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Turkey on Christmas? Why Not?
Turkey is one of the best birds to feed an Army of friends and relatives. BUT, how often do we mess up the bird by over cooking the bird to get that beautiful brown roasted Amber color. I have a recipe that your friends and relatives will rave about for years. I guarantee it will be moist and delicious! Here we go: Ingredients: 1 package of Bacon Mayo scallion soy sauce fresh garlic or powder pepper, salt Preparation: -Wash the turkey inside an out. make sure turkey is breast up and dry. -Slather the mayo all over the exterior of the bird, breast, legs and wings and inside the cavity. The mayo acts as a sealant. it keeps the moisture from evaporating and therefore a more tender bird. -Season with salt pepper, garlic powder or chopped fresh garlic. Do the same for the bird's cavity inside. The meshing of flavors both inside and out will permeate throughout the bird. Add the bacon slices raw in a layer side by side. bacon has so much salt it will provide additional flavor along with the pork fat of the bacon for additional flavor. Chop up scallion and throw into the bird's cavity, add soy sauce in cavity and spread with your hands. When soy sauce is heated, it tends to stick to whatever is being made. You may want to cover the wing and drum stick with aluminum foil to prevent dryness. Place bird in a Dutch oven and bake at 350 degrees uncovered for about 20 minutes. Then cover and reduce heat to 300 to 325 for about 2 1/2 hours for a small bird weighing about 12 lbs on average. For larger ones, add about another hour or 2. More density requires more cook time. The best way to check is every hour, pull the bird out of the oven and cut the drumstick where its attached to the body. if there is still blood, its not ready but if it clear, its ready and take out. All ow to sit out for about 30 minutes. This allows the meat to retain the juices. If you cut prior, the juices will run out and you'll defeat the whole purpose of making a moist Turkey. Ok, time for cutting. make sure you have a sharp knife. An electric carving knife is great too. Find the breast bone. The breast bone will be your guide to slicing in a downward curved trend. Cut all the way down. The cut horizontally at the bottom. You'll have a block of deliciously moist turkey, set on butcher board and slice evenly, thick or thin. each person will get the same size piece. On a separate plate, carve the dark meat from the wing and drum stick. The skin is so delicious! By Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocanmaryland.com Ho Ho Ho Marry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah
To ALL My Friends and Family, and to all my Facebook and Twitter friends. Tis the season to be grateful for our health, happiness and family! This holiday season everyone will get together to celebrate the holidays. many of you will be hosting a get together cooking up a storm for special friends and family. The task can be undaunting. yes, you may have the local caterer prepare the meal or you can go to the wholesale clubs too. Chef Woo Can will suggest some easy tips on preparing the most delicious dishes and they are not necessarily Asian dishes! Here I go: -Lasagna. One of the most favorite side dishes or any occasion. A lot of work involved with cooking the pasta. It's not exactly the traditional way but like any dish being prepared, its the prepping part that takes so much time. First buy a box of lasagna pasta. Get a Pyrex dish or aluminum tray based on the # of guests. Buy ground beef, season with salt and pepper and cook well done and drain the oil and set aside. Buy the Ricotta cheese, add 1 egg or 2 depending on how much Ricotta cheese is being used. if buying a large container may require 2 eggs. if you have dried parley, just add about a teaspoon in Ricotta cheese mixture. Add 1/4 cup of bread crumbs to bind the Ricotta cheese mixture, while cracking 1 or 2 eggs in the cheese mix. Purchase a block of Mozzarella cheese and dice ahead of time, or use package shredded cheese. Lastly, buy your favorite tomato sauce already ready to pour. With all the cheese, family and friends won't tell its ready made sauce. Take the pan, add some sauce to prevent sticking. Add 1 layer of lasagna pasta (RAW), add 1 layer of ground beef, 1 layer of Ricotta cheese mixture and a layer of diced Mozzarella cheese and add a layer of tomato sauce. Then add another layer of raw Lasagna pasta and continue the process. You should have at least 3 layers. The final layer of raw Lasagna pasta, add sauce, and diced Mozzarella cheese. Cover and seal with aluminum foil. The steam and heat generated by sauce will cook the raw pasta, Cook the pan at about 300 degrees on medium for 45-1 hour. Check after 50 minutes whether lasagna pasta is cooked. if not wait a little longer. meanwhile all the flavors of beef, cheeses and sauce will fuse together. When done, allow to rest for 15-20 minutes. The bread crumbs in the Ricotta cheese mixture will give the cheese body when cutting. You did it. Happy Holidays from Chef Woo Can at www.chefwoocanmaryland.com |
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