Planning your Christmas Dinner with thanks to Corrib Deli

By Corrib Oil | 18th December 2020

Great advice from our Fresh Foods Team to prepare your Christmas Dinner.

Bear in mind when ordering your Turkey how many people you are catering for. A good rule is to allow a 12 lbs turkey for 8 people.
Plan your shopping and have a total budget that includes vegetables, sauces, dessert and wine.
You can serve red wine with Turkey but many find it too heavy and opt for a Pinot Grigio or a Chardonnay. Corrib Oil have a fantastic selection of wines at great prices.
When you start to cook remember good hygiene is essential. Proper cooking will kill any bacteria but you risk spreading bacteria while cooking.
The turkey should be handled as little as possible. Unpack it directly onto a roasting tray.
Don’t wash it as this can spread bacteria. Always wash your hands and dry with a clean towel.

Remove the turkey from the fridge first thing in the morning to give it time to come to room temperature.
When starting to prep the turkey firstly, gently loosen the skin around the body of the bird.
Place a few knobs of butter under the skin particularly around the breast of the bird and rub it in slightly. This will help to produce a lovely moist turkey.
Next stuff your turkey.

Arrange two large sheets of foil across your baking tin – one of them widthways, the other lengthways (no need to butter them).
Lay the turkey on its back in the center, then rub it generously all over with the butter, making sure the thighbones are particularly well covered.
Next season the bird all over with salt and pepper, and lay the bacon over the breast with the rashers overlapping each other.
The idea now is to wrap the turkey in the foil. The parcel must be firmly sealed but roomy enough inside to provide an air space around most of the upper part of the turkey.
So bring one piece of foil up and fold both ends over to make a pleat along the length of the breastbone – but well above the breast. Then bring the other piece up at both ends, and crimp and fold to make a neat parcel.
When you are about half an hour away from being ready remove the cover and the rashers. Now it’s time to start basting.
Continue to baste every 5 or so minutes until your turkey is cooked and looking lovely and golden brown.
Once cooked remove from the oven, cover really well with tin foil, and leave to rest for a good 20 mins.
This will help all juices to be soaked back up into the turkey. It will give you time to do the potatoes and vegetables.
Timing is key so allow the time for cooking vegetables to be ready when the turkey is coming out of the oven.
Have another family member in charge of setting the table and doing some nice decorations.

Well done this is your moment, carve up and enjoy the fruits of your work.

Remember at all times good cooking practices are essential so more details are available here. 

If all this is too much why not try our delicious Turkey & Ham dinner available until December 24th for only €6.99 with your Corrib Oil  rewards tag

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