I generally post what we had for Christmas lunch in the main for me, so I can recall for next year (and the years ahead).
This year I had gone down a different strategy about what to buy and cook and went out on Christmas Eve to see what had been reduced. My plan had been to go to Aldi, but my local branch had almost nothing left. There was a goose, but it hadn’t been reduced.
So, later I went to Waitrose to see if they had anything I could get. They actually had a large quantity of reduced turkey roasts, turkeys, and some goose as well.
The Waitrose No.1 Free Range Turkey Bauble was reduced from £50 down to £25.
Fresh class A free range skin-on turkey breast, with a pork, mixed dried fruit and rum stuffing, wrapped with dry cured smoked streaky bacon, topped with a candied orange slice, rosemary and bay leaves, with a sachet of honey and orange glaze and salted butter.
This was actually the cheapest of the turkey options, so I went with that.
On the big day, I followed the cooking instructions and to be perfectly honest I wasn’t that impressed. The turkey was a little dry, and the shape wasn’t quite a bauble. Due to the nature of the presentation, there was quite a bit of string around the bauble. I wasn’t exactly sure how to carve the bauble; from the box it looked like you cut it like a cake. I did not think a chunk of turkey was a nice as a decent slice. The stuffing was interesting, but I couldn’t really taste the rum, didn’t actually realise there was rum until I started writing this. I liked the idea of the honey and orange glaze, but not sure if it worked.
Overall, I really wasn’t that happy with the turkey bauble. I really liked the concept, and I thought it would make an impressive centre piece of our Christmas Day lunch. In reality I carved it on the side of the kitchen, and it didn’t actually make it to the table. It didn’t look anything like the picture on the side of the box. I certainly would not have paid £50 for it. Even at £25 I think I felt cheated. So much so that I nearly took advantage of Waitrose’s money back guarantee.
Would I get it again, no.