Spice up your Christmas Dinner with The South Devon Chilli Farm.
Why not try adding a sprinkle of Dry Spice Rub to your Turkey marinade or even a spoonful of chilli jam to your gravy. Either way, you are in for a treat.
Here is my turkey, roasted with a chilli compound butter to keep the meat juicy with a lovely warming flavour. Serve with all the Christmas trimmings, but especially with some honey glazed carrots for a delicious combination of sweet and spicy.
Ingredients:
1 Turkey Crown
The South Devon Chilli Farm Hot Dry Spice Rub
150g Butter
1 Lemon
2 Onions
2 Celery Sticks
1 Large Carrot
4 Garlic Cloves
Wine Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
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Cooking a turkey doesn’t have to be daunting. You can brine it to ensure you get the juiciest meat possible, and you can flavour it however you wish. The one thing that is most important is that you cook the turkey from room temperature and you rest the turkey for 45 minutes. This 45-minute spell is the perfect time to crisp up your roast potatoes and finish off all your other sides.
If you purchase your turkey from a butcher or direct from a farm, I would also suggest following the cooking times that they suggest. Nobody knows how to cook a turkey better than the farmers that raised them.
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Method:
Remove the turkey from the fridge the night before you cook it.
Add the softened butter to a bowl. Add the zest of the lemon, salt, pepper and 1 tbsp dry spice rub. Mix well until fully combined.
Cover the turkey with the chilli butter, ensuring it is spread all over. You can do this the day before to enhance the flavour even more.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 190˚C/170˚C Fan.
Roughly chop the onion, carrot and celery. Remove the skins from the garlic. Slice the lemon in half.
Place all the veg (except ½ onion) in a large roasting tray before squeezing over and adding ½ lemon. Top with a wire rack, add the turkey on top and place the remaining onion and lemon in the neck cavity.
Cover loosely with foil.
Roast in the oven for 1 hour, remove the foil, baste and then add the turkey back to the oven. This was a 2.7kg turkey that I roasted for a total time of 2 hours 10 minutes.
Remove the turkey from the oven, add the turkey to a separate plate and rest for 45 minutes. Longer if necessary.
Now, with the turkey juices you can make a gravy. But alternatively, you can use this as a separate sauce to keep the turkey even more juicy. Strain the cooking juices into a small saucepan. Add a splash of vinegar and keep warm over a low heat. Season to taste. Drizzle this all over the turkey after you have carved it, so the meat absorbs all the flavour.
Carve the turkey however you wish. Here, I have removed the 2 breasts and sliced them into fairly thick slices, ensuring that everyone gets some of the spicy, crispy skin.
Serve up and enjoy your delicious Christmas Dinner with a touch of chilli.
With thanks to @premoteuk!