Traditional Turkey with Forcemeat Stuffing - posted by Mother Goose

This receipe serves between 8 and 12 people so if you're feeding less (and don't want a heap of left overs!) just alter the qty's.

Ingredients:
4.5Kg turkey
1 cup (250ml) water
80g melted butter
1/4 cup (35g) plain flour
3 cups (750ml) chicken stock
1/2 cup (125l) dry white wine

Forcemeat stuffing:
40g butter
3 medium brown onions (450g) chopped finely (CF)
2 bacon rashers (140g) rind removed chopped coarsely (CC)
1 cup (70g) stale breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 cup CC fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup (75g) CC roasted pistachios
250g pork mice
250g chicken mince

1. Make forcemeat stuffing: melt butter in medium frypan, cook onion and bacon, stirring, until onion softens. Using hands, combine onion mix in large bowl with remaining ingredients.
2. Preheat oven to moderate (180-190 degrees celcius)
3. discard neck from turkey. rinse turkey under cold water; pat dry inside and out with absorbent paper. Fill neck cavity loosely with stuffing; secure skin over opening with toothpicks. Fill large cavity loosely with stuffing; tie legs together with kitchen string.
4. place turkey on oiled wire rack in large shallow flameproof baking dish; pour water into dish. brush turkey all over with half of the butter. cover the dish tightly with two layers grease proof foil. Roast in moderate oven 2 hrs. Uncover turkey, brush with remaining butter. Roast, uncovered, in moderate oven about 45 min or until browned all over and cooked through. Remove turkey from dish, cover turkey, stand 20 min.
5. pour juice from dish into large jug; skim 1 tablespoon of the fat from juice. return to same dish. Skim and discard rmaining fat from juice. Add flour to dish; cook stirring until mixture bubbles ans is well browned. Gradually stir in stock, wine and remaining juice. Bring to a boil, stirring, until gravy boils and thickens. Strain gravy into same jug, serve turkey with gravy.

It says to test if the turkey is cooked, insert a skewer sideways into the thickest part and if the juice comes out clear it is cookd. Or if you have a meat thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the thih without touching the bone and it should reach 90 degrees C.

I also have a receipe for pomegranate-glazed turkey with cornbread seasoning OR boned turkey buffe with couscous stuffing OR asian-spiced BBQ turkey.

Glazed Ham - posted by Lucy

1 leg of ham (approx 7kg)
1 large orange
2 cups water
6 whole cloves
1 1/4 cups soft brown sugar
1 tblspn English mustard powder
1 cup of runny honey

~ Pre-heat the oven to 180`c
~ Hard bit first: remove the rind from the leg of ham with a sharp knife.
~ Squeeze the juice from the orange and set aside for later
~ Cut the orange ring into thin strips
~ Place the bald ham on a roasting rack in a deep baking dish
~ Add the water and cover with foil
~ Bake for 2 hours

~After 2 hours remove the meat from the baking dish
~Score the fat of the ham with deep cuts in a diamond pattern
~Combine the sugar, mustard and honey in a bowl into a paste, and reserve about 2 tablespoons of this paste for later
~Spread the remaining paste over the ham
~Return the ham to a clean baking dish and cook uncovered for approx 30 mins
~Take the left over paste & mix it with the orange juice to make a glaze
~Remove the ham from the oven and brush the glaze all over the ham
~ Insert cloves into each diamond on the ham
~ Roast for another hour, glazing every 15 mins
~ Once done, don't try to carve it for at least 1 hour

Trashy Ham in Coca-Cola - posted by Cailin

4 1/4-4 1/2 pound bone-in fresh ham
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
2-liter bottle of Coca-Cola

For the glaze:
Handful of cloves
1 heaping tablespoon of molasses
2 teaspoons of English mustard powder
2 tablespoons of granulated brown sugar

One thing before you start: Don't even consider using Diet Coke--it's full of sugar. If you know that you're dealing with a salty ham, put it in a pan covered with cold water, bring to the boil and then tip into a colander in the sink and start from here; otherwise, put the ham in a pan (skin-side down, if it fits like that), add the onion and then pour over the Coke. Bring to the boil, reduce to a good simmer, put the lid on (though not tightly) and cook for just under two-and-a-half hours. If your joint is larger or smaller, work out timing by reckoning on an hour for every two pounds, remembering that it's going to get a quick blast in the oven later. But do take into account that if the ham's been in the refrigerator right up to the moment you cook it, you will have to give it a good 15 minutes or so extra, so that the interior is properly cooked.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500° F. When the ham's had its time, take it out of the pan (but do not throw away the cooking liquid) and let cool a little for ease of handling. (Indeed, you can let it cool completely and then finish off the cooking at some later stage if you want.) Then remove the skin, leaving a thin layer of fat. Score the fat with a sharp knife to make fairly large diamond shapes and stud each diamond with a clove. Then carefully spread the molasses over the bark-budded skin, taking care not to dislodge the cloves. Gently pat the mustard and sugar onto the sticky fat. Cook in a foil-lined roasting pan for approximately 10 minutes or until the glaze is burnished and bubbly. Should you want to do the braising stage in advance and then let the ham cool, clove and glaze it and give it 30-40 minutes, from room temperature, at 350° F, turning up the heat towards the end if you think it needs it.

Serves eight people.

Baked Virginian Ham - posted by *mitch*

Cover ham in big pot with water, boil ham hard for 1-1 1/5 hours.

Leave overnight in pot with towels to keep heat in.

Next Day
Remove skin only, leaving fat behind, score fat with sharp knife. Pop one clove (i use the dry whole cloves in the packet)in each square.

Mix together
½ cup brown sugar
2 table spoons breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon (dry) mustard

Spread over ham.

Then mix
½ cup pineapple juice
½ cup orange juice

Place ham in roasting dish, pour juice over ham.
Bake ½ hour – 45 mins or till (350F/175-200C)
Baste with juices every 15 mins or so.

Let cool down & Enjoy.

Pork Crackling - posted by Mother Goose

I dry the crackling really really well with paper towel then with a fresh piece of towel I rub vinegar into the skin (it needs to be scored. Try and get the butcher to score it for you if you haven't already bought it). After I've applied the vinegar I rub salt into the crackling making sure it gets right into the cracks/scores. I use heaps of salt. The salt and vinegar dries it out which makes it crunchy! YUM! Good luck with it!

Roasted Vege Salad - posted by Wardygirl

1 piece of butternut pumpkin cubed
1 red capsicum cubed
2 red onions cut into 1/8ths from top to bottom, do not remove ends as this holds them together once cut
3 yellow squash cut into inch pieces.
2/3 eggplant cubed
3 Roma tomatoes cut into quarters

Place in roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season.
Slowly roast on 180degrees for 40 mins.

Serve on a bed of spinach with toasted pinenuts and balsamic vinegar.
Vegies can be served warm or cold. It tastes just as good either way.

This is a great dish to prepare in advance and just assemble when needed. Travels really well!