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[drplokta]

Largely for my own reference for next year, here are the details on Christmas lunch.

Chicken: 2.5kg Label Anglais chicken from Wyndham House Poultry at Borough market. Stuffed with a quartered lime, olive oil and sea salt on the skin, then 2.5 hours at 190°C except for an interlude at 220°C halfway through when the potatoes went in, and 15 minutes to rest. Rather overdone, but pretty tasty (however see Gravy below). 7/10.

Gravy: At first appeared like a disaster, as there were no juices left in the chicken and some dried-up brown gunk in the roasting dish with a bit of fat on top of it. However, I drained off the fat and mixed some flour into it, defrosted some chicken stock and used it to vigorously deglaze the roasting tin, then mixed the two together and simmered it for five minutes, and the result was the best gravy I've ever made. 10/10.

Potatoes: 0.8kg of King Edwards, parboiled for 8 minutes, soaked in cold water for 15 minutes, then roasted in goose fat for 90 minutes, the first and last 15 minutes at 220°C and the remainder at 190°C. Slightly underdone, but overall very good (although not, I'm told, as good as flickgc's mother's). 8/10.

Parsnip & Carrot: Two large carrots, two medium parsnips, peeled and cut into batons, coated in olive oil, honey and ground cinnamon, then roasted for 45 minutes at 190°C and 15 minutes at 220°C. Slightly mushy, very tasty. 8/10.

Sausages in Bacon: Rare breed chipolatas from the Sillfield Farm stall at Borough Market, half wrapped in their smoked streaky bacon and half wrapped in their unsmoked streaky bacon, then roasted for 45 minutes at 190°C and 15 minutes at 220°C. Could have done with turning over rather sooner than I did, so a little overdone on top and underdone on the bottom, but it's really hard to go wrong with sausages and bacon. 9/10.

Peas: Just some frozen Waitrose petits pois, microwaved for 2 minutes. 6/10.

Wine: Stockman's Station Central Otago Pinot Noir 2006 from New Zealand (via Borough Market). Decanted and left to breathe for an hour. Smelled strongly of blackcurrants, but a more generally fruity flavour. 8/10.

Leftovers: Lots.

(Cross-posted to snake_soup.)

Comments

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

wot no brussel sprouts? :-)

[drplokta]

Neither of us likes sprouts at all.

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

Can I have you spouts then? Garlic pan fried sprouts with chestnuts is a thing of joy in my house.

FF

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

Sprouts stir-fried in water with butter and lemon.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I made a bunch last night: coated them with olive oil and put them in the oven on high until done (but not burned).

Delish.

B

[erikvolson.livejournal.com]

Fundamental Rule, There's always some food that your Mom makes better than anyone else.

Sounds like nummy meal.

Edit. I and a friend are both impressed with sausages wrapped in Bacon.

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

Not my mother's, I learnt to cook as self defence.


FF

Moms

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

"Fundamental Rule, There's always some food that your Mom makes better than anyone else."

Not all moms, sadly.

B

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

Sounds delicious, we've only just taken the turkey out of the oven, it looks and smells fab, ditto the ham. Annie does a great roast, we have home made xmas pudding too, she's a good baker.

We always eat late.

Thank you for the pressies, Annie are considering Woof Pie, Norfolk Pork Cheese and Scottish Fish Custard for dinner next year.

FF

Mushy Peas

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Were the peas mushy?

B

Re: Mushy Peas

[drplokta]

No, I fear not.

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

That seems like a really low temperature for roasting the chicken. I used the Joy of Cooking recipe for the Thanksgiving turkey: preheat the oven to 400 °F, put in the bird and immediately turn the heat down to 350 or 325 °F. I did 325 °F because the bird was still partly frozen; the lower temperature translates into a longer cooking time so it's more thoroughly done. Test for doneness using a quick-read thermometer (I think, from memory, it's an internal temperature of 185 °F). This recipe is the same for all fowl, the only difference being that smaller birds are done faster. Giving it a long time to rest is also good; at least 20 minutes. The turkey I did rested for an hour. A side benefit is that frees up the oven.

[drplokta]

Over here, we cook in Celsius, not Fahrenheit. My 190°C is 375°F.

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

I know °C but it's for chemistry, not for cooking, those two things being completely different, of course.