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Recipe needed for turkey or duck Christmas dinner!

Antje77

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Help, I think I need a Christmas recipe!

I decided to not drive to my uncle and aunt this year because my car is acting up, and I don't feel like getting stranded on Christmas. I also don't feel like driving through the storm anyway, so my car was a perfect excuse, and I declined two offers of friends to borrow their car.

Turns out my neighbour who lives in my garden doesn't have plans for Christmas either, so we spontaneously decided to have dinner together.
It will be either a turkey or a duck from our own garden.
He'll do the killing and cleaning, so I think it's only fair if I offer to turn it into a Christmas worthy meal.

Problem is, I've never even cooked a chicken (well, I did once, didn't work out well), let alone a turkey or a duck.

So please tell me what to do with a duck/turkey to make a very yummy christmas dinner!
 
Duck and turkey need different cooking methods. I find duck has more fat, and is smaller than a turkey, so quicker to cook. Turkey can tend to dry out in the oven, so I would brine it. Which means soaking in a salt solution, with added herbs for at least 12 hours before cokking. Turkey also tends to be a lot bigger, and depending on how many are dining, you could find you are eating it for several weeks, after the original meal.
 
This is quite informative, but still no idea what to do with either beast.
There will be two people, three dogs and six cats dining but I'm not worried about leftovers, I didn't plan on preparing side dishes (pretty sure my neighbour is perfectly happy with a carnivore Christmas meal), and there's always the freezer if needed.
Also, our turkeys aren't that big.
The ducks are Indian runner ducks, slightly larger than an average duck I think.

I can still choose between turkey and duck, as of now they are still walking around in the garden with no idea what is to come.
So I'm looking for favourite recipes for either bird, don't care which one!
 
Nothing to do with eating them but we enjoy watching a Muscovy Duck on the river, where is he from please?
 
My husband brought a Goosnargh duck home from work once (worked in agriculture). I did a youtube search and took the breasts off and skin and did Chinese style with stirfry and did the rest 'crispy'. Lovely, one meal with 2 courses and used the bones for stock
 
welovedzig said:
Nothing to do with eating them but we enjoy watching a Muscovy Duck on the river, where is he from please?
Click to expand...
Muscovy ducks are so cool!
My friend has some of them in her garden.

If you're in the UK, your favourite muscovy duck is likely a descendant of once domesticated ducks, they are originally from central and south America.
 
I would choose duck every time. Though goose is even better.
If you want to keep it simple this would be a good recipe

Roasted Duck

This roasted duck is coated with a simple, flavorful spice rub, then baked in the oven and basted with butter until tender, juicy, and flavorful.
www.allrecipes.com

I always insert citrus fruit (orange or clemantine) in the body cavity, as well as basting with butter.
 
Antje77 said:
Muscovy ducks are so cool!
My friend has some of them in her garden.

If you're in the UK, your favourite muscovy duck is likely a descendant of once domesticated ducks, they are originally from central and south America.
Click to expand...
do people eat them he has so much character!
 
Pipp said:
I would choose duck every time.
Click to expand...
Good to know! Happy to follow your lead, will see if neighbour agrees tomorrow.
Looks very easy, and very delicious!
I'm starting to believe I can cook a bird.
 
Cook a turkey in very loose foil in an oven. The foil acts as a mini oven to keep all the moisture in. Can add some water or wine and onion or carrot so it makes its own stock for gravy, or soup).

Can add butter and/or bacon rashers over the breast

About 30 mins per 500g weight 180°
 
welovedzig said:
do people eat them he has so much character!
Click to expand...
Of course they do. They were bred for their meat.
Ducks have amazing characters, but so do pigs, and we still eat them.

I'd rather eat an animal that has lived a happy life free roaming than one from the supermarket.
Still, I hope your favourite muscovy duck will live out a long and happy life on your river!
 
Turkey would depend on the weight. I always find it a bit of a chore, and without adding lots of seasoning and spices, not particularly flavoursome. It is a personal preference and I have , in the past , used a wet brine before cooking. This explains better than I could.

How to brine a turkey

Learn how to brine a turkey to add flavour and tenderness by using both a wet and dry brine, plus find our top turkey brine recipes for Christmas.
www.bbcgoodfood.com
 
This article sounds very useful in case neighbour decides on a turkey!
 
I've never brined a turkey, but to help keep it moist, rub butter under the skin over the breast, grind some pepper over, then wrap in smoked or regular streaky bacon. You can pop an orange, onion, herbs etc., in the cavity, if you fancy. Place in roasting dish, cover in foil then roast at 170c for 40mins per kg. 20 mins before it's finished cooking, remove the foil & back into oven 180c to crisp up the bacon & finish. To check that it's cooked, put a skewer in the thigh towards the body & make sure the juices run clear. You can take the bacon from the turkey once crispy & put the bird back in for a quick blast to crisp up the skin, if it didn't come off when de baconing the bird.

For a 2kg duck, I just salt & pepper it then roast in a dish on a rack, so the fat can drip down, for about 2 1/2hrs at 180c. You can stuff it with an orange, herbs etc., if you fancy. 20mins before end of cooking, turn the oven up to 200c to crisp up the skin. You can use the duck fat to do some yummy roast spuds.

Whatever you have, I hope you enjoy it & a wonderful Christmas.
 
I only ever made duck breast, never a whole duck, but I rather like red wine sauce to go with it, should that be useful.

Excellent pairing with dark chocolate based desserts by the way. Mousse or something.

But never mind me, I can't actually cook, haha!
 
Antje77 said:
This article sounds very useful in case neighbour decides on a turkey!
Click to expand...
The cats and dogs will be happy if you decide on turkey. More for them.
 
@jessj , I love the very clear instructions on both duck and turkey, and I have a feeling everything will turn out delicious if I just follow them.
Which is no reason to not have @JoKalsbeek 's red wine sauce and a chocolate dessert with it of course.
So how do you make the red wine sauce? No matter that you can't cook.
 
@Antje77 , turkey is usually hung for a week or more, from killing to cooking, so a bit late for that.

As others hav said, turkey can be disappointingly dry, even with careful cooking, and no matter how small, trust me, there would be “plenty” leftovers. A few years ago, we ended up throwing out some frozen leftovers when we’d had more than enough curries, cold cuts and so on.

Duck is usually hung for a minimum of 3 days, but up to a week between slaughter and table.

This year, we’re having a rack of lamb, mainly because we like it, and we don’t get lamb at all in Asia, so we’ll have several weeks without when we go away.
 
@AndBreathe , the birds will have to do without hanging. It would be high risk anyway, it's hard to find a completely cat proof place here...
Rack of lamb sounds delicious, but neighbour has gotten rid of his sheep a couple of weeks ago, so not an option for us.
And the leftovers from a sheep would likely be too much even for the dogs and cats.
 
Another, easier, route if it's a turkey and presentation isn't important, is to take the legs off and leaving you with the breast (crown). Which will cook quicker. The legs can then be saved for other meals, nice if slow cooked.
Note some turkeys are huge!!!

Delia (English cook) has excellent instructions

Traditional Roast Turkey with Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffing

Cooking a turkey for the first time at Christmas, when in-laws and other guests are probably milling around, can be quite a traumatic experience. I think the secret of success is to give the turkey a good blast of heat to begin with, and once you've got it going (ie, the heat has penetrated...
www.deliaonline.com
 
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