1 kilo sausage meat
12g chopped fresh sage
25g butter
150g finely diced onions
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Large pinch of dried mixed herbs
12g/teaspoon of fresh thyme
8g/tablespoon of finely chopped parsley
6 leaves of sage, cut into a fine julienne
4 egg yolks
25g breadcrumbs
8g course sea salt
12 turns of milled pepper
Place a pan onto a medium heat, then add the butter and once it has just melted, add the onions, garlic, thyme, ½ the pepper and 2g of salt. Cook this on a low heat until it starts to soften. After approx 10-14 minutes it should start to caramelise.
Add the sage and take off the heat to cool, add the sausage meat and remaining ingredients.
After stuffing the turkey, you may have some stuffing left over which you can roll into 4cm sized balls with floured hands, then leave to chill in the fridge over night.
6kg Turkey (this will feed 6-8 people)
Cooking tip: Allow 30 minutes per kilo.
20 rashers of streaky bacon rolled up
20 Little chipolatas
Place these both onto an oiled tray ready to go under the grill or in the oven.
1 litre of milk
100g diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
50g butter
2g salt
250g diced white bread
6 cloves, studded into a small onion
10 black pepper corns
2 bay leaf
150ml double cream
Place the bay, studded onion and black peppercorns into a pan with the milk, ½ thyme and bring to a low heat, leaving to infuse for twenty minutes. Melt ½ of the butter in a pan on a low heat, adding the diced onion, chopped garlic, salt, thyme and 12 turns of milled black pepper. Cook for 5-8 minutes until just soft with no colour, stirring now and again.
Add the bread to the cooked onions and slowly add the infused milk which has been passed through a fine sieve. Bring up to a slow simmer, stirring regularly so it doesn’t catch on the pan and burn. Cook for approx 20-30 minutes, stirring every so often, then add the cream and more milk if necessary, then add the rest of the butter.
40g orange fine zest
400ml orange juice from 6 oranges
1 kilo of cranberries
0.5g ground ginger
0.5g mixed spice
2 star anise
¼ cinnamon stick
5 cloves
5 black peppercorns
5 all spice berries
15g whole peeled ginger
400g granulated sugar
Place all of the spices (apart from the powders) into a small muslin bag, place ingredients into a pan and bring this to a slow simmer to reduce by 2/3rds until thick like a chutney. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes on a low heat. It will start to bubble a lot when it reduces, so be careful!
Cooking tip: Leave the spice bag to intensify the flavour, then remove just before serving.
250g whole peeled chestnuts
25g butter
50ml vegetable oil
150g smoked turkey lardons
1 kilo Brussel sprouts
Cooking tip: Peeled and trim the sprouts with a cross on the bottom as this helps them to cook more evenly, so when they simmer the water will soak into the stalks.
2 kilo of peeled Desiree potatoes, King Edwards or Maris Piper.
200ml vegetable oil
200g duck fat
Course sea salt
1 large roasting tray
1 kilo peeled organic carrots, cut in to 2-3 inch length batons
50g butter
100ml vegetable oil
Juice and fine zest of 1 lemon
12g sprigs lemon thyme
2g chopped tarragon
10 turns of fresh milled pepper
6g course sea salt
1 tbsp of honey
Juice & zest of 1 lemon
2 kilo parsnips peeled and trimmed, cut into 2-3 inch batons with the tough core removed.
200ml vegetable oil
25-35g butter
12g thyme sprigs
50g honey
2g course sea salt
12 finely crushed black peppercorns
3 carrots
2 onions
2 sticks celery
4 peeled cloves garlic
12g thyme sprigs
1 litre of white chicken stock
All the turkey giblets and neck chopped roughly
Cut all of the vegetables into 1-inch rough pieces.
Pre-heat the oven to 130c.
Using the stuffing mix prepared the day before, stuff the turkey (neck end) and fold the skin underneath, securing with a couple of cocktail sticks. Make sure the wishbone has been removed as this will help with the ease of carving the turkey. Brush the turkey with oil and sprinkle with plenty of course sea salt and milled pepper.
By 10am place the turkey into the oven at 130c for approx 30 minutes per Kilo.
Remove all of the vegetables for the gravy from the fridge and set aside to add into the turkey roasting pan later.
During the last 1 hour of cooking the turkey, add all of the ingredients from the gravy recipe (apart from the chicken stock) assembling around the turkey. This is in preparation for the gravy.
Cut the potatoes into 2-inch pieces. Place the cut potatoes into a colander to wash all the starch off and give a good rinse. Place into a pan and cover with clean cold water (for every litre of water add 20g coarse sea salt)
Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, then drain into a colander and shake the potatoes very well to fluff up the edges.
Place a roasting tray on its own into the oven to heat for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the roasting tray from the oven and add approx 250ml vegetable oil or duck fat (be careful as it will be hot). Add your potatoes, season with plenty of salt and pepper and put back into the oven. At this stage do not move the spuds around as they will cool the tray down and stick.
Cook in the oven for approx 45-60 minutes until golden. For the first 15 minutes do not move them at all, this is so they crisp up and the tray remains hot. After 15 minutes, sprinkle generously again with course sea salt and turn them over every 20 minutes so they are evenly coloured on every side.
Take the turkey from the oven, remove from the roasting tray and place onto a cooling wire.
Turn the oven up to 220c, place the roasting tray from the turkey back into the oven with the veg and giblets, adding in the chicken stock with some seasoning and cooking for 30 minutes.
Using a wooden spoon, stir well to loosen the meat sediments from the pan to improve the flavour.
Check the potatoes. Now you can move them around the roasting tray so they colour evenly.
Place a frying pan onto a medium heat, add the oil and once hot, add the butter.
When golden brown, add the carrots, thyme, salt and roast these on a medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring now and again and then add the honey. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes until golden and soft.
Add the lemon juice and zest, cooking for 2 minutes, reducing this down, then add the tarragon at the end.
In a separate pan, place a frying pan onto a medium high heat, add the oil and once hot, add the butter. When golden, add the parsnips, thyme, and salt, roasting these on a medium heat for 12-14 minutes, then add the honey. Continue to cook for another 8 minutes, adding the pepper, cooking until golden and soft.
Place the roasting tray of gravy prep onto a low gas flame.
Mix 5g of soft butter and 5g of flour together, then whisk this into the mix. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add a little salt and pepper to taste, then pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan, pressing all the vegetables well to extract maximum flavour.
Remove the potatoes from the oven and set aside.
Place the sausages and bacon rolls into the oven for approx 15 minutes to cook.
For your sprouts, place the boiling water from the kettle into a pan, add some salt and then add your sprouts, cooking for approx 8 minutes on a simmer.
Whilst these are cooking, place a frying pan onto a medium heat, add the oil and when hot, add the bacon, cooking for 4-5 minutes until golden brown and semi crispy. Add the butter and the chestnuts, cook for a further 3 minutes, season with plenty of pepper. Once the sprouts are cooked, drain and add to the bacon mix, toss for a couple of minutes and add some black pepper and salt to taste.
Check the sausages and place the turkey, potatoes, parsnips and carrots into the oven to reheat for 10 minutes.
If you have space, warm your plates and serving dishes in the oven.
Reheat the bread sauce in a pan for a few minutes.
LETS SERVE!
Check things in the oven. Add a little chopped parsley to the carrots and place into warm dishes along with the potatoes, parsnips, gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce. Carve up and serve!
Christmas lunch wouldn’t be the same without a glass full of wine to marry all of the rich flavours presented on the table together. Here are few of my favourite options:
White Wine: 2020 – Pecorino, “Don Carlino”, De Fermo, Abruzzo, Italy
Red Wine: 2018 – Soter North Valley Pinot Noir, Oregon, USA
Sweet Wine: (goes perfectly with Christmas pud!) 2014 – Coteau du layon l’anclaie, chateau de pierre bise, Loire Valley, France
1 kilo sausage meat
12g chopped fresh sage
25g butter
150g finely diced onions
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Large pinch of dried mixed herbs
12g/teaspoon of fresh thyme
8g/tablespoon of finely chopped parsley
6 leaves of sage, cut into a fine julienne
4 egg yolks
25g breadcrumbs
8g course sea salt
12 turns of milled pepper
Place a pan onto a medium heat, then add the butter and once it has just melted, add the onions, garlic, thyme, ½ the pepper and 2g of salt. Cook this on a low heat until it starts to soften. After approx 10-14 minutes it should start to caramelise.
Add the sage and take off the heat to cool, add the sausage meat and remaining ingredients.
After stuffing the turkey, you may have some stuffing left over which you can roll into 4cm sized balls with floured hands, then leave to chill in the fridge over night.
6kg Turkey (this will feed 6-8 people)
Cooking tip: Allow 30 minutes per kilo.
20 rashers of streaky bacon rolled up
20 Little chipolatas
Place these both onto an oiled tray ready to go under the grill or in the oven.
1 litre of milk
100g diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
50g butter
2g salt
250g diced white bread
6 cloves, studded into a small onion
10 black pepper corns
2 bay leaf
150ml double cream
Place the bay, studded onion and black peppercorns into a pan with the milk, ½ thyme and bring to a low heat, leaving to infuse for twenty minutes. Melt ½ of the butter in a pan on a low heat, adding the diced onion, chopped garlic, salt, thyme and 12 turns of milled black pepper. Cook for 5-8 minutes until just soft with no colour, stirring now and again.
Add the bread to the cooked onions and slowly add the infused milk which has been passed through a fine sieve. Bring up to a slow simmer, stirring regularly so it doesn’t catch on the pan and burn. Cook for approx 20-30 minutes, stirring every so often, then add the cream and more milk if necessary, then add the rest of the butter.
40g orange fine zest
400ml orange juice from 6 oranges
1 kilo of cranberries
0.5g ground ginger
0.5g mixed spice
2 star anise
¼ cinnamon stick
5 cloves
5 black peppercorns
5 all spice berries
15g whole peeled ginger
400g granulated sugar
Place all of the spices (apart from the powders) into a small muslin bag, place ingredients into a pan and bring this to a slow simmer to reduce by 2/3rds until thick like a chutney. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes on a low heat. It will start to bubble a lot when it reduces, so be careful!
Cooking tip: Leave the spice bag to intensify the flavour, then remove just before serving.
250g whole peeled chestnuts
25g butter
50ml vegetable oil
150g smoked turkey lardons
1 kilo Brussel sprouts
Cooking tip: Peeled and trim the sprouts with a cross on the bottom as this helps them to cook more evenly, so when they simmer the water will soak into the stalks.
2 kilo of peeled Desiree potatoes, King Edwards or Maris Piper.
200ml vegetable oil
200g duck fat
Course sea salt
1 large roasting tray
1 kilo peeled organic carrots, cut in to 2-3 inch length batons
50g butter
100ml vegetable oil
Juice and fine zest of 1 lemon
12g sprigs lemon thyme
2g chopped tarragon
10 turns of fresh milled pepper
6g course sea salt
1 tbsp of honey
Juice & zest of 1 lemon
2 kilo parsnips peeled and trimmed, cut into 2-3 inch batons with the tough core removed.
200ml vegetable oil
25-35g butter
12g thyme sprigs
50g honey
2g course sea salt
12 finely crushed black peppercorns
3 carrots
2 onions
2 sticks celery
4 peeled cloves garlic
12g thyme sprigs
1 litre of white chicken stock
All the turkey giblets and neck chopped roughly
Cut all of the vegetables into 1-inch rough pieces.
Pre-heat the oven to 130c.
Using the stuffing mix prepared the day before, stuff the turkey (neck end) and fold the skin underneath, securing with a couple of cocktail sticks. Make sure the wishbone has been removed as this will help with the ease of carving the turkey. Brush the turkey with oil and sprinkle with plenty of course sea salt and milled pepper.
By 10am place the turkey into the oven at 130c for approx 30 minutes per Kilo.
Remove all of the vegetables for the gravy from the fridge and set aside to add into the turkey roasting pan later.
During the last 1 hour of cooking the turkey, add all of the ingredients from the gravy recipe (apart from the chicken stock) assembling around the turkey. This is in preparation for the gravy.
Cut the potatoes into 2-inch pieces. Place the cut potatoes into a colander to wash all the starch off and give a good rinse. Place into a pan and cover with clean cold water (for every litre of water add 20g coarse sea salt)
Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, then drain into a colander and shake the potatoes very well to fluff up the edges.
Place a roasting tray on its own into the oven to heat for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the roasting tray from the oven and add approx 250ml vegetable oil or duck fat (be careful as it will be hot). Add your potatoes, season with plenty of salt and pepper and put back into the oven. At this stage do not move the spuds around as they will cool the tray down and stick.
Cook in the oven for approx 45-60 minutes until golden. For the first 15 minutes do not move them at all, this is so they crisp up and the tray remains hot. After 15 minutes, sprinkle generously again with course sea salt and turn them over every 20 minutes so they are evenly coloured on every side.
Take the turkey from the oven, remove from the roasting tray and place onto a cooling wire.
Turn the oven up to 220c, place the roasting tray from the turkey back into the oven with the veg and giblets, adding in the chicken stock with some seasoning and cooking for 30 minutes.
Using a wooden spoon, stir well to loosen the meat sediments from the pan to improve the flavour.
Check the potatoes. Now you can move them around the roasting tray so they colour evenly.
Place a frying pan onto a medium heat, add the oil and once hot, add the butter.
When golden brown, add the carrots, thyme, salt and roast these on a medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring now and again and then add the honey. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes until golden and soft.
Add the lemon juice and zest, cooking for 2 minutes, reducing this down, then add the tarragon at the end.
In a separate pan, place a frying pan onto a medium high heat, add the oil and once hot, add the butter. When golden, add the parsnips, thyme, and salt, roasting these on a medium heat for 12-14 minutes, then add the honey. Continue to cook for another 8 minutes, adding the pepper, cooking until golden and soft.
Place the roasting tray of gravy prep onto a low gas flame.
Mix 5g of soft butter and 5g of flour together, then whisk this into the mix. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add a little salt and pepper to taste, then pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan, pressing all the vegetables well to extract maximum flavour.
Remove the potatoes from the oven and set aside.
Place the sausages and bacon rolls into the oven for approx 15 minutes to cook.
For your sprouts, place the boiling water from the kettle into a pan, add some salt and then add your sprouts, cooking for approx 8 minutes on a simmer.
Whilst these are cooking, place a frying pan onto a medium heat, add the oil and when hot, add the bacon, cooking for 4-5 minutes until golden brown and semi crispy. Add the butter and the chestnuts, cook for a further 3 minutes, season with plenty of pepper. Once the sprouts are cooked, drain and add to the bacon mix, toss for a couple of minutes and add some black pepper and salt to taste.
Check the sausages and place the turkey, potatoes, parsnips and carrots into the oven to reheat for 10 minutes.
If you have space, warm your plates and serving dishes in the oven.
Reheat the bread sauce in a pan for a few minutes.
LETS SERVE!
Check things in the oven. Add a little chopped parsley to the carrots and place into warm dishes along with the potatoes, parsnips, gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce. Carve up and serve!
Christmas lunch wouldn’t be the same without a glass full of wine to marry all of the rich flavours presented on the table together. Here are few of my favourite options:
White Wine: 2020 – Pecorino, “Don Carlino”, De Fermo, Abruzzo, Italy
Red Wine: 2018 – Soter North Valley Pinot Noir, Oregon, USA
Sweet Wine: (goes perfectly with Christmas pud!) 2014 – Coteau du layon l’anclaie, chateau de pierre bise, Loire Valley, France
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