Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food (29 page)

When the celeriac is tender, remove the pan from the oven and give a good squeeze of lemon juice over the celeriac and season with salt and pepper. Do not discard the garlic and
thyme.

Remove the chicken from the pot and place it on a chopping board. Pass any liquid from the pot through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Add the malt extract
and bring to the boil. Add the chicken stock and continue boiling until the liquid reduces to a sauce consistency. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Unwrap the chicken from the muslin and remove the garlic and bay leaves. Use a blowtorch to brown the skin. Serve the chicken whole on a platter with the whole celeriac and with
a jug of the gravy. Add the thyme and garlic from cooking the celeriac as a garnish, if you like. Let the diners carve the chicken and cut the celeriac themselves.

Hay-baked chicken and roasted celeriac

Christmas is such a great family time and no matter how big or small your gathering is, this is the perfect way to serve turkey. When I was a kid, we used to have a well-known
turkey roll on Christmas day and this is my updated, super-tasty version of that supermarket classic. I concede there is quite a lot of work to do here, but so much of it can be done days in
advance, so there isn’t much Christmas-day pressure.

If you buy yourself an instant-read thermometer, I promise you will have a lovely, moist and succulent turkey breast. It could be the best £10.00 you’ll ever spend.
Why not ask for one for your Christmas stocking?

Serves 6–8

For the gravy

For the Christmas crumble topping

For the sage and onion stuffing

Up to 2 days in advance, begin the gravy. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Place the turkey bones and turkey wings in the tray and roast them for 30–40 minutes
until they are dark brown, but not burnt.

Transfer the bones and turkey wings to a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the brown chicken stock, mushrooms, shallots and celery and bring to the boil, using a large metal
spoon to skim the surface, as necessary. Turn the heat down to very low and leave the stock to simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours, or until it is reduced by one-third.

Turn the heat off, add the thyme leaves and leave to infuse, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Pass the stock through a fine sieve into a bowl, then leave to cool completely. Cover and
place in the fridge for 12 hours so the fat can set on the top and be removed easily.
When you’re ready to finish the gravy, remove and discard the fat. Pour the stock
into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Mix the melted butter and flour together to make a paste. Add this mix into the boiling liquid, little by little, whisking constantly and vigorously until the
gravy thickens. Season, then pass the gravy though a sieve lined with muslin. It’s now ready to serve. Leave on one side until needed.

To make the sage and onion stuffing, melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and fry, stirring, for 3–5 minutes until softened. Tip the onions
and butter into a large bowl and leave to cool. When the onions are cool, add the remaining stuffing ingredients and mix together. Leave on one side until needed.

To make the crumble topping, mix the toasted sourdough pieces, pistachio nuts, pork scratchings, dried cranberries and thyme leaves together. Break everything up with your
fingers until they are all the same size. Leave to one side until needed.

To prepare the turkey, begin by unrolling it and opening it like a book, smooth side down. Cover the surface with clingfilm and bash it out a little with a rolling pin to make it
into a rough square, 1–1½cm thick. Spread a ½cm layer of the stuffing mix on to the turkey breast and then tightly roll it up, like rolling a Swiss roll. Wrap it in clingfilm as
tightly as you can, then use kitchen string to tie the ends and to secure the roll in a couple of places to help keep its shape. Place the turkey roll into the fridge until needed. You will have
more stuffing mix than you will use for the turkey, but do not throw it away. It will be roasted separately. Cover and keep it in the fridge until needed.

When you’re finally ready to cook the turkey, preheat the oven to 120°C/Gas mark ½. Bring a kettle of water to the boil and pour 400ml boiling water into a
roasting tray. Put a wire rack in the tray and place the still-wrapped turkey roll on the rack. Place the tray in the oven and roast the turkey for 1½ hours, or until an instant-read
thermometer stuck into the centre of the turkey reads 70°C. Once the correct internal temperature has been reached, remove the turkey from the oven and leave it to rest, still wrapped in
clingfilm, for 45 minutes. Do not turn the oven off.

Meanwhile, line a flameproof bowl with the bacon rashers, with plenty of overhang. Add the remaining stuffing, pressing it down, and wrap the bacon ends over the top. Place the
bowl in the oven about 15 minutes before the turkey should finish cooking and bake the stuffing for 45 minutes, or until it reaches 70°C on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the bowl from the
oven and leave to one side until just before the turkey finishes resting.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill to medium. When you’re getting ready to serve, place the bowl with the stuffing under the grill and grill for 8–10 minutes until the top
of the stuffing is crispy.

After the turkey has rested for 30 minutes, unwrap it and brush a thick layer of the brown sauce over the top. Use your hands to press the Christmas crumble mix all over and
instantly grate over the orange zest to release the oil.

To serve, slice the turkey and serve immediately with the gravy and stuffing. The perfect accompaniments? Rye bread sauce and roasted carrots and parsnips. Enjoy the rest of your
Christmas day.

Tom’s Tips

If you want to get really ahead, leave the gravy to cool completely after it is thickened, then store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3
months. The sage and onion stuffing can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept in the fridge, and you can stuff and roll the turkey breast a day in advance.

Turkey roll with Christmas crumble topping and sage and onion stuffing

This is the ultimate crumble. It has taste, texture, acidity and sweetness. You get toffee apple and apple crumble all together, what more could you want?!

Serves 8

For the toffee

For the pastry

For the crumble topping

First, make the toffee. Line a baking tray with baking parchment, grease it with vegetable oil and leave it to one side. Place the dark brown sugar and water in a saucepan over a
high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Make sure the sugar has completely dissolved before the water boils. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the golden syrup, black
treacle and cream of tartar to the pan, return it to the heat and boil until the mix reaches 140°C on an instant-read thermometer. This will take a while, but be patient and don’t leave
it. It can burn very easily! Once the mix reaches the correct temperature, pour it straight into the lined tray and leave to cool at room temperature.