A turkey is not just for Christmas.......

Discussion in 'Recipes' started by Fat Controller, Jan 8, 2018.

  1. Fat Controller

    Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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    Although not often, we do eat turkey throughout the year, as we quite like it (why would you eat something on a special day of the year if you don't like it :scratch:), and it can be really cost effective if you make the most of it.

    We get a lot of our meat delivered to our door, frozen, from a specialist company who major in free range and organic foods, and support UK farmers by selling their produce (drop me a PM if you want more information), and for Christmas we bought a couple of boned and rolled turkey breast joints instead of buying a whole turkey - not only was this significantly cheaper, but it also allowed us to avoid the whole 'turkey-everything for days' trap that many people fall into. We also got a load of fresh veg from them (proper dirty tatties, sprouts, carrots etc etc), which has served us well for almost a month now. We even still have quite a bit of 'proper' cranberry sauce and chestnuts in stock!

    We are coming to the end though, so yesterday I decided I would cook up a storm and have Christmas Mark 2 to make the absolute most of what we had.

    Boned & rolled turkey joint, seasoned and roasted

    Potatoes, par-boiled in vegetable stock, cooled and then roasted in goose fat

    Sprouts, boiled in vegetable stock (why waste all that flavour....), drained, rolled in melted butter with some ground white pepper

    Stuffing balls:
    1 x pack Paxo Sage & Onion Stuffing
    1 x onion, finely diced
    10 x chestnuts, chopped
    Big knob of butter
    1 x clove garlic, crushed
    Chilli flakes
    Salt & freshly ground black pepper

    Gently melt the butter in a pan, and add the onions on a very low heat. Add the garlic, and continue to cook over a low heat until onions are translucent. Meanwhile, make the Paxo stuffing according to the pack instructions. Add the onions, garlic and butter to the stuffing mix, add the chestnuts and stir in well. Allow to cool a bit, then pop in the fridge (makes it easier to form the ball shapes)
    Parsnips, trimmed and lightly coated in oil, then roasted.

    Serve with cranberry sauce and gravy.

    Even if I do say so myself, the stuffing was just on a completely different level, mostly thanks to the bit of chilli heat
     
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    • Fat Controller

      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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      To change things up a wee bit today, I am going to do the following:

      Finely sliced turkey breast, re-heated in a light chicken and vegetable stock (I will re-heat in our new microwave which has been christened Chernobyl 3!)

      Stuffing pretty similar to yesterday (it was just too nice!)

      Boiled baby carrots, boiled in a ham stock

      Roast tatties (well, you have to, don't you?) - I will likely par-boil these in the ham stock also

      Sprouts - butter and a little oil melted in a pan, sprouts halved, half an onion finely chopped, 2 crushed garlic cloves. Add the butter to the pan and heat until it starts to foam, add a small amount of oil to stabilise the butter, then add the onion and garlic, stir through the butter, then place the sprouts cut side down in the pan and cover to cook for roughly 15 minutes over a medium flame.
       
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      • toppington

        toppington Tiny garden, always on the cheap!

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        If you have any turkey left, it loves to take up any flavours! I found some reduced after Xmas and have fashioned some Turkey Teriyaki from it (properly tasty!) - cooking the cubed raw turkey in a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sake and a little bit of honey for extra sweetness. Served with rice and some salad or veg, and then had the leftovers for lunch at work! yumbo.
         
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        • noisette47

          noisette47 Total Gardener

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          Always use up the leftover turkey or capon in a supreme sauce (recipe dates from my old, paperback 'student' cookbook). A basic bechamel sauce with a liason of beaten eggs, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg beaten into it and gently but thoroughly re-heated with the cubed fowl. Served with rice or 'Christmas' bubble'n'squeak.
           
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          • Fat Controller

            Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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            Well, we have just had round two (I forgot to do the carrots, but just as well as there was tons to eat anyway) and it was absolutely gorgeous; the sprouts were the best I have ever had.
             
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