How to cook the perfect turkey?

[Southmouth]

Normally we have beef on Christmas Day but this year we’ve been given a turkey which we’ll have.

I’m worried about drying it out, how do you all could the perfect turkey? I don’t want it to be a disaster on Christmas Day...

I am doing the legs and crown separately - roasting the crown with under the skin stuffing of chestnuts, lardons and goodness and a ragu for the legs which gives the gravy.

I have found that if I do the traditional whole stuffed bird the breast meat is like sawdust, the legs are edible in part and the stuffing risks giving everyone food poisoning. Also the whole thing is tasteless.

My failsafe:

Muslin cloth with butter wrapped around the turkey and they foil. Cook for appropriate length of time. Completely wrap in foil and cover with heaps of towels for a couple of hours.

Cook everything else.

Enjoy the best ever turkey.

I never stuff the turkey, I think it’s the extra cooking time for the stuffing that dries it out. I cover it in a lot of butter and streaky bacon as well. A meat thermometer to test for when it’s done helps as well.

www.nigella.com/recipes/spiced-and-superjuicy-roast-turkey seems like alot of faff but totally worth it.

I’ve always cooked the turkey in a very similar way to the one in this video. The meat is always juicy and delicious, and the skin is crispy. It cooks much more quickly than a whole turkey.

I stuff the turkey cavity with bread based stuffing and the neck end with sausage meat based stuffing. I roast the turkey breast side down for most of the cooking time with a foil tent over the roasting tin. I turn it right side up and finish it off uncovered to crisp up the skin. I use a digital probe thermometer to ensure the turkey, including stuffing, is cooked properly. Turkey is removed and put on a warm serving platter then covered with foil and clean towels to rest while I make the gravy - from the juices which have been flavoured not only by the bird but also the two types of stuffing.

I can’t imagine cooking a jointed turkey or a crown. We always have the turkey brought to the table whole and then carved.

I have never cooked a dry turkey. I think people are so scared of undercooking/food poisoning that they overcook resulting in dry meat.

There was an mnhq video on the Christmas section a few weeks back.

get a goose

I follow Delia Smith's instructions in her Christmas book (probably available on her website too) to the letter. Never had a problem. The gist of her approach is: slather the bird in butter, put lots of rashers of streaky bacon over the breast, roast in a foil tent, starting off at a very high temperature for half an hour or so, then a lower temperature for however long necessary, then turn the oven up again, remove bird, turn back foil, baste, put back to get it nice and golden brown, then when cooked remove and rest, with foil/towels etc over it to keep it warm while everything else gets cooked/finished off. Make gravy using juices and butter from roasting tin.

Always remember that all big lumps of meat need time to rest after being roasted. It's not just about freeing up the oven for the roast potatoes etc and trying to keep the meat warm till serving up time. The juices from the roast sink back into the meat during that resting period and it's much tastier as a result.

I do Mary Berry's way (butter and thyme under the skin, stuff the neck end, orange, lemon, onion and herbs in the other end, bacon rashers on top) and it turns out nice.