3 years ago AB and I hosted our first family Christmas.
I do believe in the go hard or go home philosophy when I comes to Christmas so it had to be better than Ben Hur.
Naturally a Turducken was the only way to go!
AB gives me a look whenever I mention Turkducken and recounts a tale of sobbing on the floor at 2am when the roasting pan was too small to fit the birds.
My version of the event doesn't include the crying but a whole Navy of expletives, words that had never passed my lips till that morning.
The draw card to this rolled turkey is my love of a boneless bird mainly because I'm pretty useless when it comes to carving. (Plus AB hates bones)
So this year it's our turn again and I've said not to worry about any dramas I'm just doing a rolled turkey......we'll just keep quiet about the duck and the chicken till later on.......it's ok I've got a bigger pan!
No matter whether it's a boneless or whole bird "The Stuffing" to end all stuffing is a major star of this show.
"The Stuffing"
Ingredients
- 8-10 dried figs
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 500g Italian sausage skin removed or sausage mince
- 1 large brown onion grated
- 1 large red onion grated
- Half a preserved blood orange or lemon finely chopped
- 80g pistachio
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
Method
- Soak the figs in lemon juice for about 30 minutes
- Fry off the sausages or mince with the grated onions
- When sausage is cooked, add to a mixing bowl and allow to cool
- Slice the figs and add with the soaking liquid to the sausage
- Add the remaining ingredients and combine well
The stuffing is almost like Christmas lights!
- For the boned turkey flatten the stuffing on the meat (skin side down) and then roll the sides in on each other so it looks like a turkey again.
- Cover in bacon to keep the breasts moist.
- Roast covered at 160°C for about 25-30 per 500g, then uncovered for last 20-30 minutes.
(the bathroom scales may finally get a use after all)
Can be joined together with a metal skewer down it's back
The big day will have woven bacon as while I went for quick and easy it would look a million times better.
The turkey looks really dry in the photo but it was my hatchet job of cutting and snapping in 3 minutes before I was late for work.
This crazy move was purely so I could have it for lunch, I honestly could not wait!
It was moist, delicious and we may need to stage a turkey intervention.....again!
The best thing about this demo bird is I have the most amazing turkey stock in the freezer just waiting to be part of the Christmas gravy.
Here are a few pictures of how I boned the turkey (may be too graphic for some), you could always try and con your butcher into doing it for you.
For me the key is a sharp knife and letting it find it's way through the bird.
Plus take your time, don't start it 10 minutes before it is due to go into the oven.
Ditch the wings, aint nobody got time for that.....
Remove the white tendons from the legs
Looks better finished for sure!
