To dread cooking the blasted turkey every year?

[Mrswhatsit40]

It's always dry and tasteless no matter what I do. I'm generally very laidback but this is the worst bit about Christmas for me - worrying about cooking the turkey. Worrying it's going to defrost properly in time then wrangling with a beast the size of a large toddler, removing the disgusting giblets, then in and out of the oven for hours from 9am onwards basting, giving myself third degree burns in the process, stuffing inside or not blah blah.

What the the absolute BEST way you cook your turkey to avoid meat dryer than a nuns crotch? And please don't suggest that Jamie Oliver thing of smearing butter underneath the skin bc I tried it last year and it was impossible (disclaimer:I am not a great cook).

Help me please oh wise MN-er's so I can sleep tonight..what's your failsafe tip for tender turkey? Or does it not exist?

YANBU: It's a pain in the bloody arse and turkey tastes terrible no matter what
YABU: It's easy to cook a nice turkey and you are clearly doing it all wrong

When I use to buy whole turkeys I cooked it upside down, all the juices ran to the breast. Turn for last half hour to 45 mins to brown skin.

I now buy turkey crowns or a boned and rolled turkey. The boned and rolled is much more moist because you have the legs rolled into it.

If cooking in a turkey bag remember that the cooking time decreases, the bag speeds up the cooking time . You can find timings online when using a turkey bag.

Personally I prefer using tinfoil, I find the bags dry out the turkey.

This is another thing I've wondered - if I could do it really low in the range? It's a rangemaster with two ovens, one fan one standard.

Lol, fair enough! I have done this before and it was great as turkeys were very much reduced. But I get that this is not always a realistic option for reasons you mentioned. Anyway, if you absolutely have to do frozen. Very, very slow cook and lots of butter.

YABU

Roast the turkey upside down. Don't baste it. Give an unstuffed turkey 13-15 minutes per pound at 180. Start much hotter to seal it for 20 minutes, then lower the oven. The oven should be very hot to begin with.

If you like, you can brine the turkey in buttermilk overnight, which will yield a very tender and moist bird. You'll need a large, clean bucket and a cold spot to leave it all in.

Do you have a meat thermometer? Your turkey is done when the thermometer inserted through the thigh into the breast registers 75 C. It needs to be taken out and covered tightly in foil at that point. Then you rest it in the foil for about half an hour before carving. Turn it right side up to carve.

While it's resting you can make gravy, finish the veg, etc.

I'm doing Nigellas slow cooked gammon with treacle and cloves thingy too. Never done it before and wouldn't be surprised if it's a disaster!

Either buy a fresh turkey or turkey crown.

Get a cheap meat thermometer so you don’t overcook it.

Don’t put stuffing it it, just some veg around it. Season the skin but I don’t put extra butter/ oil on either. Cover it for most of the cooking and turn it half way through. Brown the skin for the last half hour.

Rest it for bloody ages.

But mostly don’t overcook it and rest it afterwards, that’s why it’s dry.

I have been cooking turkey every year for Christmas for thick end of forty years. One year I cooked goose because I had always fancied it - never again.

Honestly my turkey always comes out well. Basically I just follow the way of St Delia of Norwich (Blessed Be Her Name.) You can probably look it up on Delia Online but, for my 5.5k turkey, it will be:

• take out of fridge before bed the night before to get to room temperature;
• stuff sausage meat in the neck end and under the skin on the breast;
• smear it all over in butter then season;
• put streaky bacon over the breast;
• enclose the turkey in a big tent of foil, so air can circulate;
• give it a blast on very hot (200 fan) for 35 minutes
• turn down to 160 fan for rest of cooking time - dependent on size of turkey - in my case (5.5k) about 3 hours
• take foil off and then give about another 30 minutes basting occasionally
• take out of oven, wrap in foil and rest for at least 30 minutes before carving

As to the frozen versus fresh argument. I was in the fresh is best camp for many years. We always ordered our bird well in advance and collected on Christmas Eve. Then about 3 years ago I saw a consumer programme just before Christmas all about the various seasonal things we get and what is worth the money, taste tests and so on. They covered the fresh v. frozen thing and said that while fresh might have been better years ago (when St Delia wrote her gospel) these days with improved ways of freezing this was no longer necessarily the case. In fact a frozen bird could actually be "fresher" than a fresh bird. Anyway, we tried for the first time two years ago and, honestly, we cannot tell the difference and it is less than half the price. Just get it out of the freezer about 3 days before you want to cook it.

Why not have something else instead of turkey?

Some people forget to rest the bird before carving. It needs at least 30 mins for a crown and 50 mins for a whole bird.

The point of resting the turkey is to let the juices go back into the meat. If take out the roast from oven and then carve it, the juices go everywhere but the meat making it dry. Also don't be tempted to cover the meat tightly with foil as its being cooked still.

Same, Butterfly Turkey from the butcher, so easy and no faffing about with the carcas after.

Beef Wellington.

Phil Vickery's way works every single time

When I last cooked turkey, I covered it in butter then wrapped it in foil. Took the foil off for the last 20 mins of cooling time. I also let it rest for a while and it tasted really nice. Agree about not using a frozen turkey though

I always slow cook gammon ,with Cola ,just chuck full fat cola over the gammon and cook on high for about five hours, always very tasty.

Boneless Turkey crown, cook it in the slow cooker (we have an oval one) no liquid added and a tea towel under the lid so it doesn't get too wet.
Comes out nice and tender and not in the least bit dry.

Don't. Splash out on one or two really high welfare chickens and enjoy a lovely meal. My grandmother cooked turkey each year and now my mum has for the last ten or so years. She brings it over as we host Christmas. Every single year that I remember from when I was three or something they both critised the turkey and how it wasn't as good as last years. Since grandma died mum just seems to have a discussion with herself about this disappointing turkey. We all tuck into the easy to cook delicious rib of beef and half heartedly join in with the expected turkey criticsm.

Buy a meat you like and is easy to cook!

Would be worth a google. I do an hour in the roasting oven at 7pm, move to the simmering oven at 8pm and it’s there till 9am ish the next morning. It’s a 12kg+ though so HUGE!

I think people cook it far too long.

If you are a lousy turkey cook then do something different. Turkey is not compulsory.

I don’t like turkey at all, never have. Our Christmas dinner is a slow roasted leg of lamb. The meat is always delicious and the leftover sandwiches are legendary.

We have our big dinner on Xmas eve - that’s the tradition where I’m from. So on Xmas day everyone can relax, including me.

Ahh, lovely Delia. Forgot about her!

Think I'll have to risk the frozen turkey as I don't fancy lugging it back to Waitrose and I just looked at the fresh ones from Kelly's - start at £90 for 3kg!!!!

Brine the turkey, baste often and go by the temperature of the meat, using the cooking times as a guide only. The times given are very much a one size fits all, but different breeds and rearing of turkey alters the cooking time.

If you can invest in a meat probe, one that you put in the meat while it's cooking. You can normally monitor from an app on your phone. You will be able to take it out and just the right time.

Also, let the bird rest for at least an hour after cooking. Wrapped in foil, then covered with a tea towel it will stay hot for a long time. The resting lets all the juices settle back into the meat, giving lovely juicy turkey.

I order an m&s boneless crown in October. Just bung it in the oven and that's it, easy. Maybe try that next year

Also, the fresh turkeys in Waitrose only started to be available from today, so it's possible your local store had a slight delay. There will be plenty on shelves in the next few days.

Don't cook one - why stress yourself more than you need to?