Some people find cooking a turkey super stressful, and extra stress is one thing none of us need this year. We’ve suggested some top turkey tips that we hope will come in handy.
1. Don’t have a turkey, try a different meat. We could never sacrifice it at STAG HQ, but we hear from many families who go for an alternative.
2. Don’t get one so big. Yes, we know how great it is to bring out the giant turkey on the Christmas family heirloom plate, but think about how much meat is often leftover, so downsize!
3. Make sure you plan ahead and allow enough time for your turkey to defrost.
4. Make sure you have a tin big enough to hold it.
5. Most people get anxious that their turkey isn’t cooked through. The purchase of a meat thermometer should help take that stress away.
6. Make sure you have room in your oven. We made the mistake of trying to be organised and ensuring the turkey fit in the oven, and it did, beautifully. What never crossed our mind was where all the other blumming veg was going to go!
7. Allow the bird to reach room temperature before placing in the oven and it’s fine to take the turkey out and let it rest with some foil over it while you’re finishing off the rest of the veg.
8. Sit your turkey on a layer of root vegetables, they caramelise beautifully and will make for some super tasty gravy.
9. Write down all your timings, what time things will go in the oven, the temperature and when they need taking out.
10.When you’ve finished and it’s cooled, pop any leftovers straight in the fridge or you could end up eating turkey that’s been left out in a warm house for hours.
Finally, don’t forget Mumblers, if all ends in disaster, it’s really not the end of the world (unless of course there’s some badass food poisoning involved) but seriously, it’s just a piece of meat and it’s really not what Christmas is all about. Just dazzle them later with your Mum/Dad Christmas dancing and bring out the Quality Streets and all will be forgotten! Don’t stress that your crap turkey will ruin the Boxing Day sandwiches, just slap on plenty of cranberry sauce or grab the leftover gravy and slip in the ultimate Friends inspired Moist Maker. Here are some Boxing Day sandwich suggestions
