Jamie Oliver joined "Good Morning America" to kick off the countdown to Thanksgiving and share some simple recipes and tips for Turkey day.
The esteemed chef and author of "Together: Memorable Meals Made Easy" shared a solution for anyone looking to make a plate of protein that's an alternative to turkey.
"This is festive. This is the holiday season. This is about excitement," he said. "I wanted to write the best cookbook in 25 years I've ever written. These are solutions for all kinds of different meals, dinner parties and getting ahead."
Check out his full recipes below.
Oliver suggested a hack "if you want to take your roast to an upper notch, fry onions off -- get the color" then add fresh herbs such as sage, thyme or whatever you can get hold of and add it to the onions with the juices from the meat.
"I put a little bit of brandy in there which is delicious," he added.
Serves 8
Ingredients
3 onions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ounce unsweetened dried cranberries
1 lemon
1 bunch of sage (3/4 oz)
2 tablespoons cognac
10 oz panettone or breadcrumbs
1 large egg
2 1/2 pounds pork belly, deboned, skin on and scored
1 x 3-pound whole chicken
1 bunch of thyme (3/4 oz)
2 1/2 pounds beef top round roast, deboned, fat on, rolled and tied
Olive oil
Directions
Do it ahead: For the stuffing, peel and finely slice the onions, then place in a large non-stick pan on a medium heat, season, and dry-fry for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the butter and cranberries, finely grate in the lemon zest and squeeze in the juice, then pick, chop and add the sage leaves. Cook for 5 more minutes, or until the onions are soft. Add the cognac, carefully flame it if you wish, then let it cook away, turn the heat off and leave to cool. Once cool, tear in the panettone, add the egg and scrunch together well.
Sit the pork belly skin side down on 4 x 24-inch lengths of butcher’s string. Pat over half the stuffing, then roll up and tie to secure, poking any escaped stuffing back in. Pack the remaining stuffing into the chicken neck cavity, then pull the skin back over it and tuck under the bird. Put the thyme into the other cavity, then tie the legs together with string, also tucking in the wings and tying it around the middle. Cover it all and refrigerate overnight.
On the day: Get all the meat out of the fridge an hour before you start cooking, rubbing each piece with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and seasoning with sea salt and black pepper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roast just the pork in a large roasting pan on the middle rack for 15 minutes, then add the chicken and roast for another 15 minutes. Add the beef, basting the meats with the pan juices, and roast for 1 final hour, or until everything is cooked through and the juices run clear. Remove the meats to a platter, cover with aluminum foil and a clean kitchen towel, and rest for 1 hour. You can use the pan to reheat your gravy – skim off excess fat, then simmer the gravy on a medium-low heat on the stove until hot through, scraping up the sticky bits. Pour any resting juices into the gravy, then remove the string before carving all the meat.
Serves 8, as a side
Ingredients
4 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (choose the smallest ones)
4 large pork sausages (14 oz total)
Optional sausage stuffers: dates, dried cranberries, mustard, chili, sage, cheese, pickled onions
4 slices of smoked bacon
Optional: small sprigs of rosemary
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon polenta (cornmeal)
4 shelled unsalted walnut halves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Try to choose small potatoes, give them a wash, and if you have any larger ones, cut them in half and use the flat side as a base. To make this process as simple as possible, place a potato on a board between the handles of two wooden spoons, so that when you slice down into the potato the spoons stop the blade from going all the way through. Carefully slice at just under 1/4-inch intervals all the way along. Repeat with all the potatoes, placing them in a large roasting pan as you go. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper, and roast for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are golden and tender. Remove and leave to cool.
Twist each sausage in the middle so you can cut each one in half. Now, for a bit of fun, I like to use a small sharp knife to make an incision into each one, creating a little hole ready to stuff with whatever will elevate your sausages to an even higher level of joy. Cut the bacon slices in half, then, working one at a time, press the side of your knife across each mini slice to stretch it out. Place a sausage on each, wrap it up, then skewer with a cocktail stick or a sharpened sprig of rosemary. Nestle the wrapped sausages in among the cool potatoes, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the garlic and pound up in a pestle and mortar with a small pinch of salt, then mix in the polenta and finely grate in the walnuts. Sprinkle over the potatoes, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil. When the epic mixed roast comes out, roast the potatoes for 1 hour, or until hot and crisp and the sausages are golden and cooked through.
Swap the pigs in blankets for halved veggie sausages. Add for just 20 minutes, grating over melty cheese for the last 5 minutes.
Serves 8, as a side
Ingredients 3 clementines
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
1 cinnamon stick
1 3/4 pounds mixed Brussels sprouts and tops (optional)
Directions
Do ahead: You can do this on the day, if you prefer. Squeeze the clementine juice into a large shallow ovenproof dish. Add 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and a good grating of nutmeg, then carefully set fire to the cinnamon stick, blow it out and add to the bowl to infuse. Wash and trim the sprouts, clicking off any tatty outer leaves. Halve the tops, then slice into the stalk of each half for even cooking. Cook the sprouts in a pan of boiling water for 3 minutes, then add the tops leaf-side up for another 3 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold running water, then drain again and toss straight into the dressing. Leave to cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
To serve: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pop the uncovered dish of sprouts in for 10 minutes, or until hot through. Or, you can remove the cinnamon stick and pop the dish under a hot broiler for 20 minutes, and you’ll get some tasty crispy edges – your choice. Both ways are delicious.