In Victorian times, people enjoyed a Christmas turkey instead of ham And the BBC shared this useful recipe on how to recreate Victorian-style Christmas turkey!
For the turkey:
1 x 5-6kg/11-13lb 3oz turkey, preferably a bronze turkeymelted butter, for basting
Forcemeat stuffing
225g/8oz dried breadcrumbs
small bunch flatleaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
handful fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
handful fresh marjoram leaves, finely chopped
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper1 tsp salt
freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 lemon, zest only
115g/4oz butter, softened until almost melted, plus extra for greasing
2 free-range egg yolks
Recipe
The turkey was roasted using a bottlejack but the instructions here are for a conventional oven. The closest modern match to a Victorian turkey would be a bronze turkey.
Serves 10-12 people
Step 1: Prepare the forcemeat
Mix ingredients in a bowl
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
For the forcemeat stuffing, mix together all the forcemeat stuffing ingredients, except for the butter and egg yolks, in a bowl until well combined.
Add the softened butter and mix thoroughly, using your hands, until well combined.
Add the egg yolks and work them into the mixture, using your hands, until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
Step 2: Stuff the turkey
Moisten your fingers with water, then carefully slide your fingers under the skin of each side of the turkey breast, until your fingers reach the end of the breast, to separate the skin from the meat. Stuff the cavity between the skin and breast with the forcemeat stuffing.
Use cooking string to tie up the turkey
Fold the excess flaps of skin back into the cavity of the bird. Truss the legs of the turkey with cooking string. Grease a sheet of greaseproof paper all over with butter and lay it on top of the stuffed turkey breast. Secure the sheet of greaseproof paper to the turkey using cooking string.
Transfer the turkey to a large roasting tin and roast for between 3 hours 20 minutes and 4 hours, depending on the weight of your turkey, or until cooked through. To test if the turkey is cooked through, pierce the thickest part with a skewer. The juices should run clear.
Step 3: Roast the Turkey
Baste with melted butter
During cooking, baste the turkey all over with melted butter, at 15 minute intervals.
Remove the sheet of greaseproof paper covering the turkey breast 20 minutes before you remove the turkey from the oven.
Carve into thin slices. When the turkey is ready to serve, carve the stuffed breast into thin slices. Serve with the bread sauce.
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