Do you plan on cooking a turkey for Christmas dinner? It really isn’t as hard as everyone makes it out to be. I think that the biggest amount of effort goes into brining a turkey – to fill it with flavour and to aid in keeping it moist during the cooking process. I brine my turkey for 24 hours prior to cooking it and it makes for the most flavoursome bird.
I also love to simply rub my turkey in a lot of butter and salt to make for super tasty skin. I know everyone says that the skin isn’t the best for you – but it’s my favourite part of any bird {and heck it’s not like we eat a roast bird like this every week, let alone everyday.
I love to serve my turkey with stuffing cups – rather then stuffing the turkey.
- approx. 6 litres water
- 1 large lemon
- 250 grams salt
- 1/2 bunch of thyme
- 1/2 bunch of parsley
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 4 star anise
- 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 200 grams brown sugar
- 1 x 5.5 kilograms turkey
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- Put the water into your largest cooking pot or a bucket or plastic bin. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the water before you chuck the husks in, then add all the other ingredients, stirring to combine the salt and sugar.
- Remove any string or trussing from the turkey, shake it free, remove the giblets, if not already done, and put them in the fridge (or straightaway set about making the stock for the gravy), then add the bird to the liquid, topping up with more water if it is not completely submerged.
- Keep covered in a cold place, for up to a day or two before you cook it, remembering to take it out of its liquid (and wipe it dry with kitchen paper) 1-2 hours before it has to go into the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Paint the turkey with the butter before roasting in the oven, and baste periodically throughout the cooking time.
- Roast for 2½ hours. When you think it’s ready, pierce the turkey with the point of a sharp knife where the body meets the leg, and if the juices run clear, it’s cooked; if still pink, cook it for longer until they run clear, or use a meat thermometer.
- Then take the turkey out of the oven, and let it sit, tented with foil, for 20–40 minutes or even longer if you like, as I do.
Are you going to cook a whole turkey on Christmas day? Do you like to cook and turkey and a Christmas ham? If you choose to whip up one of my recipes during the festive season, then I would love for you to share it on social media, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #goodfoodweek.
This looks delicious! I love eating turkey but am terrified of cooking it. I just wait till someone else invites me round for Christmas dinner and hope they’ve cooked turkey! I’m with you though, the skin is the best bit!
It’s really not that tough once you brine it. I have faith in you Sammie – but then again, I always think it tastes nicer when someone else cooks it 😉
I did a turkey a couple of years ago, but it wasn’t anything fancy. I am making my first attempt at a ham this year. I can’t wait!
I think the ham is always nicer then the turkey – good luck with your ham and I hope that you have an awesome Christmas.
I’m the same as you – I love the skin!!! This recipe sound delicious.
Skin is so good – and there is so much more skin on a turkey then on a chicken 🙂
I’ve never cooked a turkey and always resort to the turkey rolls you buy from the grocery store. I always get scared of burning the turkey. I should do it one year and surprise myself. Will definitely brine my turkey before I cook it.
A turkey roll is good – some times you just wouldn’t get through a whole turkey and a whole ham. But definitely brine the turkey first if you go with the whole bird.