Tasty Turducken
The silly season has officially commenced; well for me anyway. Obviously this is our busiest time of the year; the annual November turkey sale being a good test of our mettle before the real rush in two or three week’s time. It is also a period of frenetic ordering as the organised pull out notebooks and put their festive plans in motion. It’s ridiculously busy and regular shots of caffeine are called for, but I love every second of it. On top of that my involvement in the Tipperary Food Producers Network also kept me on my toes this week as we were busy sorting out the upcoming special Under The Arches Christmas Market day that’s planned for the 8th of December in Clonmel. I suggest you write the date down and stick it up on the fridge or somewhere that you can see it. This is a Christmas event that you won’t want to miss. Some of our finest indigenous food producers will be there, from the lovely Inch House Black Pudding, (who also carry a super range of celiac products as well, by the way) to the internationally acclaimed Crossogue Preserves. In fact I might as well list them all as they each have something to offer; Cooleeny Cheese, The Cookie Jar, The Scullery, Red Nose Wine, Tasty Treats, Crowe’s Farm and of course I’ll be there with James Whelan Butchers. If the weather holds up I can guarantee a wonderful festive market that will sort out Christmas in one swoop. Not only will you be able to stock your own larder from this treasure trove of quality foodstuffs but many of these products make great gifts. I always find it very difficult to buy presents for people these days as everyone seems to have everything; but food gifts are always gratefully received. With artisan food gifts you’re helping local businesses and, who knows, you might just treat someone to something that they’ve never tried before and there are plenty of unusual ‘talking point’ items. Crossogue Preserves do some smashing jars like Blackcurrant and Guinness Coulis or Blackcurrant and Guinness Jam or how about Irish Whiskey Marmalade; full of festive deliciousness. The Scullery has award winning Christmas puddings in the range and who could resist a box of giant American Cookies. There’s plenty for the wine and cheese lovers and for the meat enthusiasts, myself and Crowe’s Farm will have plenty of choice. It will be fantastic with plenty of tasting opportunities as well, so come early.
There is one non food stand planned for the day which will be selling a new cook book entitled Food 4 Thought compiled by Breda O’Shaughnessy. It’s being sold in aid of the Tipperary/Limerick/Clare Cystic Fibrosis charity that is currently trying to raise much needed funds to help build a new Adult Outpatients and Inpatients specialised unit for Cystic Fibrosis patients. Obviously there is the charity benefit but aside from that it is a great all round cook book. It’s an easy to handle soft paperback that’s stuffed with great recipes covering everything from starters, main courses and desserts to breads, cakes, sauces and even cocktails. For anyone looking for a good all round cook book for their own kitchen or to give as a gift, this is ideal. Along with some solid old favourites there are tasty new ideas in there such as Chicken Irish Mist, Rib Eye Steak with Soya and Ginger and a great recipe for Black Pudding with Red Onion Jam. There are some lovely festive recipes also. They will be available at the Under the Arches Market on the 8th but we’re selling them in the shop all this week and remember all the proceeds go to the Cystic Fibrosis Charity.
Okay, I’ve teased you enough with all my other bits, so it’s time to discuss the absolutely delicious Turducken. If you’ve never heard of it, don’t worry, I hadn’t either until very recently and yet we’ve been making and selling it for years. Turducken is just the American and Canadian term used to describe a three bird roast; Turkey – Duck – Chicken! A three bird roast is where you stuff a partially de-boned turkey with a de-boned duck and then stuff that with a de-boned chicken and finally, the piece de resistance, my special recipe stuffing. I don’t mind admitting that it has taken me years but I have finally perfected the art of this great dish that will, I have no doubt, mercilessly seduce the taste buds and leave them screaming for more. In this part of the world we usually roast or braise the three bird roast but I have heard of people barbecuing it although I’ve never tried cooking it that way myself. In the southern States of the US Turducken is a very common dish at this time of year and is often used as an alternative to plain Turkey for Thanksgiving Day, which has just passed being the last Thursday in November. In the UK Turducken is known as a Royal Roast or Roast Without Equal which is one of my favourite names, because that describes it very well indeed. Of course you can use more than three birds for this dish. Apparently the largest recorded nested bird roast is 17 birds, attributed to a royal feast in France in the early 19th century. Your imagination and powers of visualisation are needed here to picture this. It consisted of a bustard (that ‘u’ is not in error!) stuffed with a turkey, a goose, a pheasant, a chicken, a duck, a guinea fowl, a teal, a woodcock, a partridge, a plover, a lapwing, a quail, a thrush, a lark, an ortolan bunting and a garden warbler. The final bird is very small but large enough to hold just an olive. It also suggests that, unlike modern multi-bird roasts, there was no stuffing or other packing placed in between the birds. You couldn’t even attempt to make this Russian Doll of roasts today as some of the bird species are now endangered.
So there I was in the shop last Saturday when a woman with a lyrical American accent requested a Turducken. While the term was relatively new to me I knew immediately that she wanted a three bird roast. She had been to a dinner party the previous evening where one of my roasts was served and she said it was delicious. However, when she asked the hostess during dinner where she had bought it, the hostess went into a long rigmarole as to how she had spent all the previous day preparing it from scratch. Apparently her story was quite detailed and technical and therefore credible. Everyone was suitably impressed. However what she couldn’t have know was that while she was in the kitchen when everyone arrived her husband was talking with some of the men about the impending roast and mentioned that she had bought it from us! One of those men was the husband of the lady now standing in the shop. If you are going to tell fibs make sure the whole family is in on it as those ‘husbands’ have a knack of letting the cat out of the bag. Anyway my American friend was delighted to be able to pop in and buy one as at €15.99 who could be bothered wasting a whole day in preparation and one roast will feed a family. They’re really tasty and great value. Last but by no means lease we are running a Christmas cookery course in conjuction with Jenny Flynn in the Park Hotel in Wed 9th of Dec @ 8pm. This promises to be a great night and tickets are available at the shop @ €30 each. There are only limited places so hurry.
Don’t forget the Under the Arches Market on the 8th. December and Christmas cookery course on the 9th Dec. Stick these dates on the fridge.
Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
· 1 cup (200 g) sugar
· 1 cup (250 mL) water
· 4 cups (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries
· Optional Pecans, orange zest, raisins, currants, blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice.
Method
1 Wash and pick over cranberries. In a saucepan bring to a boil water and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst.
2 At this point you can add all number of optional ingredients. We typically mix in a half a cup of roughly chopped pecans with or without a few strips of orange zest. You can add a cup of raisins or currants. You can add up to a pint of fresh or frozen blueberries for added sweetness. Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice can be added too.
3 Remove from heat. Cool completely at room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
Cranberry sauce base makes 2 1/4 cups.
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