Page 428 - YC Cooking School

rubbing flavoured butter between the skin and meat also works a treat. Another benefit of
inserting flavoured butter or stuffing between the breast flesh and the skin is that the bird

self-bastes while cooking. Handy hey?

If for some reason the skin tears while you’re separating it from the flesh and you can't
insert the stuffing, don’t panic. Simply layer the turkey with strips of streaky bacon, which
has the same insulating effect. Cook the stuffing separately and serve alongside the turkey.

Your guests won't know the difference!

Now that you’ve used the stuffing between the skin and the breast meat, you won’t need to
place it inside the cavity. This is for the best anyway, because placing dense stuffing inside
the cavity slows down cooking time. Instead, put spices, herbs and cut up vegetables or

citrus fruit into this space, allowing the spicy flavours to infuse into the turkey as it cooks.
For a 4-5 kg (9-11 pound) bird, you’ll need to use as much as a tablespoon of salt to flavour
the cavity.

Next, push rolled up pieces of bacon into the legs of the turkey in three places (where

you've made an incision). This will release delicious flavour into the meat.

Finally, remember to rub the turkey with oil and give it one last bit of seasoning, shaping the
stuffing as you go. The turkey should be beautifully smooth and round before you pop it in
the oven. And voilà – that’s all there is to it!

Think about food safety
To prevent bacteria spreading, always wash your hands with hot soapy water in between
handling raw meat and other ingredients. It’s also really important to thoroughly wash any
work surfaces or utensils that have had contact with the raw turkey before using them for

any other cooking.

Learn to cook online at learn.yuppiechef.com

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