Roasting a turkey should no longer be the unbearable stress of Christmas morning. That’s what my mother told me many years ago. Neither should it be the obstacle of an extra cocktail or a few more moves on the dance floor on Christmas Eve. Rejoice! The fool-proof, over-night Christmas Turkey recipe is here.
23 December, early evening: To brine or not to brine? Brine, brine, brine! To me, that’s the secret for the juiciest bird you will roast this Christmas. All you need is a large cooler. The turkey will marinate on the veranda overnight (unless you live in Australia in which case you need to keep it in the fridge). Just make sure you put something heavy on the lid to prevent the cats from midnight snacking. Prepare the stuffing.
24 December, early evening: Remove Turkey from the brine and prepare for roasting. Wrap tightly in greaseproof paper and foil. Go out, eat, drink, dance and be merry. 12 midnight or later, just like Cinderella your turkey will turn into a pumpkin (kidding!). You can actually roast any time between 10 pm and 2 am. What I do, is slow roast the turkey for 8 hours.
Christmas morning: Wake up, open presents, have breakfast. Uncover turkey and roast for 30 minutes basting with the juices. Gordon Ramsay said that you should let the turkey rest for 3 hours before carving and serving. Once the turkey is done, I remove from the oven, cover with foil and let it rest until serving time. Trust me when I say that the turkey will still be warm by then. And you will have all the time you need to roast potatoes, chop the salad, make another 4 or 5 sides (like a true Cypriot!), and have the happiest, merriest, stress-free Christmas.
Over-night Christmas Turkey
Ingredients
For the Christmas Turkey Stuffing
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 60 grams unsalted butter
- 60 grams olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 150 grams pork mince
- 150 grams beef mince
- 400 grams chicken livers
- 2 cups long grain rice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or use dry
- 180 ml red wine
- 180 ml “koumantaria” or port
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 650 ml chicken broth
- Salt to taste
For the Brine
- 1 x 5-6 kg Turkey
- 1 x 750 ml bottle Rose wine, or water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup sea salt
- 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 medium onions, quartered
- 1 x 5 cm piece root ginger, sliced
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 orange, halved
- 10 thyme sprigs
- 3 rosemary sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
For the Turkey
- 200 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped (or dried)
- 1 tsp rosemary leaves, chopped
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5-6 slices bacon
- 5 large onions, sliced
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/2 onion
- 1 cup dark rum
- 1 quantity Turkey stuffing
Instructions
Make the Christmas Turkey Stuffing
- In a large pot, over medium heat, dry toast the pine nuts until golden. Transfer in a bowl and set aside until needed.
- In the same pot, melt butter and add the olive oil. Cook onion over medium heat until soft and beginning to colour. Add mince meats and cook about a minute or so. Add liver and cook stirring occasionally until no red spots are visible. Add the rice and stir well until rice is moistened in the pot juices. Season with the cinnamon, pepper and thyme leaves. Add salt to taste.
- Pour in wine and “koumantaria” or port. Bring to a simmer and cook for a minute or so to let some of the alcohol evaporate. Add raisins and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer, give everything a stir, cover the pot and let it cook for 10 minutes. Stir again, cover the pot and cook 10 minutes more until rice is cooked but not mushy. Mix in the reserved pine nuts. Use part of this flavourful rice to stuff a whole turkey or chicken, or serve as a meal with a leafy salad. It’s absolutely delicious.
- Two days before roasting, early in the evening, brine the turkey. Mix all ingredients for the brine in a large cooler. Submerge the turkey in the cooler and add enough water to cover the turkey completely in the liquids. Cover and leave at a cool place (I leave it on my kitchen veranda). Leave it in the cooler for 24 hours.
- The next day, early in the evening, take the turkey out of the cooler, and rinse it under cold water. Drain and set on a tray lined with paper towels, breast side up. Discard brine. Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Use as many as needed to ensure that the skin of the turkey is as dry as possible. Season the cavity of the turkey only, with salt and pepper.
- In a bowl, mix butter (must be soft), lemon zest, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Using your fingers separate a little of the skin from the breast so as to create a small pocket. Be careful not to tear the skin. Using your fingers again stuff some of the butter under the skin and press to distribute as much as possible. Stuff as much butter as you can under the skin. Pat the skin dry again and spread the remaining
- Put onion slices and carrots in your baking pan. Spread them to cover the base. Place the turkey in the pan over the onions and carrots. Using a spoon, stuff the cavity of the turkey with as much stuffing (you can fit. Don’t overdo it. Place half an onion to seal the cavity as much as possible. You can use a small metal or wooden skewer to seal it by piercing the skin. Using kitchen twine, tie the legs together in a cross.
- Place bacon slices on turkey breast. Pour rum all over turkey. Cover turkey with a large piece of greaseproof paper and three layers of aluminum foil. Let no air escape! You will now slow-roast this turkey for 8 hours at 130° C, fan. Roasting time will depend on your plans. I usually put turkey package in the oven at midnight or 1 am and uncover at 8 or 9 am on Christmas morning.
- Christmas morning: Uncover the turkey and increase oven temperature to 200° C, fan. Baste turkey with gorgeous pan juices. Roast for 30 minutes more, basting with the pan juices 4-5 times, until turkey is golden.
- Cover turkey with foil and let it stand for 2-3 hours or until serving time. Slice Turkey and transfer on a serving platter. Sieve the pan juices (use a spoon to press all the juices out of the onions and carrots) and discard the veggies. You can serve the pan juices over the turkey as it is (delicious!) or thicken slightly.
- To thicken the sauce, place in a saucepan or small pot and bring to a simmer. In a small frying pan melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir over medium heat to create a roux and cook the flour slightly. Add this roux to your sauce to thicken to your liking. If sauce becomes too thick, loosen with some water or rum.
- Have a joyful, merry Christmas.
