What time do you cook your turkey?

[merlotormalbec]

Im cooking my first Christmas dinner and will be my third ever roast so I'm quite nervous. I want the turkey done and out the way so I can use the oven for other stuff.

I've got a Mns perfect turkey crown with the dark meat around, it says it takes 2hrs 50 but I'm expecting it to be longer.

We're planning on eating 4/4.30. I know people cook their turkey first thing or even the night before so I just don't know when to do it! I'm also slow cooking a gammon and thinking of putting that on at like 8am? Does that sound right?

As you can probably tell I'm completely winging it so if anyone has any tips I'd be very grateful 😂

I wouldn’t cook it for longer than it says, it’ll be all dried out.

Is your slow cooker generally right for recipes? Ours is on the fast side so the gammon only gets about four hours.

If it says 2hrs 50 then I would go with that. You need to allow for resting time after it’s out of the oven too. I usually take the turkey leave it to rest for about 45mins-an hour (covered over) and it helps keep it moist and then I get on with my gravy using the turkey juices and do my potatoes in the oven during that time

@BiscuitDrama okay thank you, I know people let it rest for a while but I just don't know how long! Erm tbh I have no idea I was just taking a wild guess on the ham!

@Welshgal85 okay 45-60 mins rest time thank you

You might find you’re short on oven space, in which case it can come out to rest as you put the potatoes in. Just cover with foil and a towel.
I’m not sure how long to rest it for otherwise, a quick google will tell you. Likewise the gammon.

I always do a ham and do it on Christmas Eve so anyone can have some then and if they want some on their Christmas dinner then they can as well.

I always aim for our turkey (we usually get a crown) to be cooked an hour before I aim to serve up, this gives loads of resting time and frees the oven up for potatoes, pigs in blankets and stuffing.

There’s good info about how to cook a turkey and rest it on Jamie Oliver’s website and on BBC good food website

We have M&S turkey and their cooking times are usually spot on.

We also go with Gordon Ramsey’s thing of resting it for as long as you’ve cooked it for. So once it’s out of the oven, I put fresh tin foil over it, pop a couple of tea towels over that (I have no idea why, I saw it somewhere once and have done it ever since) and leave it until we’re ready to start carving it.

If it does cool down a bit fast, nobody will notice once the gravy is on it!

I put 2 folded bath towels over the tin foil when resting my turkey - it insultes it well so keeps the heat in for a longer time and allows resting of at least an hour and still having very hot turkey when we're ready to eat

I cook mine on Christmas eve in the evening, leave it rest for at least an hour before putting it in the fridge

Carve it up the next morning and put it in a warm oven with gravy to keep it moist

Cake. I need cake. Some bastard has nicked my bloody Christmas cake.

Where do I buy a decent Christmas cake? 😡 DH says ‘cant you make another?’ 🙄

An hour’s resting time for a crown, which is perfect because you can leave it to sit well covered quite happily whilst you get the roast potatoes and sides done.

Also don’t automatically cook it for as long as it says - they usually vastly overestimate cooking times. If you don’t have a meat thermometer I’d suggest you get one if you can as it takes all the guesswork out of it and you don’t ever need to worry about it being undercooked. If you have a thermometer then I’d start with the minimum cooking time and then check.

Don’t cook a crown the night before - breast dries out really easily, and there’s no need to do so when you’re eating in the afternoon as it’s just as easy to cook it on the day.

Bear in mind a crown doesn’t need the same resting time as a whole turkey. An hour or so is good imo.

Cook mine Christmas Eve. Always have. 6 hours on 180 this year.

Just time it to be ready at least an hour before you plan to sit down to eat. Wrap in foil with a couple of tea towels on top - it will keep nice and hot and will carve better.

That will give you plenty of time and oven space for side dishes, veg, and making the gravy.