Christmas Turkey & Ham Recipe by Ian Orr

Ian Orr’s Christmas Turkey

Roast Irish turkey with truffle and walnut butter

Serves 4

Cooking and preparation time 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4kg “ready to cook” turkey
  • 125g of softenedbutter
  • 125g of toasted chopped walnuts
  • 10g of fresh chopped parsley
  • 10g of fresh chopped sage
  • 20ml of truffle oil
  • Salt and pepper to season

Method

  1. Brine the turkey overnight

My easy brine

3 lts of water

300g of salt

50g Sugar

  • Bring to boil, take off heat and add 2 cloves of garlic and 5 cloves when cool. Brine turkey overnight and then rinse
  • Pre heat the oven to 220 degrees centigrade
  • To make the truffle butter thoroughly mix together the toasted walnuts, butter, sage, parsley and truffle oil. Use blender if necessary
  • Rinse the turkey under cold water and dry with kitchen towels. Rub the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper
  • Next, run your fingers under the skin of the turkey breast and peel back as far as possible. Now place two thirds of the truffle butter on the turkey breast and cover by pulling the skin back to its original position
  • Place the turkey (breast side up) in a roasting try and cover loosely with foil. Transfer to the oven and reduce the temperature to 180 degrees centigrade. Cook for 1.5 hours
  • After 1.5 hours remove the foil and spread the rest of the truffle butter over the turkey. Cook for a further 30 minutes basting occasionally
  • Finally remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes before carving

Ian Orr’s Glazed Ham

Serves 4

Cooking and preparation time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 large ham (around 3-5kg)
  • 200g of local honey
  • 100g sugar
  • 50g tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of cinnamon

Method

  1. Put the Ham into a very large pot and bring to the boil with cold water, turn down the heat and then cook for 1 hour 30 minutes
  • When cool, lift out of the pot and take shin away and then score the fat
  • Preheat oven to 190 degrees centigrade
  • Mix together the honey, sugar, tomato sauce & cinnamon to make glaze
  • Place ham on a tray and put the glaze on top. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, baste the ham about 4 times until nice and glazed
  • Finally remove the ham from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes before carving

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