Foolproof way to get a moist, juicy turkey...

[PressureDrop]

Come on, give me your best tips, ladies!

I have never cooked a turkey in my life (am veggie) but I did see Phil Vickery on This Morning doing a 'foolproof' moist turkey recipe that cooks in 2hrs. It's on the website I think.

Nigellas brine soaking works fOr me, I shall not waiver. My mum swears by a muslin soaked in goose fat over the turkey.

Heston also recommends brining.

I am going to brine too. My Turkey is 10lbs.. might have to brine in a washing up bowl

But does the brine make it taste odd?

I do the herb butter under the skin like Jamie and Gordon. Its gorgeous, you can prep it the day before. Also leave to rest for at least one and a half hours, juice goes back into the turkey. Cover with foil, then 2 teatowels and then a towel. Don't cook it for too long, mine is just over 5kg, so oven at top whack then straight down to 180 for 2 and a half hours.

Nope brining makes it taste delicious!

taffeta, think I'm gonna go with your suggestion. Brining sounds a bit scary!

How long would you cook a 7.7kg turkey for, then? I was thinking 4 hours-ish?

thanks all, btw!

Cook according to delia and then do a gordon Ramsey - i.e. when finished cooking, remove from oven. turn upside down and cover with foil. This makes all the juices run down into the breast - it works!

PressureDrop - sounds about right. Oven up to max, bird at room temp ( so take out fridge at least a few hours before )then as soon as it goes in oven down to 180 c and cook for 30 mins per kilo. Baste every so often.

Rest for at least an hour and a half. Cover with foil and teatowels.

Have a lovely day.

I follow Delia's instructions, always works. Last year I tried Jamie's method, pushing butter between the skin and the breast meat, but the skin split at some point in the oven and it ended up really dry.

Back to Delia this year.

cook it upside down under tin foil and only take the foil off and turn it the right way up for the last 45 mins. works every time!

Best turkey I ever roasted was the one I accidentally put in the oven upside down, so I always do it this way now.

I always pack it to the gills with stuffing -- don't forget to add the weight of the stuffing to your calculations wrt timing, but as mentioned, take it out when the juices run clear; don't be a slave to the timer. And let it rest for a good while once out or carving will be very difficult.

Don't open the oven until the minimum amount of time you've allowed yourself has elapsed. Estimate on the low side.

Our turkey is boned out by the butchers, al the bones have now been cooked up for stock. So tomorrow will be mixing up a suitable stuffing and then rolling and tying up and ready to cook.

Pretty much as Snow put it - 15mins per pound (once I weighed it) - slowish cook - having it all boned makes it easier to cook and carve! Would recommend to leave for an hour at least before carving.

Have done the brining alla Nigella but TBH prefer the boned rolled option we now do - plus it is was a free range bird too.

Buy turkey crowns and stick them in a cooking bag. Job done.

We do duck now, but when I used to turkey the legs weren't too popular in our family.

So sometimes I used to bone and flatten them a little, fill with stuffing, then fold over and sew the edges together with string and a wool needle. Then I placed the sort of flat-pasty shapes back against the bird where the legs were.

My mum was horrified when I first did it, but it was the most popular bit of the bird that year!

My mum tried putting the stuffing under the skin once, as she heard some TV chef extolling the virtues. A couple of hours into the cooking there was a load BANG from the oven; we rushed to investigate and found the turkey looking like the aftermath of a suicide bomb blast. Tasted OK, but the aesthetics left a lot to be desired.

My dad wraps the turkey in duck to keep it moist.

in duck?

Use a half a block of butter, a whole pack of streaky bacon, drink a whole bottle of champagne for breakfast (with OJ - what do you think I am? An alcoholic?) shove it in the oven and hope for the best. Works for me.

How about some tips for a nice nut loaf ?

Or some fab roast potatoes ?

In our family it's the roasties that are the star of the show !

Made a nut loaf again this year after several years away and felt very festive to be cooking something seasonal from first principles !

Good luck with all your culinary endeavours, what'ere they be !

P.S If it were me I'd def turn it upside down at some point/ and/or cover it.

Yes, in duck! It works well actually.