Turkey? Or not?

Graces7 · 24-12-2015 11:18AM

Turkey here; they are very cheap before Christmas. I have five cats and a dog and feed some raw meat every day. So I have dismantled the turkey ( almost got frostbite..) and I will make my usual breastmeat recipe; a kind of sandwich with the turkey as "bread", layered with stuffing, cranberries and fruits, loosely wrapped in foil and roasted. It steams itself, moist and tasty and enough for two days. One of my happiest memories of my late collie, a massively abused rescue, is of her one Christmas with a raw turkey back; held it between her front paws, bottom in the air, tail waving,, happy for ages.

Eugene Norman · 24-12-2015 11:18AM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

It has just now gone into the slow roast. It will be there for the next 30 hours - before I slap on a load of oil and take a blow torch to it to make crackling

Have I ever mentioned before on boards how much I like to cook?

I can see it now. Lunch time tomorrow and tax goes "nearly done. Almost there. Probably put the temperature a small bit low. Needs maybe 3 more hours".

DivingDuck · 24-12-2015 11:22AM

Never had turkey in my house when I was a kid. Nobody liked it enough to eat it more than once! Always a roast like beef, pork, or lamb for that reason, and yet somehow there were never any leftovers...

Lamb this year. Looking forward to it.

TG1 · 24-12-2015 11:27AM

We're having Turkey this year but it will be the first time in about ten years as none of us like it!

We've done goose, duck, chicken, beef and even did a fondue one year.

The one thing that makes it Christmas is the spiced beef. We only discovered it when we moved to cork, but since then it's a necessary part of Christmas. This year it wasn't bought in cork though so not sure will it measure up!!

Ruu · 24-12-2015 11:36AM

Turkey and ham in our house, always the way it has been. I won't be eating much of it myself, small appetite.

CelticRambler · 24-12-2015 11:41AM

'Twas a bit of a culture-shock moving to rural France and finding out that turkey was considered the cheapest can't-think-of-anything-else answer to every meal, all year 'round. And rarely anything else in the school cantine.

Then it came to Christmas and all the turkey was cleared off the supermarket fridge shelves to make room for ostrich, venison, llama, wild boar, kangaroo, or pheasant, capons and quail for those who needed a poultry-fix. :eek:

Limousin beef roast for me this year.

... but when I'm in Ireland for Christmas, I absolutely love cold roast turkey sandwiches made with Brennan's white sliced pan.

24-12-2015 11:43AM

Eugene Norman wrote: »

I can see it now. Lunch time tomorrow and tax goes "nearly done. Almost there. Probably put the temperature a small bit low. Needs maybe 3 more hours".

Pish. It is timed like a Gandalf arrival. It will arrive precisely when it is meant to.

Sunflower 27 · 24-12-2015 11:44AM

Eugene Norman wrote: »

Turkey doesn't have to be dry. It's much nicer than chicken when cooked correctly.

If you don't have turkey it's not Christmas, vegetarians excepted.

You might get away with a goose.. The rest of ye take a long hard look at yourselves.

What a load of old tripe. Having Turkey is not what makes Christmas. If it is, you are clearly doing it wrong!! It is not even remotely up there!!!

homerjay2005 · 24-12-2015 11:45AM

A Christmas without Turkey?:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

f*ck off.

Eugene Norman · 24-12-2015 11:46AM

Sunflower 27 wrote: »

What a load of old tripe. Having Turkey is not what makes Christmas. If it is, you are clearly doing it wrong!! It is not even remotely up there!!!

Take a long hard look at yourself. Ask yourself is this who you really want to be?

suicide_circus · 24-12-2015 11:46AM

Glazed ham and spiced beef for me

Avatar MIA · 24-12-2015 11:49AM

As long as you have some bird for Christmas, you'll be grand...

Although, it would be nice to have some meat as well.

RonanP77 · 24-12-2015 11:55AM

We got a small turkey crown and a very large ham, the ham is always nicer.

Sunflower 27 · 24-12-2015 12:00PM

Eugene Norman wrote: »

Take a long hard look at yourself. Ask yourself is this who you really want to be?

Lol. I don't like Turkey as much as other meats. Why ruin my Xmas eating turkey. No way

beertons · 24-12-2015 12:15PM

Never been to Turkey, wouldn't rule it out though.

EazyD · 24-12-2015 12:16PM

Tip to stop turkey being dry is to cook it skin side down first before turning back over to cook further and crisp the skin nicely.

24-12-2015 01:05PM

LordSutch wrote: »

You could have had a much more inclusive poll.

1/ We will be having turkey on Christmas day.
2/ We will you be having goose on Christmas day.
3/ We will be eating duck on Christmas day.
4/ Turkey is too dry, we'll be eating a big fat chicken.
5/ We will be eating pork this Christmas for a change.
6/ No birds please, we're vegetarian, Nutroast please.
7/ *Other . . . .

I've gleaned a lot from this so far.

When I left the poll a few hours ago, non turkey eaters were well ahead in the poll.

I see turkey eaters have caught up and surged ahead.

Conclusion? Turkey eaters are lazy and stay in bed longer.

fussyonion · 24-12-2015 01:12PM

Turkey for me. It's traditional plus mine are never dry.
People are overcooking turkeys; no wonder they're like sawdust.

I tightly seal the turkey in the roasting tray with tin foil and the steam generated moistens the whole bird.

The leftover breast meat becomes melt-in-the-mouth again once you introduce it to a hot pan, so our turkey curries and soups are always gorgeous in the days after Christmas.

24-12-2015 01:14PM

Doesn't it have to be basted with a squirty thing?

RobertKK · 24-12-2015 01:36PM

I love turkey, but then I should we used to rear turkeys on the farm and sell them. I do put some turkey in the freezer too for the following year, so like a dog, it is not only for Christmas.

suicide_circus · 24-12-2015 01:39PM

Jive Turkey

Calibos · 24-12-2015 02:03PM

There was catering trays of Turkey Ham and Rosemary and Thyme Stuffing in the Cash and Carry a fortnight ago. We bought one and had it for dinner last week. Dry Turkey and Ham Slices, stuffing that was like soggy bread and Schwartz Turkey gravy from a packet. Sure it was edible but.....

If this was more akin to what ends up being served by/to a lot of the Traditional Christmas Dinner naysayers then no wonder they aren't enthusiastic. I guarantee though that if they had non dry Turkey freshly sliced off the breast, thick slices of moist smoked ham, Gravy made from the actual real Turkey Juice and some lovely Fresh Thyme, Parsley and Onion Stuffing made with breadcrumbs and Sausage Meat like we cook every year, they wouldn't be so quick to be looking for alternatives.

We love it so much that we have it two days in a row on Christmas Day and Stephens Day and buy a cheap Turkey after Christmas to have on New Years Day too!!

OldMrBrennan83 · 24-12-2015 02:13PM

This post has been deleted.

MilesMorales1 · 24-12-2015 02:14PM

Bloody hate turkey, beef all the way.

Maximus Alexander · 24-12-2015 02:15PM

I find turkey very boring tbh. Never understood the fuss.

Bulbous Salutation · 24-12-2015 02:18PM

Always turkey and ham. Believer in a small turkey and a big ham. Glazing the ham in coca cola this year as seen on Nigella. I love ham and stuffing sandwiches.

desertcircus · 24-12-2015 02:21PM

Ham slow-cooked in cider, spiced beef slow-cooked in stout, and pork belly roasted with white wine. Turkey doesn't come into it.

Graces7 · 24-12-2015 03:38PM

When I was growing up we had chicken only once a year, at Christmas, never heard of turkey. Times have changed! Chicken was for rich folk. But our Sunday roast was always beef....lasted four days did the joint.. roast, cold, rissoles etc. ...

Eugene Norman · 24-12-2015 03:41PM

Patww79 wrote: »

If you've moist turkey you might as well cook a chicken. Definitely need the gravy made from that lovely salty juice though.

What now? It's not supposed to be dry

Eugene Norman · 24-12-2015 03:46PM

Graces7 wrote: »

When I was growing up we had chicken only once a year, at Christmas, never heard of turkey. Times have changed! Chicken was for rich folk. But our Sunday roast was always beef....lasted four days did the joint.. roast, cold, rissoles etc. ...

I think a lot of snobbery about good is related to the cost or how common it is. Very obvious in seafood where one generations poverty food is another generations delicacy.

The poor in the 19th C had goose at Christmas. That's what the Cratchets had. When Scrooge reformed he bought them a turkey. Luxury.

Turkey's a lovely meat. Most people are not cooking it right, nor is cooked properly in most places. As a roast it needs to be eaten really quickly to preserve its moistness. Good turkey is melt in the mouth. But nothing dries so fast.

Turkey? Or not?

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