Christmas turkey is a terrific dish. But, you need to keep in mind that its meat is quite dry, so cooking will require compliance with special technology.
The basic rule is that by the time it begins to be cut, the bird must be thawed correctly. To do this, place in the refrigerator and wait for the result. If the carcass is large, it will take several days. But you have to wait.
Pay special attention to the cooking time. Baking in the oven should be at least two hundred and fifty degrees, and for 1 kg of weight it will take from fifty minutes to one hour. In the event that the dish is covered with foil, then the time is reduced to forty minutes at the same temperature. But, cooking in a special package must be done at a temperature of two hundred degrees and not more than 45 minutes per 1 kg.
Traditional christmas turkey. At night in the carcass, make indentations with a sharp knife and place in them halves of garlic mixed with frozen chicken fat. The bigger, the better. Coat with olive oil and a mixture of your favorite spices. For example, whole grain mustard and home adjika. We enclose the carcass outside and inside with sage, rosemary, mint and thyme. At the bottom of the heat-resistant dishes, we place the quarters of apple and lemon, and on top - the turkey with its back down. We cover it with raw chicken fat and cover the entire surface with strips of bacon. Now wrap in foil and put in the cold overnight. The next day, it is recommended to take out the semi-finished product for several hours before sending it to the oven, and remove the foil.
The turkey with apples has a unique taste. To prepare it, you will need to marinate the carcass and leave it in a cold room for three days. The five-kilogram bird needs the following refueling. About 6 liters of water mixed with 7 large tablespoons of salt, a bag of peppercorns, a broken cinnamon stick, a large spoon of caraway seeds, 80 g. a mixture of favorite spices with mustard in equal proportions, 3 cloves, 1/4 cup sugar, two onion slices, 5 crushed garlic cloves, grated ginger root and chopped orange, 100 gr. honey, fresh chopped parsley and cilantro. After three days, get the bird, carefully wipe with a towel from the marinade. Inside the carcass put slices of sour apples, chop and cover the surface with strips of pork fat. Bake in a special bag. It is recommended to cut off one corner in order to let off steam. Christmas turkey will be ready in two and a few hours.
In addition to apple fillings, you can offer other options to choose from. For example, minced meat and aromatic herbs. Finely chop one onion and mix it with 2 cloves of crushed garlic, cubes of 3 stalks of celery and one sour apple, chopped with a bunch of cilantro, 300 gr. minced chicken. Stuff the minced meat thoroughly, salt and add chopped aromatic herbs of your choice. It can be thyme, rosemary and fresh mint.
Or stuff the bird with sauerkraut and potatoes. Boil half a kilo of tubers in their skins, then cool, peel and cut into four parts. Mix 300 grams of sauerkraut with finely chopped onion and add to the potatoes. Place the resulting mixture in a four-kilogram carcass, which is overlaid with bacon. We cook the turkey in a special package for about 2 hours. You can offer guests both a hot dish and a fragrant side dish soaked in bird fat.
Whole Christmas turkey is served on a large dish on the festive table, cut with a sharp knife into thin strips of meat, starting with the breast. Each guest put a few pieces of the bird and be sure to garnish.
Good appetite!