Christmas dinner Challenge for boardsies

stmol32

There's a great level of skill on this board so I have a challenge for everyone and I would appreciate any help you can give.

My oven gave up the ghost a few months ago and I can't afford to get it fixed so I've been cooking chinese/indian/mexican style.

I haven't missed it except for bread and baking but I can't figure out how to make the christmas dinner.

The Ham is fine because I usually boil that and only put it in the oven for the last fifteen minutes to crackle the skin.

I'm wondering how to make an alternative with turkey/goose, stuffing and veg all on the hob.

I'm fairly good at cooking so I'll try me hand to any suggestion. The only stipulation is it all has to be done on the hob (or at a stretch the microwave...eugh)

I realise most people will say "don't bother" but that's where the challenge of the title comes in.

I wait with bated breath to see the genius come through, cheers

Eviledna

Could you spare €40 to buy a halogen oven?

You'd gave a better shot at cooking a bird, either a chicken or a small duck or tiny goose. It would be the best option, boardsie phormium was recently giving great advice on them.

The only other alternative I can fathom is to separate the bird's components and cook them in a cast iron pot over the hob, but tbh it's never gonna be as nice or as safe as done in an oven of some sort.

trackguy

Halogen oven is a good idea.

You could get a boned and rolled turkey, brown it all over in a big pan and then pot 'roast' it (on the hob) with some vegetables and some stock?

If you are getting a whole turkey, I'd joint it - separate the thighs, wings, drumsticks and cut the breasts in 3 pieces.

Toss them in seasoned flour and brown well all over in a huge pot. Add some smoked bacon, onion and carrot to the pan along with some herbs (bay, thyme, rosemary) and fry until browned. Add the turkey pieces back in and add some chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for a few hours. You'll be left with a very tasty Turkey Casserole!

FTGFOP

You could deep fry it but you'd need your wits about you.

Good.
Bad.

ft9

stmol32 wrote: »

There's a great level of skill on this board so I have a challenge for everyone and I would appreciate any help you can give.

My oven gave up the ghost a few months ago and I can't afford to get it fixed so I've been cooking chinese/indian/mexican style.

I haven't missed it except for bread and baking but I can't figure out how to make the christmas dinner.

The Ham is fine because I usually boil that and only put it in the oven for the last fifteen minutes to crackle the skin.

I'm wondering how to make an alternative with turkey/goose, stuffing and veg all on the hob.

I'm fairly good at cooking so I'll try me hand to any suggestion. The only stipulation is it all has to be done on the hob (or at a stretch the microwave...eugh)

I realise most people will say "don't bother" but that's where the challenge of the title comes in.

I wait with bated breath to see the genius come through, cheers

Whats wrong with your oven? How much to fix it?

phormium

Halogen oven definitely if you can afford the €40/50 for it. B&Q have original JML model for 50, Dunnes have one too, think that is 40. I actually have an extender ring for mine which means you can fit a good size turkey in it, but you would fit a small turkey in it anyway, mushed down a bit, or cut up.

Mr Magnolia

Do you have a decent barbecue?

stmol32

Thanks for the ideas folks and by all means keep them coming. A barbecued christmas dinner would be class but I live in a flat.

I've had an idea based on the suggestions so far. Boned and rolled turkey cut into 2-3cm slices. Breaded and deep fried.
But the breadcrumbs are mixed with sage and finely chopped onions and chestnuts (breaded with stuffing basically)

Curry Addict

borrow or buy a dutch oven/cast iron pot and cook it on your hob. it works well check the link below

http://ramblingsoncastiron.blogspot.com/2010/11/can-you-cook-turkey-in-9-quart-dutch.html

Dizzyblonde

You could make turkey ballotines. Cut portion-sized slices of turkey breast, flatten them out slightly, fill with a stuffing, wrap tightly in clingfilm and cook in simmering water for 20-30 minutes. Or do one big one and simmer it for around an hour and a half.

I haven't made them myself, but I cooked a full turkey breast unstuffed like this before and it tasted really good. It cooks in its own juices.

Brian?

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

You could make turkey ballotines. Cut portion-sized slices of turkey breast, flatten them out slightly, fill with a stuffing, wrap tightly in clingfilm and cook in simmering water for 20-30 minutes. Or do one big one and simmer it for around an hour and a half.

I haven't made them myself, but I cooked a full turkey breast unstuffed like this before and it tasted really good. It cooks in its own juices.

Got there just ahead of me!

brian ireland

Do you have a dishwasher?
Taken from here.

To add novelty to your Christmas celebrations, then how about cooking a turkey in a dishwasher?
This particular cooking technique, as suggested by a chef in the UK (where turkey is traditional Christmas fare), brings intrigue to a dish that is often dismissed as being a little too predictable. Redefining a maligned tradition using an alternative cooking method should be true food of thought (pardon the pun) and interest to everyone, especially those children that you want to fully engage in Christmas festivities.
Cooking Method & Considerations
Allow one 50-minute cycle for every 2lb of weight. Hermetically seal a seasoned turkey inside several appropriate turkey-sized oven bags.
Place the turkey in the dishwasher to steam-cook.
When cooking a turkey, ensure that the temperature of the meat doesn’t rise above the recommended 145f by using a meat thermometer.
Test Run
As a trial run, a 5lb supermarket chicken was cooked in the dishwasher providing impressive results: firm, tender, moist breast meat.
Two cycles were used, and the bird was finished off in the oven to brown and crisp the skin.
The real deal
If steam cooking with a dishwasher and thermometer isn’t quite your thing then you could always use an Electrolux Steam Combination oven. An extensive range of preprogrammed settings ensures perfect results and reduces the amount of manual checking required. The ‘combination’ uses steam to make the bird succulent and tasty before the conventional oven provides the perfect brown and crisp finish. No need to move the bird or take further action – the settings are intuitive to ensure perfect results every time.
To read more about steam cooking and Electrolux combination steam cookers check out the Electrolux steam cook guide (PDF- especially page 39).
To read more about cooking a turkey in a dishwasher visit Daily Mail, UK.
For more information, contact the Electrolux Press Hotline on +46 8 657 6507 or press@electrolux.com

stmol32

Ballotines with cling film.... interesting.

I use this methaood for poached eggs but I honestly never thought to translate that to other foods. On reflection it should work brilliantly because the juices have nowhere to drain or evaporate off to and the boiling water can't get in.

This is the reason I posted because I wanted to tap in to the level of genius I've always seen on this board....

THEREFORE: steaming a whole bird in a dishwasher!!!! all I can say is
www.youtube.com/watch?v=whytAReStUQ&feature=related

As always keep them coming until you're bored - I really appreciate all replies.

the beer revolu

The turkey is easy - poach it!
I have done this for Christmas more than once with excellent results (can't stuff the turkey, though).
Obviously you can't do roast potatoes but you can do cubed fried potatoes.
The big problem I can see is not being able to keep stuff hot.

Dinkie

+1 for poaching in a type of masterstock.

Before you poach, take of the skin and fry it, so you can have some crispy skin on top.

(I've obviously been watching too much masterchef oz)

Else you can buy a slow cooker for E15. I made a really nice chicken and stuffing in the slowcooker. Was able to fit the veg and all in. Made the stuffing into balls and put them in toward the end.

THe chicken was really juicy and it fell off the bone.