Watch the YouTube videos!

Roasted Whole Meats

Starting with Chicken and Quail:

They are both light meats that need to be marinated and then foil wrapped to bake. 

Chicken done in 30-45 min

Quail done in 20-30 min

(under 10 lbs)

Marinades: Cranberry or orange sauces give a sweet and sour tang. Another simple option is italian dressing. The dressing keeps the meat tender and adds all the classic herbs for marination. The marinades' recipe links can be found in previous posts.

Foil wrapping the poultry, or the bake dish entirely, keeps in the moisture that poultry tends to lose while cooking. The meat will cook in its own juices and the marinade that was applied.

Turkey:

Turkey, is too large to foil wrap as it would take forever to cook all the way through. Instead, use a great marinade and baste the exposed meat regularly. Tip: Cut slits just under the skin and shove 

herbs inside. Rosemary, basil, garlic and onion slices are best. 

Stuff the turkey cavity from the rear. Store bought turkeys will come cleaned out and may have the neck, heart, liver and gizzard. Keep these for cooking the gravy later. Stuffing recipe is a previous post.

The turkey is done when the inside meat is over 180F and the skin is golden to amber brown.

Up to 10 lb, usually 2-3 hours at 300F

10-15 lbs, usually 3-4 hours at 300F

15+ lbs, usually 4-6 hours at 325F

Duck:

Duck is in it's own category, although it is cooked similar to a whole chicken, because of it's fatty nature. Duck needs to be marinated (both fruit and savory flavors work well) and then cooked 

on a rack to allow the fat to run off.

Duck is a tricky meat because it can dry out and get tough if not monitored. Our recommendation? Cook on a rack in a baking dish with foil covering just the top. This will keep the juices in, but 

allow the extra fat to run into the dish.

Duck done in 40-50 min.  

Pork and whole hams:

Pork is best done in an oven or slow cooker. Since it is technically a light meat, but definitely not poultry, sugary marinades are best (i.e. honey ham, pineapple ham, pralined ham)

Rub the ham down with your chosen marinade and then set to cook in a bake dish or slow cooker. 1/3 of the way through the cook time, turn the ham over so that both sides are tender and juicy. Leave the ham on the same side for the remainder of the cook time to get a nice crispy crust on top.

Our favorite ham recipe is coke and mustard marinade cooked in a slow cooker for at least 45 min, best when left in for hours. Rub the ham with the mustard, place in the slow cooker and pour coke over the top. Simple. Full recipe can be found in a previous post.

Pork is generally done when the interior temperature reaches 180F. Additionally, a ham should be cooked until the top "crust" gets nice and crispy.

Whole hams done in 2-2.5 hours (10lb)

Turkey Stuffing OR Stuffing Casserole

Check out the YouTube video!

https://youtu.be/17R0eRBIsUI

How to Make Stuffing

for Stuffing a Turkey or for Stuffing Casserole

Medium Difficulty

Prep Time: 20 min * Cook Time: 45 min

Ingredients:

15 cups chopped bread (about 1 loaf)

3 eggs

2 cups milk

1 cup each, chopped: onions, celery, bell pepper

(red and green for color)

1/2 cup: corn and chopped carrots

2 cups: cheese cubes and sliced sausages

2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp: salt and white pepper

1 bouillion cube OR 2 tsp chicken seasoning

Kitchen Prep:

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Chop all your vegetables.

Measure out the rest of the ingredients.

Add wet ingredients and spices in a large mixing bowl, stir well to incorporate all the ingredients.

Place the vegetables in a stove pan for cooking.

Chop your bread and evenly distribute the pieces onto an ungreased baking pan.

Step 1:

Toast your chopped bread for about 10-15 min in the oven. You can add the bread to the oven while it is preheating; just keep an eye on the pieces. The toasting helps the bread keep its form when added to the wet ingredients, instead of turning to mush and then baking into a brick.

Step 2:

Saute the vegetebles in a Tbl of oil on the stove while the bread is toasting. Once the onions start to turn clear take them off the stove and put aside for later.

Step 3:

Once the vegetables are done cooking, put the sausages into the same pan and cook them through. Take them off the stove and allow them to cool to the touch so that you can slice them into pieces.

Remember to check your bread in the oven. You don't want it to burn!

Step 4:

Take your toasted bread out of the oven and stir it into the wet ingredients and spices.

Then add in the vegetables and the sausage.

Mix in the cheese cubes once the ingredients have cooled a bit. You want the cheese to melt in the oven or the turkey, not while assembling the stuffing.

Step 5:

Take half the mix and put aside for stuffing the turkey. Put aside only one third if you are stuffing chicken or other smaller poultry.

Bake the other half for about 30-45 min. to make the casserole. Cover the dish with foil for the first 20 min to keep the stuffing moist. The last 15 min or so take the foil off so that it can brown. If you want to be really decadent, add some grated cheese on top when you take the foil off so that the bread stuffing will brown and the grated cheese will get all crispy and crunchy.

The stuffing is done when you can stick a knife in the middle and it comes out "clean". Meaning, that the knife will not come out coated in the liquid ingredients, just a few bread crumbs and moisture from the heat.

Allow the casserole to cool a bit before serving. You can precook the casserole the day before and leave it in the refrigerator until the day of the meal. Reheat for 20 min before serving.

Easy Appetizer Trays

Appetizer trays are easy and well loved by snackers the world over.
There are three main types: savory (usually sliced meats and cheeses), vegetable (celery, carrots, broccoli, etc) and fruit (apple, orange, etc).
When doing the shopping for the rest of your ingredients, make sure and grab some extra ingredients for snack trays. Snacks keep guests entertained, lower blood sugar levels and soak up early alcohol ingestion. In short, snack trays keep antsy guests busy, hungry guests sane and help the festivities on into the night.

Marinades: Italian Salad Dressing

Watch the YouTube video here!

https://youtu.be/bAkwll7eG0E

Yes, that's right. Italian Salad Dressing.

It makes a great emergency dressing when you have under an hour to marinate the meat. The only drawback? It's not all that great on red meats. My best results have been with pork and chicken. Chicken in particular takes to Italian dressing very well, but I have also successfully used this dressing on white fishes and shrimp. Please, don't ruin good crab with a hasty marinade - similar to good beef cuts. Take the time to do them right, or don't do them at all. Stick to favorites like hamburgers and crab cakes and buy the cheaper meats if you don't have time to marinade overnight and then stand in front of a grill all day.