Perfectly Cooked

To Steam: Pour 2 cups of water in a steamer or large pot, add 1 tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil. Add the crab legs, placing them onto a rack in the bottom of the pan or into the steaming basket. As the water starts to boil again, begin timing. Steam the crab legs for between 5 to 7 minutes, until they are warm. Take care not to overcook the legs. Remove from the heat and serve hot with melted butter and lemon wedges.

To Bake/Steam (our favorite method): reheat the oven to 425°F. For best presentation, leave the legs whole and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Add a little water to the pan and cover with tin foil to keep moisture in. Bake for 8 - 9 minutes.

Spiral hams are already fully cooked, but they should be re–heated and glazed for a holiday meal. We recommend re–heating your ham in an oven bag to ensure the meat is perfectly moist. Keep the bone! Ham bones provide an excellent flavor in soup stocks.

To heat: Preheat the oven to 275°F. Remove all packaging including the ,“button,” on the end of the bone. Place the ham in a oven bag and into a shallow baking dish. Quarter and half hams should be place FLAT SIDE DOWN. Whole hams should be cooked fat side up. Cover with Foil if not using the oven bag. Cook for approximately 15 minutes per pound. If desired glaze per below. Remove Ham and let stand 20-30 minutes before serving.

To glaze: Remove from bag, rotate ham onto side to ensure that glaze gets into all the slices. Increase oven to 425°F. Brush or spoon the prepared glaze over ham. Bake uncovered 8-10 minutes.

Recommended USDA Internal Temperatures: Rare: 140 degrees Medium rare: 145 degrees Medium: 160 degrees Well done: 170 degrees

LaLonde’s suggests using a meat thermometer to ensure thorough and desirable preparation of all meats. The above chart of temperatures provides an easy reference for cooking our famous rib roast.

Bake in oven, bone down at 325°. Approximately 15 to 20 minutes per pound. Using a meat thermometer, remove roast 5 to 10 degrees below desired doneness. Meat will continue to cook even after it is removed from its heat source. Let stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Roasts are recommended to be cooked medium rare.

Thaw completely. Remove belly and legs with scissors. Skewer lengthwise to prevent curling.

Broiling: broil on high approximately 7 minutes for 8 oz. tail (broil 10 minutes for a 14 oz. tail) shell up. Flip over and broil 2–3 minutes.

Boiling: bring water to a boil, place tail in water. When water returns to boiling, remove.

Check for thorough cooking before eating. Meat should be white throughout.

Place thawed shrimp in cold water, bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let sit 5 minutes. Immediately rinse under cold water.

Smoked Turkeys are fully cooked during the smoking process. All you need to do is simply re–heat the meat until it is warm. It is important to re–heat your turkey or turkey breast COVERED with aluminum foil to prevent drying out. Place in a 300 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. If you have a whole turkey, it is ready when the joints move freely.

Each turkey has a pop–up timer in it. Throw it out! The best method for cooking turkey, or any meat for that matter, is with a meat thermometer. Stick the thermometer in the breast or thigh of the turkey. Take care that the thermometer is not in the stuffing or cavity of the bird, or touching a bone. In a 350 degree oven, estimate 15 minutes of cooking time per pound. Baste or season as desired, pull the turkey out of the oven when the internal temperature reads 165 degrees to 170 degrees. Cover with foil and allow to sit about 10 minutes. The temperature will continue to rise about 10 as the bird cools from the outside in. A perfectly cooked turkey is ready to be carved when the thermometer reads between 175 - 180.

Spatchcocked turkeys (maximum 14 lbs.) roast to a perfect finish in 70 minutes! Since they are flat, they take up less oven space too! We will do all of the prep work for you! Just preheat your ove to 350 degrees. Then place the prepared turkey out flat skin side up, in a rimmed cookie sheet, or other roasting pan. Season as you normally would (a brushing of olive oil and a sprinkle of Alden Mills Pork and Poultry Seasoning is all it takes) and slide into the oven. For best results use a meat thermometer and pull the turkey at about 165 degrees. It will continue to cook 10 more degrees after removal from the oven.

Baking: Line rimmed cookie sheet with parchment or foil. Place cakes flat side down on pan.

If cooking from Frozen: Bake for 23-25 minutes at 350.

If cooking from Thawed: Bake for 13-15 minutes at 400.

Halfway through baking time, flip over and gently press down on each cake to flatten the rounded top.

Pan Frying: Heat your choice of oil in a large skillet. Place thawed cakes flat side down in ⅛“ – ¼” hot oil and fry on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Flip once during cooking and gently press down to flatten rounded top.

We recommend stuffing the inside of the roast for an elegant presentation. Choose and stuffing of your liking, fill the center of the crown with the stuffing, mounding it slightly. Cover the stuffing with a round of aluminum foil and wrap the ends of the chop bones in strips of foil to prevent them from charring. Place the crown on a rack in a shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold it comfortably, place in the center of the oven, until internal temperature of meat is 175 degrees F, roughly 15-20 minutes per pound. (Note: 30 minutes before pork is done, remove the foil from the top of the stuffing to allow the top to brown.) Carefully transfer the crown to a large, heated, circular platter, strip the foil from the ends of the chops and replace it with paper frills. Let the crown rest for about 10 minutes before carving and serving.

To Carve Pork: Insert a large fork in the side of the crown to steady it and, with a large, sharp knife, cut down through each rib to detach the chops. Two chops per person is a customary portion accompanied by a generous serving of the stuffing.

Baking: Line rimmed cookie sheet with parchment or foil. Place fillets flat side down on pan.

• If cooking from Frozen: Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375.

• If cooking from Thawed: Bake for 14-16 minutes at 400.

You do not need to flip the fillet, this will cause it to lose some of it’s crust.

Pan Frying: Heat your choice of oil in a large skillet. Place fillets flat side down in hot oil and fry for about 8–10 mins. Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork and is opaque white throughout.

Take the leg of lamb out of the refrigerator about an hour before cooking so it comes to room temperature. This promotes faster, more even cooking. Rub the lamb with olive oil. Set the lamb in a rack inside a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and rub into the fat and meat. Season with salt and pepper or your choice of seasonings. Turn on the broiler and position a rack below so that the top of the meat is a few inches from the broiler element. Broil the lamb for 5 minutes or until the top of the lamb leg looks seared and browned. Flip the lamb over and put back under the broiler for 5 minutes or until the other side is seared. Take the lamb out of the oven. Turn off the broiler and set the oven temperature to 325°F. Reposition the oven rack to the middle of the oven. We like to rub the top with the chopped garlic and rosemary. Tent the pan loosely with foil to keep the garlic and rosemary from burning.

Put the lamb back in the oven and cook at 325°F for one hour. The lamb is ready (medium-rare to medium) when the temperature is 135°F (or above). At 135°F the lamb is cooked to rare, but it will continue cooking as it rests, so we recommend taking it out of the oven at 135° for medium-rare to medium. Continue cooking the lamb (uncovered) until it reaches your preferred internal temperature. Check the temperature every 20 minutes until done. Let the lamb rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Carving: Turn the lamb so the bone is parallel to the cutting board. Make perpendicular slices to the bone, angling straight down until your knife hits the bone. Cut the lamb off the bone by slicing through the bottom of the slices with your knife parallel to the bone.

Smelt are a fish made to be fried – they fit so perfectly in a fry pan! The entire fish gets eaten, no additional cleaning is required. Rinse with cold water and dry thoroughly. Whisk together flour and salt in a pie plate. Dredge smelt in flour mixture, coating both the outside and cavity of the fish. Heat oil in a frying pan ¼–inch deep over medium heat until hot. Place fish in the hot oil; fry until crisp and firm, 2 to 3 mintues each side. Alternatively, you can fry them in a deep fryer. Smelt can also be skewered and grilled over medium flames for roughly 2 minutes per side.

Roast turducken for 15 minutes at 425. Then turn the roaster down to 225 degrees F to finish, approximately 3 hours. Remove turducken from roaster once the internal temperature in the chicken reaches 155 degrees F. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving. Cut across the middle of the breast completely through. Plate thin slices containing turkey, duck and chicken.

Salmon with skin should always be placed skin side down regardless of cooking method. When done, you should be able to easily flake the salmon apart with a fork. The middle should also no longer be translucent.

BAKE Preheat the oven to 400°F Prepare a baking sheet with shallow sides by covering it with nonstick aluminum foil. Coat the pan with nonstick cooking spray if you don't have aluminum foil on hand. Bake for 15 minutes. When done, you should be able to easily flake the salmon apart with a fork. The middle should also be opaque but still moist.

BROILING Preheat the broiler. Allow the broiler to heat up for 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the fillets to a broiler pan. Place the broiler pan 5 1/2 inches (14 cm) away from the top heating element and broil for 10 to 12 minutes.

GRILLING Preheat the grill to approx 450degrees F. Wrap the salmon fillets in aluminum foil creating a packet by folding the seams together around the salmon. Transfer the packets to the grill and cook for 14 to 16 minutes. Flip the packets once, at the 7 or 8 minute mark, using grill tongs or a heat-proof spatula. Allow the salmon to sit off the grill and in their foil packets at room temperature for 5 minutes, then serve. Alternatively, use a fish grill rack, lightly coat with non stick spray and place salmon directly on grill rack. Do not flip.

PAN-SEARING Preheat a skillet or sauté pan over high heat. The pan should get hot, but it should not begin to smoke. Place the fish in the preheated pan. Cook for 3 minutes before flipping each fillet over with a spatula and cooking for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.

POACHING Place the water in a saucepan with tall sides. Heat over medium heat until the water starts to gently simmer. If desired, you can salt the water as it heats up. You can also add one chopped shallot or green onion and several flavorful sprigs of fresh dill, rosemary, or other herbs to the water. Add the salmon fillets to the pan. If they still have skins, place the fillets skin-side down. Cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the salmon fillets from the heat and let rest for 3 to 5 minutes before serving.

GRILL Use a fish or vegetable grill rack or put fish on a double layer of aluminum foil. Grill over indirect heat (for a 3 burner gas grill set the knobs to Medium, Off and Medium and place rack or foil in the middle) for 20-25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

BAKE Preheat oven to 375. Cover a rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place items on sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes until stuffing is slightly browned and bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving

Rinse scallops and pat them dry with paper towels before cooking. If scallops have too much moisture on the outside, they won't brown properly. Cut large scallops in half to assure even cooking. Minutes count – cook scallops just until done or until they are opaque; otherwise they can get tough quickly.

PAN SEAR Don't crowd the scallops in the pan or they will end up steaming. Cook them in batches, if necessary. Heat about 2 tablespoons oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Choose an oil that can withstand high heat, such as canola or grapeseed – Olive oil and butter smoke at high temperatures. For a thin crust on the outside of the scallops, coat in flour. For every pound of scallops, use 2 to 3 tablespoons flour. Place the flour in a resealable plastic bag; add the scallops and toss to coat. Cook scallops about 6 minutes or until browned and opaque, turning once.

GRILLED Best if marinated. Cover scallops in oil based marinade and let stand 10 to 15 minutes. Thread scallops onto skewers. (If you're using wooden skewers, soak them in enough water to cover for an hour before threading on food) Grill kabobs on a well–greased grill rack directly over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes or until scallops turn opaque, turning once halfway through grilling.

DEEP FRIED In a deep fryer or a 2–quart heavy saucepan, heat 2 inches of shortening or oil (canola, peanut) to 375 degrees F. Dip scallops in your choice of batter. Fry a few at a time in the hot oil for 2 to 2–½ minutes or until golden brown, turning once.

BROILED Preheat the broiler. Place scallops on a greased, unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil about 4 inches from the heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until scallops are opaque, turning once halfway through broiling.