There’s nothing more festive than a roast turkey for Christmas, shared with friends and family. Roasting a turkey may seem to be a daunting task but don’t let the silly giant bird intimidate you! In fact, I always like to make a turkey simply because it is low maintenance, and the long cooking time means you have plenty of time to slowly prepare everything else for a perfect gathering.

This recipe has been changed and adapted by many, from an original 3 page recipe by Heston Blumenthal (and I would commend anyone who tries to attempt that!). A touch of advice was added by Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP, I’ve thrown in some of Jamie Oliver’s notes and added a homemade herb butter rub and stuffing for the full fair. There are ways to cut corners to minimize the hard work, and I will show you how - after all, you want to be dressed and looking fresh as a daisy when your guests walk in, not sweating over the kitchen.

There are a few things that I find are really important to a perfect turkey:

1. A good roasting tray with a wire rack (to raise the bird)
2. The overnight soak in brine
3. Herbed butter
4. Remember the rule: 35 mins of oven time to every kg
5. Get your turkey delivered – boy are they heavy to carry otherwise!

Note: I used a 4kg Free Range Antibotic Free Turkey from Sam the Butcher – you can order it online and have it delivered to your doorstep on the day of preparation! They will remove the giblets and clean it for you as well.

The Day Before: Soak in brine

• ½ cup coarse salt, plus more for seasoning
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• 4kg free range turkey
• lemon and thyme

In a medium sized saucepan, heat the salt and sugar in 2 cups water, and add 1 whole lemon (just throw it in!) and a few sprigs of thyme. The salt and sugar will gently dissolve over low heat and the aroma from the lemon and herbs will gently infuse the brine.

Turn the heat off, and pour this  mixture into the biggest pot you have, as it has to be big enough to keep the entire turkey submerged.

Add the turkey, then add cold water until the turkey is just submerged. Cover in glad wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Tip: If you have a giant turkey and not a single pot large enough to submerge it, you can use a garbage bag!

5 hours before the party starts: Prepping and Stuffing

• Salt and Pepper
• 1 block of Butter, room temperature
• Turkey thyme (dried thyme – crushed to resemble a powder) & Sage

Stuffing usually needs to be cooked and prepared the night before, but with the amount of Christmas shopping, card writing and tree decorating, we’re not going to do that! Instead, I’ve opted for Sam’s Christmas stuffer instead. This turkey recipe is actually marvelous without stuffing, but I just can’t seem to get my head around the concept. I love stuffing!

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse with cold water. Pat completely dry with paper towels.

Mix butter (enough to cover the inside and outside of the bird) with the thyme, salt and better.

This is the messy part. Insert a baking spatula under the skin of the turkey from it’s rear and open up the skin, and spread knobs of herb butter under its skin (and along with the sage leaves, get your fingers in there). This is optional but it does add to the flavour later on.

Add some stuffing loosely in the turkey’s cavity. You don’t want to pack it in tightly, as that affects how the heat travels inside the turkey. You want to give it some room so the hot air from the oven can travel in and out.

Tie up the legs with cooking twine, then rub the herb butter all over the outside and sprinkle with a liberal amount of black pepper and bit of salt.

Oven time: It’s getting hot in here

2 cups Chicken Stock

Flip your bird over, and place breast-side down in a roasting pan. Loosely cover the top with foil to minimize drying and cook for 35min per kg in a fan forced oven set to 170°C.

The beauty of the brine soaking is that this turkey hardly needs to be basted. I did it once an hour anyway, using pan juices and chicken stock.

After 35min per kg, remove the turkey from the oven and raise the temperature to 220°C and turn on the convection if available (if not, raise the temperature to 240°C). Once the oven reaches temperature, flip the turkey so it’s breast-side up on the roasting rack and put it back in the oven. Roast for half an hour, and test by stabbing a fork into the thickest part of the thigh for 10 seconds. The tip of the fork should be very hot and the juices should run clear.

I like to brush the skin with a small amount of honey alongside the pan juices to give it a nicer color for the last 5 minutes of roasting.

Let it rest at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving – this is a perfect time to make a gravy with the remaining pan juices.

Carving and Serving

I’m going to point you over to Jamie Oliver’s instructional video for this:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/about/jamie-oliver-videos/carving-a-turkey – but I have to say, carving is a man’s job. Make your other half watch this video and ask him to carve the turkey. It makes them feel in control, they feel the Christmas glory when eyes light up as the platter of turkey meat is brought to the table. Garnish with roast vegetables or a rocket salad.

juicy turkey leg

The meat should be tender and moist, even the breast meat from this recipe is utterly delightful. I hope you enjoy a wonderful Christmas period with your loved ones!

Like my post? Spread it like butter!