veg then parboil in salted water for around 8 minutes. Drain then mix in a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper and the thyme. Put the veg on a single layer on a tray and roast at 190C for 45-50 minutes turning occasionally.

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Spiced Tea

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1 litre tea, as strong as you like it

Zest 1 large orange

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

3 cloves

1 tbsp brown sugar

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Make the tea as strong as you like. Put the spices into a pan and then cover with the tea. Bring to a gentle simmer then turn off the heat and leave to cool a little. Add the sugar and orange zest before serving.

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Sprouts with Sage Butter

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1kg sprouts

75g butter

1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

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Add the sprouts to boiling water for 6-7 minutes then drain. Melt the butter on a low heat and leave on the heat for a few minutes on low to go slightly brown. Add the sage and black pepper (add salt if you used unsalted butter). Coat the sprouts in butter when ready to serve.听