Christmas Food with JP and Eric: Amazing Christmas Turkey and Ham with delicious sides
By JP Kennedy & Eric Osbourne
The big day is almost upon us and for me prepping and cooking the Christmas Turkey and Ham is my favourite meal to prepare for my family every year.
I adore this time of year; planning and preparing what I am going to cook for my family and while this Christmas may be a little different than others; the good news is I will still get to cook what is my favourite meal of the year, twice, on both Christmas day and Stephen’s day; albeit for smaller gatherings than in years before.
Every year I order my turkey through my local butcher Seezers & Sears in Citywest.
I go for the full bird as I find it gives better flavour and goes much further. I order a large heritage cured ham from Avoca.
The great thing about my ham is it’s a roasted ham so no boiling required.
It roasts low and slow on Christmas Eve for 5 hours and then on Christmas day all I have to do is score and stud each intersection with cloves and then dress with brown sugar, orange zest, Dijon mustard and maple syrup and pop back into the oven for 30 minutes to become burnished and golden!
It’s simply delicious I promise you! I serve my turkey and ham with all the trimmings and this year I am delighted to be teaming up with executive chef Eric from the Tallaght Cross Hotel who has some delicious recipes for the perfect sides to serve with your Christmas Turkey and Ham.
Turkey & Ham – Ingredients: Caters for 12- 14 People
- 14lb Turkey – Full bird
- 11lb Heritage cured ham – part boned, makes for easier carving
- 1lb unsalted butter
- 1 packet of streaky bacon
- 200g Light brown Sugar
- Cloves
- Maple syrup
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
- Sea Salt and cracked black pepper
- Freshly Chopped Thyme and Sage – tablespoon of each
Roasted Heritage Cured Ham – Method
1. On Christmas Eve – Preheat your oven to 160 degrees / 325F/ Gas mark 3
2. Take your Ham out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature for about 45 minutes
3. Cover in foil and place on a large roasting tray with a little water underneath and place onto the middle shelf of your oven and cook for 5 hours
4. Allow to cool completely and re-cover with fresh tinfoil and pop back into your fridge until Christmas Day
5. On Christmas Day when you’ve finished cooking the turkey take your ham back out of the fridge
6. With a sharp knife cut off the excess thick layer of outer skin leaving a thin layer of fat
7. Score the ham creating a diamond pattern and score each intersection with a clove
8. Pack on tightly the light brown sugar and liberally apply the maple syrup, Dijon mustard and grated zest of one orange
9. Roast in the oven at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes until it’s burnished and golden
The Ultimate Christmas Gravy – serves 6 (if catering for more double the recipe)
Ingredients
- 100ml red wine
- 600ml Chicken stock
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- 50g flour
- 50g butter
- 100ml of cream (optional)
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Method
1. When you remove the turkey from the roasting tin skim off any of the excess fat and then pop the remaining juices into a large pan
2. On a medium heat, then add the red wine and whisk together with the juices from the turkey and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate
3. Then add the chicken stock and rosemary and bring back to boil. Whisk in the butter and flour to thicken the gravy and then pour in the cream – this adds a lovely richness
4. Allow it all to bubble up until the flavour is concentrated then season with salt and pepper and pass through a sieve into your gravy boat – serve and enjoy
My Christmas Turkey – Method
1. On Christmas morning take your turkey out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. This will take about an hour
2. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees / 350F / Gas mark 4
3. I use a foil throwaway turkey roasting dish, saves on the washing up! Place a large piece of tinfoil lengthways and across the roasting dish and place the turkey inside. This will enable you to cover the bird easily creating an oven within an oven
4. If stuffing the inside of the turkey, I always do, gives more flavour, place your stuffing inside the cavity but remember not to pack it too tightly
5. Smear the entire bird liberally with the unsalted butter
6. Place strips of streaky bacon across the breast of the bird
7. Sprinkle on your chopped thyme and sage and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper
8. Pull the tinfoil over the bird making sure to leave space between the breast and the tinfoil – these should not touch. You are creating an oven within an oven
9. Pop into the oven. A bird this size will take about 5 hours to cook. For the last 1.5 hours of cooking remember to baste the turkey every 30 minutes. You can then remove the tinfoil for the last 45 minutes of cooking and bacon off the breast to ensure it gets a nice even golden colour.
10. To check your bird is cooked pierce the thickest part of the meat between the breast and the leg. Once the juices run clear your turkey is fully cooked. Cover in foil or up to 1.5 hours if required, to give you time to roast your ham and prepare and cook the delicious accompaniments.
Contact JP On:
Twitter: @JPKCooking
Email: JPKCooking@gmail.com
Instagram: jpkennedy.kennedy
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