Roast Turkey

[Red]

I am planning a Christmas Lunch onboard for the first time. The oven on the boat is smaller than the oven we have at home and there is no temperature indication, it is also gas. Should I adopt the normal method I use to cook chicken - 20 minutes plus 20 minutes per pound or should I add a bit more because that oven may not be as hot. I have a small turkey to cook 12lb in weight. It is a bit of a tight fit but I am planning to cook this first and keep it warm while all the trimmings are cooking. I do not want to over the turkey.

 

[Kipper]

I always used to cook the Turkey thhe dau before and take it to the boat cooked then cook the roast spods and yorkshire on stuff on board. Then I would just carve the Turkey up and poor pipeing hot gravy on it which is just the samee as cooking it and letting it rest. If you try to keep it warm IT WILL dry out. Nobody ever noticed it was not hot by the way. I changed to just doing a crown in the end as they seemed easier to handle o board.

 

[gjgm]

How far from home are you? It will stay warm for hours anyway!

 

[lisilou]

I always used to cook the Turkey thhe dau before and take it to the boat cooked then cook the roast spods and yorkshire on stuff on board. Then I would just carve the Turkey up and poor pipeing hot gravy on it which is just the samee as cooking it and letting it rest. If you try to keep it warm IT WILL dry out. Nobody ever noticed it was not hot by the way. I changed to just doing a crown in the end as they seemed easier to handle o board.

+1 we did that, carved, placed in a baking tray, covered with foil the served next day as above. Best turkey we've ever had!

 

[Red]

I am only about an hour from the boat. For me the smell of roast turkey cooking in the oven is all part of Christmas lunch. I have it in mind to get up on Christmas morning, clear away the glasses from Christmas Eve and then after a light breakfast of smoked salmon set about cooking the turkey. We are going out in the morning and want the smell of the turkey roasting in the oven wafting around the saloon as we sip hot tea. We hope to see 'three ships go sailing' by and then return to our berth and crack open a bottle or two...........

 

[simon barefoot]

Chop off the legs the day before. Then cook the crown at home, let it rest, carve it, wrap it. Then take the cooked breast and the raw legs (wrapped seperately!!) to the boat. Roast legs/trimmings in situ. Sorted!
If your turkey takes up too much room in the oven it'll NEVER cook properly, the outsides will be too near the heat source and will burn long before the centre even gets warm.
That way even if you get the timings wrong, you've still got the cooked breast, and the legs will be ready for a hot sandwich a little later on.

 

[Red]

Thanks, that sounds like a good solution but will the stuffing stay in the bird while it is being cooked minus its legs....

 

[simon barefoot]

Yep, the cavity remains intact without the legs. Make sure the stuffing is hot when you put it in, otherwise it'll take an age to cook through!

 

[ontheplane]

In days of yore when my parents had a boat, Mum used to cook the meat the day before and wrap it in foil.

Then on the boat, she used to make the gravy, and cut the meat up and put it in the gravy, have it on a low heat and warm it through for a bit.

The meat used to infuse with the flavour of the gravy - and it came out beautiful, succulent and moist.

 

[Tranona]

A turkey crown is much easier to get right and will cook properly in a small oven. You can just remove the legs and wings, cut out the wishbone and stuff the neck end (not cavity) as normal. Or you can go the whole hog and remove the bones and limbs completely and stuff the whole body, sewing up the skin where the backbone was so it still looks like a bird. Cook the legs at home beforehand and you can reheat them while the main bird is resting after cooking, if you want some dark meat as well. A crown is much easier to carve - either across starting from the neck end or longitudinally in the conventional way.

You can do similar things with any bird - pheasant, duck, chicken etc. Michel Roux does an exquisite duck this way and charges a fortune in his restaurant!

Enjoy!

 

[rr_123]

A turkey crown is much easier to get right and will cook properly in a small oven. You can just remove the legs and wings, cut out the wishbone and stuff the neck end (not cavity) as normal. Or you can go the whole hog and remove the bones and limbs completely and stuff the whole body, sewing up the skin where the backbone was so it still looks like a bird. Cook the legs at home beforehand and you can reheat them while the main bird is resting after cooking, if you want some dark meat as well. A crown is much easier to carve - either across starting from the neck end or longitudinally in the conventional way.

You can do similar things with any bird - pheasant, duck, chicken etc. Michel Roux does an exquisite duck this way and charges a fortune in his restaurant!

Enjoy!

mmm.... a whole hog....