Christmas Turkey..........ideas? (The Christmas cooking thread)

[Kim]

Normally I just roast our Christmas turkey and stuff it with a traditional sage & onion stuffing, or make a chestnut based stuffing myself. As we only had a small oven until now the biggest turkey I've cooked here was probably around 4Kgs (9lbs). However, today I'm going to Costco to buy our turkey and it will be a much bigger one - probably around 9Kgs (20lbs). And I've been thinking about cooking it - in particular about whether to use a marinade this year or not.

So....how do YOU "do the bird"? Oh yeah.....Costco's haven't brought any Christmas puddings in this year here....... so how about alternative pudding ideas?

Or any other Christmas gastronomic "delights" you don't mind sharing!

 

[jmani]

Well I am a big fan of the deep fryed turkey. And for those interested, I brine it in vinigar, salt and wine for a day and a half or so, then fry it for 3 minutes per pound. Always jucy, never dry.

p.s. This works great at the beach! Saturday before thanksgiving we did this at breakwater in Monterey for a open water class. Had the whole thanksgiving spread cooked at the beach. Best dive weekend ever!

 

[fishdelasol]

Wow! A 20# turkey.....that is insane! I would say start cooking it early! Would a turkey that size fit in a fryer? That might be the way to go... In my opinion, the size will not be an issue for a marinade. I usually just baste with butter/olive oil and garlic salt and pepper.

My family is doing Prime Rib in the oven this year, so we are attempting something new this year, too. Good Luck and have a wonderful holiday!

 

[Kim]

Wow! A 20# turkey.....that is insane! I would say start cooking it early! Would a turkey that size fit in a fryer? That might be the way to go... In my opinion, the size will not be an issue for a marinade. I usually just baste with butter/olive oil and garlic salt and pepper.

My family is doing Prime Rib in the oven this year, so we are attempting something new this year, too. Good Luck and have a wonderful holiday!

It turned out to be 7.65Kgs..... about 16lbs - the bigger ones were already gone! I found a nice marinade recipe - olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, mustard...and a whole bunch of herbs. In fact I stuck it in the marinade a couple of hours ago. It should take around 4 1/2 hours to roast I reckon!

You have a wonderful holiday too! I hope your rib works out well!

 

[Kim]

Well....it's in the oven!

Merry Christmas!

 

[HowardE]

Whenever I roast a Turkey, I do 2 things.

1) Make my stuffing with the secret ingredient - Hot (spicy) Italian Sausage (ground - no skin).

2) Roast the turkey with the breast facing down, instead of up.

The stuffing is great with sausage in it. It gives it a great kick.

The only drawback of the breast down bird is that the presentation isn't the prettiest, but I usually carve it in the kitchen anyway. When you cook the turkey breast down, it comes out VERY JUICY