Jamies Christmas Turkey Food

THE BEST ROAST TURKEY - CHRISTMAS OR ANY TIME

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to maximum. Heat a saucepan until medium hot and add a splash of olive oil. Pick the sage leaves and add to the pan with 6 of the pancetta or bacon strips.
• Peel and chop 2 garlic cloves and 1 onion. Trim and chop the celery and add to the pan with the garlic and onion. Fry everything gently until soft and golden brown. Take the pan off the heat, add the breadcrumbs and, while the mix is cooling down, roughly chop the apricots and stir them in.
• When the stuffing has cooled down, add the pork, lemon zest, nutmeg, egg and lots of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix everything together well. Slice the remaining strips of pancetta or bacon in half and peel and slice 1 peeled garlic clove into thin slivers. Place a rosemary sprig and a garlic sliver on one end of a halved strip of pancetta and roll it up tightly. Repeat with the other pieces of pancetta until you have 12 little rolls.
• Stab the thighs and drumsticks of the turkey in 6 places on each side. Push a little pancetta roll into each hole until it just peeps out. This will give your turkey thighs a fantastic flavour and will keep them moist while they cook.
• Peel the remaining onions and chop in half, and peel and thickly slice the carrots.
• Give your turkey a good wipe, inside and out, with kitchen paper, and place it on a board, with the neck end towards you. Find the edge of the skin that's covering the turkey's breasts and gently peel it back. Work your fingers and then your hand under the skin, freeing it from the meat. If you're careful you should be able to pull all the skin away from the meat, keeping it attached at the sides. Go slowly and try not to make any holes!
• Lift the loose skin at the neck end and spoon the stuffing between the skin and the breast, tucking the flap of skin underneath to stop anything leaking out. Pop the orange in the microwave for 30 seconds to warm it up and stuff it into the cavity.
• Weigh the stuffed turkey and calculate the cooking time (about 20 minutes per 500g/1lb 2oz).
• Place the bird on a large roasting tray, rub it all over with olive oil and season well. Surround with the chopped carrots, onions and remaining cloves of garlic, cover with tin foil and place in the preheated oven. Turn the heat down right away to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 and roast for the calculated time, or until the juices run clear from the thigh if you pierce it with a knife or a skewer. Remove the tin foil for the last 45 minutes to brown the bird.
• Carefully lift the turkey out of the tray and rest on a board covered loosely with foil for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours for bigger birds.
• When the resting time's nearly up, skim off the surface fat from the roasting tray and add the flour and stock. Place the tray on the hob and bring to the boil on a high heat. When the gravy starts to thicken, strain it into a bowl.
• Carve your turkey, serve with the gravy and dig in!

JAMIE'S CHRISTMAS TURKEY

Steps:

• If you're worried about cooking the perfect Christmas turkey because you're afraid you'll get it wrong, don't be. This recipe is nice and simple and will help you achieve brilliant results for your Christmas meal. Take your turkey out of the refrigerator about an hour before you're ready to cook it so it comes up to room temperature before roasting. Give it a good rinse then pat it dry with some kitchen paper, making sure you soak up any water in the cavity. Drizzle the meat with a good lug of olive oil, add a few good sprinkles of salt and pepper and then rub this seasoning all over the bird, making sure you get in to all the nooks and crannies. Preheat your oven to full whack then get started on your stuffing. For the stuffing: Pour a lug or 2 of olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat and fry off your chopped onion, for about 10 minutes, or until softened. Stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper, the ground nutmeg and your chopped sage leaves, then continue to fry and stir for another 1 minute or 2. Spoon the onion mixture into a large bowl and let it cool completely. Once cooled, add your pork mince and breadcrumbs and use your hands to really scrunch everything together. Once it's mixed really well, bring the stuffing together into a ball, then cover and chill until you're ready to stuff your turkey. Pull the skin at the neck-end back so you can see a cavity and push about 1/2 of your stuffing inside your turkey. Not too much: you don't want to pack it so tightly it slows down the cooking. Once done, pull and fold the skin over the opening and tuck it under the bird so it looks nice. Turn the turkey around and drop a few small pieces of stuffing into the larger cavity along with your clementine halves and a few sprigs rosemary. Place your roughly chopped onion, celery, and carrots in the bottom of a roasting pan and lay your turkey on top. Cover the turkey with tin foil then put it in the hot oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 350 degrees F/ 180 degrees C/ Gas 4. Cook for about 35 to 40 minutes per kilo/ 2 pounds 2 ounces. The 11 pound/ 5 kg bird in this recipe will take about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Check on your turkey every 20 minutes or so and keep it from drying out by basting it with the lovely juices from the bottom of the pan. After 2 1/2 hours, remove the foil so the skin gets golden and crispy. When the time is up, take your turkey out of the oven and stick a small sharp knife into the fattest part of the thigh. If the juices run clear and the meat pulls apart easily, it's ready. If not, pop the turkey back in the oven to cook for a bit longer, then check again. Once ready, cover the turkey with tin foil and a few clean tea towels for 30 minutes and let it rest while you get your vegetables and gravy ready.