by Jamie Oliver
SERVES 16–20
3 HOURS 40 MINUTES
1 × 9-lb piece of middle-cut ham (uncooked), with knuckle
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 bouquet garni
1 onion
JERK
3 cloves of garlic
3 red shallots
3 fresh Scotch bonnet chiles
½ a bunch of fresh thyme (½ oz)
3 fresh bay leaves
½ a bunch of fresh chives (½ oz)
1 tablespoon liquid honey
1 tablespoon each ground allspice, ground nutmeg, ground cloves
6 tablespoons golden rum
6 tablespoons malt vinegar
GLAZE
1 orange
2⁄3 cup golden rum
3 tablespoons quality bitter orange marmalade
Get your meat out of the fridge and up to room temperature before you cook it. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the ham in a deep roasting pan with the peppercorns and bouquet garni. Peel the onion, cut into wedges, and add to the pan. Pour in enough water to come halfway up the side of the pan, then cover it with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave for 30 minutes, keeping it covered. Now, while it’s still warm, carefully remove the skin, keeping the fat attached to the ham. With a clean utility knife, score the ham by making lots of diagonal cuts across the leg.
Turn the oven up to 350°F. To make the jerk seasoning, peel the garlic and shallots, seed the chiles, and place them all in a food processor. Strip in the thyme leaves, tear the bay leaves off the stalks, and add the leaves to the processor with all the other jerk ingredients and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Blitz it up until smooth, then brush or rub (wearing gloves!) it all over the ham and scored fat. Bake the ham for 1 hour.
For the glaze, squeeze the orange juice into a bowl and mix with the rum and marmalade. Remove the ham from the oven, pour over the glaze, then roast for another 30 to 40 minutes, basting with a brush every 10 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly, sticky, and golden. Remove the ham to a board, ready to slice hot, cold, or at room temperature. Pour all the spicy fat into a jar, cool, and place in the fridge for tasty cooking another day.
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LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS
Use them in my Pea soup (see here), serve with my Bubble & squeak (see here), or at a party with pickles, condiments, and nice bread.
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PORCHETTA
ROLLED PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH BEAUTIFUL THINGS
Porchetta is a thing of complete joy. You can cook this as the epic centerpiece of a big feast with all the trimmings, or serve it up on a board with a carving knife at a party with buns, condiments, salad, and gravy for dunking. Just wow.
SERVES 16–20
5 HOURS 30 MINUTES
1 × 11-lb pork loin with belly attached, skin on (ask your butcher to remove the bones and butterfly open the loin meat)
4 red onions
15 slices of smoked pancetta olive oil
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
14 oz chicken livers, cleaned, trimmed
1 bunch of fresh sage (1 oz)
1 bunch of fresh rosemary (1 oz)
½ a bottle of white wine
7 oz mixed dried apricots, cranberries, raisins, sultanas
1¾ oz pine nuts
3½ oz Parmesan cheese
7 oz bread crumbs
½ cup Vin Santo
8 carrots
2 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
Get your meat out of the fridge and up to room temperature before you cook it. For the stuffing, peel and finely chop the onions, finely slice the pancetta, then place in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat with 6 tablespoons of oil, the butter, and fennel seeds. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, while you finely chop the chicken livers and herb leaves. Stir the livers into the pan, followed by the herbs and 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of wine. Roughly chop and add the dried fruit, along with the pine nuts. Cook and stir for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool. Finely grate over the Parmesan. Toast the bread crumbs and use your hands to mix them into the cool stuffing.
Place the pork loin on a board, skin-side down, open it out, and push it down flat. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper, then pour over and massage in half the Vin Santo. Scatter over the stuffing, pour over the remaining Vin Santo, then roll up the pork, patting on and compacting the stuffing as you go. Sit it with the seam underneath and tie with butcher’s string to secure it, then score the skin and into the fat with your knife. Season generously and rub all over with oil.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to full whack (475°F). Wash the carrots and place in a large roasting pan. Sit the porchetta on top, then pour in 2 cups of water and the remaining 11⁄3 cups of wine. Place in the hot oven for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and leave to cook for 4 to 5 hours, or until the meat is really tender, basting now and again.
Remove the porchetta to a board to rest for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place the roasting pan over a medium heat on the stove. Skim away most of the fat from the surface into a jar, cool, and place in the fridge for tasty cooking another day. Stir the flour into the pan, mashing the carrots and scraping up all those gnarly bits from the base. Pour in the stock, and simmer until the gravy is the consistency of your liking, stirring occasionally. Strain the gravy through a coarse sieve, pushing all the goodness through with the back of a spoon, then season to perfection. Carve up the beautiful porchetta, and serve it as you wish.
The TURKEY
THIS BIRD DESERVES RESPECT
PREPPING THE TURKEY
For me, prepping the turkey a day in advance and taking the time to get it to the stage where it’s ready to cook is a joy. I take real pleasure in giving this illustrious bird the focus it deserves, plus saving myself a bit of stress on the big day.
SERVES 12
WITH LOTS OF LEFTOVERS
30 MINUTES
1 × 15-lb higher-welfare turkey (I use a Paul Kelly bird)
1 clementine
1 fresh red chile
1 bunch of fresh rosemary (1 oz)
1 bunch of fresh sage (1 oz)
12 fresh bay leaves
8 oz Meat or Veggie stuffing (see here or here)
1 cup unsalted butter
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
12 rashers of smoked bacon
GRAVY TRIVET
optional: turkey giblets
2 onions
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
½ a bulb of garlic
Check the main turkey cavity for the bag of giblets, and if they’re in there, remove and tip them into your roasting pan, discarding the bag. The added flavor they’ll give your gravy will be incredible—trust me. Peel the onions, wash the carrots, and roughly chop with the celery, then add to the pan with the unpeeled garlic cloves. Halve the clementine and chile and place in the turkey cavity with most of the herbs—not filling it too full allows hot air to circulate, cooking the bird from the inside out and from the outside in.
Place the stuffing in the neck cavity, then pull the skin back over it and tuck it under the bird. You’ll get a good contrast between the soft, juicy stuffing here inside the turkey, and the crispier stuff you can bake in a dish as well.
Scrunch and warm the butter in your hands so it’s soft enough to spread all over the bird, getting into all the nooks and crannies. The butter layer serves two purposes—natural basting, plus keeping the seasoning away from the meat until it hits the oven, so the bird stays nice and juicy. The butter will melt off as it cooks, adding to the flavor of the gravy, and you’ll also be able to skim off that tasty fat and save it in a jar in the fridge for delicious cooking another day.
Generously sprinkle the turkey from all sides with sea salt and black pepper, pick over the remaining herb leaves and pat them onto the butter,
then finely grate over a nice coating of nutmeg. Cover the turkey snugly with aluminum foil and place it on top of the trivet in the pan. You can now either leave it for 1 hour until the bird comes up to room temperature, ready to cook, or pop it into the fridge or another cold place until you need it. Have a clear down, and your prep is done.
COOKING THE TURKEY
It’s game time, and your timings are key. Remembering to work out enough time for the bird to come up to room temperature, to cook, and to rest for 2 hours will determine when you start cooking and when you eat. Plan ahead!
Preheat the oven to 350°F. If you’ve made and frozen my Get-ahead gravy (see here), now’s a good time to get it out of the freezer. You want to cook a higher-welfare bird for 12 to 14 minutes per pound, and a standard bird for 16 to 18 minutes per pound (see my Guide to roasting meat here for more info). Higher-welfare birds generally have more intramuscular fat, which means they cook quicker than standard, lean birds. If you’ve got a 15-lb bird, like I had here, do it for just over 3 hours, based on the guideline timings above.
Just under 1 hour before the time is up, get the pan out of the oven and remove the aluminum foil. Cover the bird with your 12 rashers of smoked bacon, stretching and weaving them into a criss-cross pattern however you like. Return the turkey to the oven for the remaining time, or until golden and cooked through.
The simplest way to check it’s cooked is to stick a knife into the thickest part of the thigh—if the juices run clear, it’s done. If you’re worried, use a meat thermometer. You want to reach an internal temperature of 150°F for a top-quality bird, such as Paul Kelly’s turkeys, or 160°F for a supermarket higher-welfare or standard bird.
Use heavy-duty tongs to lift up your bird so all the juices run from the cavity into the pan, then transfer the turkey to a platter, cover with a double layer of aluminum foil and a clean kitchen towel, and leave to rest for up to 2 hours while you crack on.
Use your pan of trivet veg and juices to make your gravy. If you’ve made my Get-ahead gravy, follow the last two paragraphs here to finish it off. Otherwise, place the turkey pan over a medium heat on the stove. Skim away most of the fat from the surface into a jar, cool, and place in the fridge for tasty cooking another day. Stir2 heaping tablespoons of all-purpose flour into the pan, mashing up all the veg and scraping up all the sticky bits from the base. Pour in up to 8 cups of boiling kettle water and simmer until the gravy is the consistency of your liking, then stir in 2 tablespoons of Cranberry sauce (see here). Strain the gravy through a coarse sieve, pushing all the goodness through with the back of a spoon, then season to perfection. Keep warm over the lowest heat until needed, adding any extra resting juices from the turkey before serving.
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THE FIRST STEP IS KEY
You must let your bird come up to room temperature after being in the fridge. It’ll give you more reliable cooking times, as well as juicier, more tender meat, as the bird isn’t shocked when it hits the heat of the oven.
WHY WE REST THE BIRD
Don’t be under the illusion that when you remove the turkey from the oven it stops cooking. The residual heat will continue to cook the bird, giving the juices time to travel back throughout the meat, meaning a juicier bird all round. Piping hot meat is not a clever thing—warm, juicy meat, hot gravy, and hot plates is the holy grail.
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1 CARVING METHOD
Use your hands to disjoint the wings and legs, using a good, sharp carving knife to chop and help you pull them away. You can either slice or pull this brown meat—it’s so tasty. Keep it warm while you move on to the breast meat. Use the full length of the knife in a smooth action to slice through the meat, transferring it to a warm platter as you go.
2 CARVING METHOD
Again, use your hands to disjoint the wings and legs, using a good, sharp carving knife to chop and help you pull them away. Now, feel where the backbone is and cut with the length of your knife all the way down beside it until you hit the carcass, and lift the whole breast off the bone. Slice on a board, transferring it to a warm platter as you go.
TURKEY WELLINGTON
PARMA HAM, MIXED MUSHROOM STUFFING, & GOLDEN PUFF PASTRY
A delicious alternative to cooking a whole bird at Christmas, this play on your classic beef Wellington is really tasty, looks the part, and will get everyone really excited when you cut into it. It’s a little more prep, but much easier to serve.
SERVES 10
2 HOURS
PLUS COOLING
1 × 3½-lb turkey breast, skin off olive oil
½ a bunch of fresh thyme (½ oz)
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1¼ lbs mixed mushrooms
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1¾ oz sun-dried tomatoes
1 teaspoon truffle oil
all-purpose flour, for dusting
26 oz all-butter puff pastry (cold)
8 slices of Parma ham
1 large egg
Get your meat out of the fridge and up to room temperature before you cook it. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Rub the turkey breast all over with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Rinse the thyme in hot water to reawaken it, then strip the leaves all over the meat. Place in a pan and roast for 45 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, just cover the porcini with boiling kettle water. Roughly slice the fresh mushrooms and place in a casserole pan on a high heat with the butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the porcini and most of the soaking water (discarding the last gritty bit), strip in the rosemary leaves, then add the sun-dried tomatoes and truffle oil (using just a little oil imparts brilliant depth of flavor). Cook and stir for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden and the water has evaporated. Pulse in a food processor until fairly fine, then season to perfection and leave to cool.
To assemble the Wellington, on a clean flour-dusted surface, roll out each pastry block to the size of a shoe box, then make one 25% larger than the other. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a large baking sheet, dust with flour, then add the smaller piece of pastry. Spread half the mushroom stuffing in the middle, roughly the same size and shape as your turkey breast. Place the turkey on top, then use a knife to evenly cover it with the rest of the stuffing. Lay over the slices of Parma ham, overlapping them slightly. Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg. Lay the larger sheet of pastry over the top, then gently mold it round the shape of the breast, pushing out the air, and seal. Trim the edges to a width of 1½ inches, then confidently twist, tuck, and pinch in the pastry. Brush the whole thing with beaten egg, and either cook straight away or keep in the fridge overnight.
Cook from room temperature in a preheated oven at 350°F for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until puffed up and golden, and the turkey is piping hot throughout—you want the internal temperature to be 160°F if you’re using a meat thermometer. Leave to rest for 10 minutes, then carve into 1-inch-thick slices and serve with gravy, Cranberry sauce (see here), and all the usual trimmings.
ROAST CHICKEN
WITH YOUR CHOICE OF FLAVORED BUTTER
Here’s a really solid recipe for roast chicken, using flavored butter to ring the changes, mix up the flavors, and, in turn, influence the flavor of your gravy too, as well as what you choose to serve the chicken with. I hope this inspires you.
SERVES 6
2 HOURS
PLUS RESTING
1 × 4-lb whole chicken
3½ oz Flavored butter (see here)
1 lemon
GRAVY
2 onions
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 bulb of garlic
½ a bunch of mixed woody herbs (½ oz)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2⁄3 cup red or white wine
2½ cups chicken stock
optional: 1 teaspoon berry jam
Get your chicken out of the fridge 1 hour
before you want to cook it, cover it, and leave it to come up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Choose and make your Flavored butter (see here), then remove 3½ oz for the chicken, returning the rest to the freezer. Warm and scrunch the butter in your clean hands, then rub it all over the chicken. Halve the lemon and place inside the cavity, then sit the chicken in a sturdy roasting pan. Peel the onions, wash the carrots, then roughly chop with the celery, smash up the bulb of garlic, and add it all to the pan. Scatter over the herbs, pushing a few sprigs into the cavity.
Cook the chicken for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, basting occasionally, and turning the veg when you do so. To check it’s cooked, use tongs to lift up the chicken—if the juices run clear out of the cavity, happy days. You can also check by pinching the thigh meat—if it comes away easily from the bone, you’re good to go. Remove to a platter, cover with aluminum foil and a clean kitchen towel, and leave to rest for 30 minutes while you make your gravy.
Put the pan on a medium heat on the stove, skimming away most of the fat. Stir in the flour, mashing all the veg and scraping up all the sticky bits from the base. Pour in the wine and leave to bubble and cook away, then pour in the stock and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the gravy is the consistency of your liking. Strain the gravy through a coarse sieve into another pan, pushing all the goodness through with the back of a spoon, then taste and season to perfection. It’s nice to balance the flavors with a little jam, then you can leave it ticking away on the lowest heat, until needed.
Serve the chicken and gravy with Baked bread sauce (see here) and steamed seasonal greens, or your favorite spuds (see here) and veggie side dishes (see here).