Using Christmas leftovers

Looking for inspiration for your St Stephen’s Day Leftovers?
Try making a pie with store bought puff pastry Simply chop your leftover cooked turkey, veg and gravy into a pie dish.  Cover with the puff pastry and cook into the filling is hot and the pastry is golden.
Use cooked Turkey or Ham leftovers in Quiches.
Combine cooked turkey in a salad with mixed leaves, tomatoes and a dressing.
Leftover Turkey is great in sandwiches when teamed up with stuffing and cranberry sauce.
Make some yummy Quesadilas.
Use your leftover ham with pasta, Simply chop the cooked ham into bite size pieces & add a tin of chopped tomatoes to a pan, heat through, then chop up any fresh herbs that didn’t get used in the stuffing and add to the pan.  Serve with some cooked drained pasta. Easy!

 What to do with Christmas Leftovers?
Christmas Leftovers Pie - download recipe
Stephens Day Quesadillas - download recipe
Leftover Sage & Pancetta wrapped Chicken - download recipe

Cooking the turkey

Another Christmas Theme this week..

Always allow the turkey to rest before you serve.

Do this by covering with tin foil.

Then with a couple of tea towels.

This will ensure the bird can rest without losing too much heat.

This also allows all the juice back into the bird for a moist Turkey.

 

To store leftover turkey – allow to cool.

Remove all the meat from the carcass.

Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

 

Remember to use up the carcass.  Make stock for soup.

 

How do you know your Turkey is cooked?

At the thickest part of the leg the juices should run clear from the bird. 

(You can also use a Turkey pop up timer) 

www.cullensbutchers.com

A Victorian Christmas

Did you know that the dinner we now associate with

Christmas began to take shape in Victorian times.

Victorians transformed the idea that Christmas should feature

around Family Celebrations and the Cooking of a Feast!

A Victorian Christmas Dinner was a feast in all its splendor! Tables were set with the best linens & china. There were a lot of dishes associated with it but A Roast formed the centerpiece of the feast! Taking pride of place on the Christmas table!  A Goose or Turkey (For the Gentry), Rib of Beef on the bone (for the Northern Folk) or a Boar’s Head or Ham was served up with roasted veg, mash, gravy & sage and onion stuffing. Even in a humbler household, Christmas was a very special occasion, people celebrating with the best meal they could afford.  A Game Pie or Rabbit was usually served.  Then, as now, Christmas Dinner was the high point of the day, a carefully planned meal and a real treat! The spirit of the Victorian Christmas is very much part of the Christmas we celebrate today!  A Celebration of Family & Food!!

Check out our Facebook page for more great photos!

Turkey Gravy!

How to…Make Turkey Gravy…
After removing the turkey, Put your roasting tin that has the leftover juices on the heat.
Add ½ a glass of red wine into the pan and watch it sizzle.
This will help deglaze the pan.
(You can add some flour if you want it thicker)
Turn the heat down slightly and continue to stir adding some stock.
Continue to whisk, & season.
(A Tablespoon of Cream, Redcurrant Jelly OR Balsamic Vinegar
will also add to the flavour of gravy - if you want to try something a bit different!)

www.cullensbutchers.com

Why Shopping Local benefits all

What’s all the fuss about shopping local?

We hear all around us about ‘shopping local’ supporting our ‘local’ Town etc, but what does it all mean and why does shopping locally have such a big impact?

Lots of studies tell us that shopping local not only supports local jobs, but means more money is staying in the local economy. Big companies and multinationals’ profits are often shipped off elsewhere and rarely use local suppliers, whereas the small local business often has local owners, local workers and local suppliers. It is this distinction that really makes the difference.

Local shops also often offer superior customer service. How many times have you gone to one of the big chain DIY stores to look for help or one of the large electrical superstores and asked about home delivery? We have all been frustrated by their indifference, but often you will get just a good a deal locally and leave the shop with a smile on your face!

There are lots of new websites and local initiatives too to help in this campaign. Websites such as ‘Mystreet.ie, Localzone.ie, Fiver Friday and the new WicklowTown.ie website all of which are encouraging local shopping. Wicklow Town even has a new ‘I love Wicklow Town’ brand – more of which will be rolled out over the coming months.

Here in Cullens Butchers for example, almost all of our suppliers are located in Co Wicklow, with the exception of some additional suppliers in surrounding counties of Wexford, Carlow and Dublin.

Our Beef, Lamb, Pork and Bacon all come from right here in Wicklow. Our Veg suppliers are in Wicklow Town. We use marinades and sauces made in Kilcoole, Herbs and Spices from Rathnew. We sell Local Jams and Honey and our Italian Meats are supplied from a company based in Newtownmountkennedy. We also sell Wicklow Cheese, Free Range Eggs from Arklow and our Wild Game, Corn Fed Chickens and other speciality meats come from Glenmalure.

On the other side we also supply lots of local Hotels, Restaurants, Coffee Shops, Delis, Golf Clubs and Convenience Stores with our products helping complete the cycle of local to local..

Keeping business local helps us all!

1.            You keep money in the local economy.

2.            You embrace what makes us unique.

3.            You take advantage of our expertise.

4.            You make us a destination.

5.            You invest in entrepreneurship.

6.            You create more choice.

7.            You help keep your local Town healthy.

8.            You nurture community.

9.            You help create local jobs.

10.          You help the environment.

All about Christmas

This weeks post is all about Christmas and contains loads of great tips for cooking your best Christmas dinner ever! How to make perfect roast potatoes, how to select, cook, carve and serve the turkey. How to get the perfect baked ham. What about an alternative dinner? Venison, Pheasant, Goose? How about some side dishes and how to find the perfect wine to match! All found by going to our main website... http://www.cullensbutchers.com/christmas.html

Perfect Roast Potatoes

At Cullens, its not all about the meat.

The secret to the best roast potatoes is using GOOSE FAT!

Par boil the potatoes, (about 10 minutes)

Drain & chuff them to make the edges go crispy.  (ie shake well to rough up the edges!)

Add the goose fat to the roasting tray & melt in the oven.

Once melted add the par boiled potatoes and coat in the goose fat.

Roast in the oven for about an hour.- Until crisp and golden.

Then enjoy the ultimate roast potatoes ever!!

www.cullensbutchers.com/

Cooking Steak

FOR PERFECT STEAK
· Make sure the char-grill or pan is very hot.
· Brush the meat with oil not the pan.
· Turn only once.
· Then rest the meat to allow juices to settle

Afraid of fat on meat?

Afraid of fat on meat?  No need to be.
 Leave a thin layer of fat on steaks and roasts during cooking to preserve juiciness. Trim fat after cooking. This will result in much better tasting meat.

Food hygiene

Avoid leaving meat in warm places, refrigerate meat as quickly as possible.
· Always wash your hands before and after food preparation. (Especially between handling raw and
cooked meats.)
· Do not use the same cutting board for cooked and raw meats.
· Make sure all utensils are kept clean.
· Always ensure when defrosting meat that it is fully thawed before cooking.
· Remove meat from plastic bags place on a dish or in a bowl and cover with foil.
· Always store cooked meat above raw food in your fridge.

Slow Roasting

Slow Roasting.
Certain cuts of meat benefit from Slow Roasting Such as Lamb Shoulder, Pork Belly etc because they are a little tougher than other cuts. Slow roasting at a lower temperature allows the proteins to break down making the meat more tender and helps develop the flavour!
They need very little preperation, just a simple rub or marinade.

Herbs and Spices

Herbs make a difference between a dish tasting ok... & tasting excellent!
Rubs and spices are a great way of taking meat in a whole new direction.

A rub or spice can change the flavour of the meat you cook week in week out.

Pork, Chicken, Beef, Lamb Fish & Potatoes work great with rubs or spices.
Tip: Try scoring the meat or bash it out to create a bigger serface area. This will help get the flavour in there!

Chill out

Allow meat such as Roasts or Steak to stand at room temperature 1 hour before cooking: It will cook more quickly, brown more evenly, and stick less when pan-fried. (Do not do this with highly perishable meats like mince beef, chicken strips or items like liver or kidney)

Take a rest

When cooking a roast, be it beef, pork, lamb or poultry, 
It's important to let it rest a little before carving.
That allows the juices to retreat back into the meat.
If you carve a roast too soon, much of its goodness will spill out onto the carving board.
Simply cover with silver foil and let rest for a few minutes. This also works very well with steak!

Double up

When making Lasange, shepards pie, stew or any kind of big hearty dish, why not double the quantities. That way you can freeze the extra portions - perfect for those evenings when you are running late or dont know what to cook! Plus you save on the washing up too!!

Going further with a chicken

A large chicken goes much further by cutting it up or ´jointing it´ You can easily feed 6 people in a casserole or ´coq a vin´. And the good news? We have extra large chickens for only 10.99! or Medium one for 5!

Sharp knives

Tip of the week:
Keep your knives sharp.
Use a 'steel' to keep the edge on your knives, it makes life in the kitchen so much easier. We can even sharpen your knives for you - just bring them in next time you are coming into Wicklow and we will show you how to keep them sharp!

Preheat the oven

Always preheat your oven before cooking. This ensures faster and more evenly cooked food. P.S - don't forget to check if anything is in there first (eg baking trays etc)

Cullens Quality Butchers
Main Street
Wicklow Town
www.cullensbutchers.com
0404 69719