Australia’s best-known butcher shares his secret recipe for glazing perfect Christmas ham, as well as tips and tricks on how to make the most of the holiday.
Adam Stratton is the owner of Tender Gourmet Butchery, a highly regarded chain of stores located in Hornsby, Bondi Junction, Warringah Mall, and Macquarie Centre.
The 49-year old is the captain of Australia’s team at the world “Butchery Olympics” and knows all about how to cut the best meats for the holiday season.
Daily Mail Australia: “For the Ham firstly peel back the fat from the skin before lightly scoring it,” he said.
Adam Stratton owns Tender Gourmet Butchery, a chain of highly regarded stores in Hornsby and Bondi Junction.
Daily Mail Australia was told by him that the best way to prepare ham is to first remove the fat and then lightly score it.
“Cook it in your favorite marmalade, such as the Hanks Marmalade. You can either cook the dish at 180 degrees for approximately one hour to warm it up or at 180 degrees for around 25-30 minutes to make it cold.
The delicious Christmas leftovers are delicious and can be made into a ham and ham soup or simple ham and cheese toastie.
If you’ll be cooking turkey this year Adam suggests starting with two knobs of butter under the skin on top of the breast before stuffing it.
Adam likes to stuff his pork sausage with mince from good quality, and adds fresh sage and dehydrated onion.
If you are making pork for lunch, the emphasis should be placed on the crackling.
Before you apply high-quality olive oil, dry it with a paper towel.
He explained that the next step was to take out the neck and put it in a different dish so you can use the gravy.
I recommend that you place the turkey breasts upside-down in your baking pan. It will ensure your turkey stays moist, without becoming dry and overcooked.
“Lastly, I add a carton good-quality chicken stock to the casserole. This will allow the turkey to cook while the stock is dissolved. It keeps it moist and tender. Wrap the turkey in foil.
Turkeys of standard size, 40-inch in diameter, will take 3.5 hours to cook at 180°C for turkeys up to this point.
Make sure to brush the turkey occasionally with some butter and maple syrup.
If you are making pork for lunch, the emphasis should be on the crackling.
Adam suggests that before stuffing your turkey, you add two butter knobs to the top of the turkey’s breast.
“Boil a kettle to boil water and then add the water to the rind. Adam advised that this will allow the rind to be opened up from the point where it was scored by the butcher.
Use a towel to dry your pork. Then, use a good quality olive oil to coat it. Use a lot of salt to coat the pork groves.
Place the pork in a casserole dish and bake for about 20-30 minutes at 220 degrees. Turn the oven to 180° and bake for 1.5 hours. Serve with apple sauce.
You can keep cooked chicken, pork or lamb in the refrigerator for up to three days following Christmas. After that time, it must be thrown out.
For fresh ham, add two to three cups of water along with one teaspoon of vinegar into a small bowl. Once the mixture is in place, cover your bag and let it soak for at least 30 minutes. Then place the ham in the bag and let it rest for three weeks. He said that he would repeat the process of soaking every other day.