Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2006/January 2007 | Page 78

FOOD - DRINK - ACCOMMODATION - Sponsored by - www.holidays2remember.co.uk

Tips for cooking
the perfect turkey
More and more people are
turning to local free-range
turkey for their Christmas
dinner table – but do they
know how to get the best
from it?
We asked local butcher Andy Gustar
of Hamilton’s Fine Food to give us
his expert advice. Andy runs four
retail butchers shops in Newport,
Cowes, Wooton Bridge and Ryde, as
well as a Newport-based production
unit for top quality sausages and
pies. He expects to sell 700-800
free range turkeys over the festive
period.
1. Remember that your free-range
local turkey is a game bird - so
expect it to have a strong aroma of
turkey (unlike mass produced ones
whose high protein diets remove
this characteristic).
2. Remove all wrappings and giblets
and keep it in the bottom of the
fridge – even if that means removing
other foods to make room. “Some
people fill their fridges with other
things and leave the turkey in the
garage or some other cold place”says
Andy, “but really it needs to be in the
fridge”. Leave it with the butcher
until the last possible minute – this
year Andy’s shops will remain open
on Sunday so that customers can
still pick up on Christmas Eve.
3. Always cook in foil, because
like other game birds, a turkey
will otherwise tend to dry out in

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cooking. Before wrapping in the
foil, rub the legs and breast with a
mixture of olive oil and butter and
season with coarse salt and black
pepper. For extra protection, put a
layer of greaseproof or silicone paper
between the bird and the foil to stop
sticking, as this can damage the skin
and spoil the look for the table.
4. Cook in a pre-heated oven for
the first half hour at 210 degrees,
gas mark 6, and then down to 180
degrees, gas mark 4. It will need
40 minutes per kilo/20 minutes per
pound, and every hour you should
roll back the foil and baste. Remove
the foil completely half an hour from
the end of cooking to brown and
crisp the skin. To test if cooked, put
a skewer or fork into the thickest
part of the breast, near the wing,
and check the juices run clear.
5. Once fully cooked, pour off the
juices and leave the turkey to rest
for 20 minutes, covered in fresh foil.
6. Sharpen the carving knife!
Butcher’s tip: To stuff or not to
stuff your turkey? Andy’s view
is not to, because it changes the
flavour of the meat – he prefers to
cook stuffings separately. If you do
stuff, remember it will also affect
cooking times, so just put stuffing
in the front cavity rather than the
whole bird.
Please call 01983 526098 for further
information.

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