I got a beast of a bird this year for the annual Christmas roast turkey dinner!
It’s a huge 6.5 kg (14 pound) young turkey for RM 192.71. This is over twice as big as the turkey we roasted last year. I was actually torn between getting this and a capon (castrated rooster) so I asked the kids what they wanted.
It was a resounding vote for turkey coz they liked the turkey that I roasted last year for Christmas. 
There’s no shortages for non-halal turkey this year so that’s a good thing for us. I have no idea what makes a turkey halal or non-halal (probably due to the way it’s slaughtered) but this was a different brand called Norbest from the US and there were large signs warning of it’s haram (forbidden) status to Muslims which I always found a little strange since Christmas is a Christian (or at least secular) holiday.
I’ve actually cooked with this particular brand of turkey before and since I had just 24 hours to get it right, I used the Fast Defrost method by dunking the entire turkey into water and changing the water every 4 hours.
It was what I did last year too but on a more urgent time scale since this was a heavier bird. Haha.
We also got a pack of demi-glace and corn bread stuffing for a more expedient roast (plus, these two taste really good).
I chopped up a cup of yellow onions and celery…
…and sautéed them in butter,
…before adding it to the corn bread stuffing and gravy.
Next it was time to clean the bird, take out the bag of giblets (this is arguably where the old school gamer term gibs originated from for those of us who played shooters like Doom, Quake and Unreal back in the days) and pat it dry.
I stuffed the cavity of the turkey with my newly made corn bread stuffing mix and (with some difficulty) got it into the preheated oven at 200 Celsius.
I covered the turkey with aluminium foil and took it off after 3 ½ hours to brown the top and here’s what my turkey looks like after 4 hours!
This turkey has a built-in meat thermometer that pops out when it’s done, although we used our own to check too:
I started the demi-glace while the turkey was resting and it was lovely – this is restaurant quality demi-glace, RM 14.95 for ½ cup but it’s awesome! It has reduced white wine inside and you can add your own wine in lieu of water for a tastier demi-glace (make sure to cook off the raw alcohol).
My better half and the kids loved it!
The young but large turkey was carved up according to everyone’s preference – the smallest one wanted a drum while I had an entire leg, the biggest one wanted the huge wing and my better half got a slice of prime breast meat.
Christmas dinner is always my responsibility and I’m glad we had so much fun with our celebrations – it took me quite a bit of planning and shopping to get enough activities to keep the kids entertained. There’s Christmas crackers, eggnog, presents, and more – Christmas is definitely not over yet!
Merry Christmas everyone! 🙂
Now that’s early! It looks really great! We’re getting a large chicken – nobody else in the house likes turkey – like breast meat, they say. I do like it though – with cranberry sauce…but they do not seem to have smaller ones these days – all too huge and I do not intend to eat all that alone all by myself right through to the new year. 🙁
amazing! where’s my share? 😛
Wow…. you are really such a good cook. The turkey looks so good.
hey! that is so much fun!
where did you get that turkey?
i always thinking of making one too but always afraid that the turkey might not be fully cooked since it is such a big one!
you definitely make it look easy to do! haha
this year maybe ended up with a big chicken will do. >.<
Nicely done. Maybe I should diy my turkey next year. 😉
Merry Christmas to you and family.
Its non-halal because of the way its slaughter. In Islam, we need to cut the veins around the livestock neck. Before we ‘slaughter’ the livestock, we need to say God name and the knife must be sharp so, the livestock will not suffer needlessly.
Some Muslim like to eat the bird. Me included.
Anyway, it look nice (the turkey).
Wow, that’s a BIG turkey! And I really mean BIG! Look at the leg you’re holding.. And little girl’s drumstick.. Bigger than her face! That’s thrice the size of a normal (KFC?) chicken drumstick! Wait, I think the leg you’re holding is bigger than your face too! You are a good cook, the turkey looks so moist and juicy and delicious, yummmzzz..
Turkey for pre-Christmas dinner? that’s early. I would save the best for Christmas eve, haha! But the roasted bird is so tempting! it has been some time since i last had turkey. No, i dun roast my own turkey but normally had them when invited for Christmas open house.
Looks great! I guess all of you will be having meals with Turkey for the next few days! I would like to have a whole turkey too but all kakis prefer to eat chicken instead. 🙁
Merry Christmas to you and your equal sweet half and girls! 😀
No turkeys for us this time around, unfortunately. Running around for the one in a suitable size and preparing the stuffing is just not something that neither me or my Mom would want to tackle for Christmas (especially when there’s like so much to do before the trip). But we might be having quiche as a substitute instead. =D
Merry Christmas to you, Ling and the kids! Hope you guys have fun!! ^^
Wow…you sure know how to roast a turkey! It looks good :). By the way, nice kitchen tiles…..the grey strip (I have a similar one except mine is green)…hehehehe!
The turkey is delicious, dear.And we still eating much of the leftover which taste even better. I ll cook turkey soup soon..hehe. Hugs**
The turkey looks browned to perfection. Did you rub any kind of fat on the turkey surface?
I’ve tried roasting a capon once before. I rubbed a herb butter under the skin of the chicken for roasting. Tasted great but probably a tad too decadent.