Grand Bird, The Turkey with a difference

In our family we only eat Roast Turkey at Christmas. It is our family tradtion.

My way of roasting the turkey is a little different to the tradtional Irish way. I have found that most of the time the turkey meat was too dry. I had to find a way to change that.
I do not stuff my bird with the tradtional stuffing. If you roast the turkey until the stuffing is cooked, the breast will be dry and overcooked. If you do like stuffing, bake it seperately.
I line the the inside of the turkey with  majoram  and fill it with oranges.  But before I put the turkey in the oven, I layer the whole bird with streaky bacon, that does not only add moisture and fat, but also enhances the taste of the turkey gravy.
I do have problems finding dried Majoram in the shops here, so I grow my own. If you cannot get Majoram you can also substitute it with Oregano and or Thyme

Ingredients

1 free range turkey (weight depends on your size of family)
salt and pepper
1/2 dried Majoram
3 to 4 oranges
1 large pack of streaky bacon
water

The finished result

Method

Remove the giblets. ( use the liver to make Pâté, if you like,  and the rest to make stock for the gravy, if you wish)

Season the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper and Majoram or Oregano and/or Thyme

Cut the oranges into halves or quarters and fill the turkey with it. Depending of the size of the turkey you might need one more or less. Fill the front of the turkey, where the neck is, with half an orange.

Cover the whole turkey with the slices of streaky bacon.

Put the turkey into the roasting tin with the breast up.

Pour approx 1/2 l water into the roasting tin.

Start roasting at 175C for approx 11/2 hr. Once the bacon if browned take them off and with the help of somebody turn the turkey upside down, aka breast down.

After another hour turn the turkey around again and finish roasting. Use the water, which you replenish every so often, to baste the turkey, regularly

Cover the legs with tin foil to stop them from drying out too much.

The usual time for roasting are 20 minutes per pound at a medium temperature. I prefer to up the heat a bit and shorten the roasting time. 

You can use a meat thermometer to check if the bird is cooked.

In the end you know your oven and can adjust the time to suit your needs.

When the turkey is cooked. Set aside, cover with tin foil to keep warm.

For the gravy

Scrape all the bits from the roasting tin with the water. Pour through a sieve. Thicken the gravy with flour, make a paste from flour and water. (1 Tablespoon flour to 4-5 Tablespoons of water)

Pour the flour mixture into the gravy and cook for 2 min. Adjust the seasoning.

The end result should be a succulent roast turkey. Enjoy!

Baked Ham

It has been a while since I have put up a new recipe and now I can't wait much longer, as I would like you to have it before Easter. I originally had intended to publish it before Christmas, but somehow I did not manage to do so.
The recipe for the Baked Ham I earned fair and square many years ago. We were on holidays in Kerry and  I got it from a friend after I had cooked an 8, yes 8, course meal for him and his wife. You say a lot of work for one recipe, but I say, it was worth it.
Since then the Baked Ham is our family favourite for Christmas and all other occasions!
As with all meats, do get your ham from a source, you can rely that it has been properly cured.
For best results in making the sauce use mustard powder, if you can't get it then adjust the amount of mustard accordingly.
Best cabbage throughout the year is the York cabbage for this dinner, but you might have your own preferences.

Baked Ham and Cabbage with a Mustard Honey Sauce for 4-6 people

Ingredients

For boiling the ham

2-3lb ham (or piece of bacon)

2 carrots chopped roughly

1 medium/large onion chopped roughly

1 leek chopped roughly

Leaves of celery or lovage (optional)

Dozen black peppercorns

Bay leaf

For the sauce

1/3 cup (30g) of mustard powder

1 cup (180g) of unbleached, unrefined granulated sugar (preferably organic)

1/2 cup (100ml) of peach syrup (drain from can of peaches and serve peaches as accompaniment to meal)

Head of York or Spring cabbage

Remaining peach syrup

Butter for cooking

Potatoes

Method:

1. Put ham in large saucepan with enough cold water to cover ham

1. Bring to the boil and boil for 15 minutes

1. Discard water and replace with cold water again. This is to remove the saltiness of the ham. If cooking a large ham (e.g. for Christmas) you should steep the ham in water overnight if possible

1. Add all ingredients above for ‘boiling the ham’ into water

1. Bring to the boil and simmer at low heat for 1.5hrs

1. About hour and half into cooking the ham, scrub potatoes and put on the boil to cook (should take about 30 minutes)

1. Wash and chop cabbage and blanch in saucepan boiling water for 2-3 minutes.

1. Put knobs of butter in ovenproof dish and transfer drained cabbage into dish and cover with tinfoil

1. Bake for 25-30 mins at 175˚C depending on amount of cabbage and size of dish

1. Once cabbage is in oven, prepare sauce by mixing all ingredients together. 

1. Put ham in oven dish and cover with sauce and bake for 20-25mins at 175˚C

1. Baste ham with sauce half way through. If sauce is too thick add extra peach syrup

1. Take ham and cabbage out of oven. Drain sauce into gravy boat and serve as accompaniment

1. Serve ham, baked cabbage and potatoes with peaches

1. Serve with a Chardonnay (Macon-Village is best), Frascati or Pinot Grigio, or an Alsace Riesling

Big Bird - Goose

Until I came  to Ireland I only ever had a goose for Christmas. As a matter of fact, the smell of a roasting goose is one of my first "smell" memories. My grandmother used to keep geese and when we  visited her in our holidays, summer or autumn, it was our job to bring them to the little pond near her house (this was in East Germany). Around the feast day of St. Martin (11.Nov.) the first geese would  end up on the table, in honour of St.Martin. Seemingly he was warned by geese and thus could flee from whomever.
I never forget the smell wafting through the house when grandmother slowly roasted the goose stuffed with apples and majoram. I still roast my goose the way she taught me .

Once a goose got me into bad trouble, I was six going on to seven. We were going back to West Germany on the train and as a going away present grandmother had given us a goose, plucked and oven ready. At the border we had to leave the train and the customs officers would check all suitcases. They were looking especially for food, as there was a food shortage in the Fifties in East Germany and you were not allowed to take any out.

The customs official opened my mother's case, prodded here, prodded there, then he went to the corner where mother had put the dirty wash. "No need to check there, Sir", I offered quickly, " there is only a goose in there". I do not wish to know what mother would have liked to do with me that very instant. He looked at me,  looked at my mother, and while closing the case, he said,"Well, then there is no need to look there", and with that he let us go. Needless to say that this was the last goose which was smuggled between the East and the West by us.

Anyway here is how to roast successfully a goose.

Ingredients

1 goose, approx 4kg

salt and pepper

500g apples (approx)

2 Tbsp dried Majoram

400 ml chicken stock

some water approx 375ml

1Tbsp flour

Method

Heat  the oven to 175C or 375 F 

Season the goose with salt and pepper in the inside (make sure you have removed the giblets)

Fill the goose with the majoram and the apples, which are cut into quarters, secure the end with a cocktail stick or two (or not, I just stick more apple in)

Lay the goose with the breast side down on the roasting tin. Pour approx 125 ml water in the tin.

Turn the goose around after about 11/2 hrs. add 250 ml of water. Keep basting the goose at regular intervals.

The goose needs about 3hrs roasting time. About 15 min. before the end turn the oven to 225 C or 425F. Take the goose out of the roasting tin, keep warm.

Making the gravy

With the chicken stock, boil up the juice in the roasting tin, pour through a sieve. If the liquid has too much fat remove it with a spoon.

Thicken the liquid with the flour, which has been made into a  paste by adding some water. Pour into the liquid stirring continuously. Should you by any chance have some lumps. simply pour through a sieve and remove same lumps. Bring to the boil for a minute or two. Adjust the seasoning.

Ready to carve!

Serve the goose with roast potaoes and (tradionationally) red cabbage. Needless to say you can use any vegetable you like.