Help cooking a turkey

[Travelcrazy]

Due to needing to be out visiting family Christmas morning I need a recipe to cook the turkey for a minimum of 5 hrs unattended, the weight about 6kg if whole or any size crown. I need it to be ready when I get back so I can just rest it and cook roasties etc.
We cant make dinner later as we are travelling after.
I was going to cook it early in the morning then wrap it up really well but worried this may not be safe. Does anyone know a way of doing this, I tried slow cooker crown last year and it was not great.

Definitely cook it early, wrap it in foil, place tea towel over it, leave it for as long as you want, it'll make it extra juicy, I leave mine to rest a minimum of two hours, give the bird time to relax.
It'll be fine.

Saying that, if you don't need a massive turkey and don't want left overs, morrisons have a really nice turkey breast that could comfortably feed 5 on a Christmas dinner, I'll link it if that's any help to you x

@Lwrenagain thanks for the reply , it would have to be left for 4 and a half hrs is that safe?
Yes please send the link too, thanks.

Could you cook it the day before? It's done then and you can just reheat it on Christmas Day.

Or, if you're off out visiting people than back for food then off again, do you even need to do a full Christmas roast?

https://groceries.store.morrisons.com/products/Market-Street-British-Turkey-Easy-Carve-Butter-Basted-Breast-Joint/109757023

I use that for a roast often, it's always been decent. Actually a few times I've bought it and used it for butties. I just jazz it up with bit more butter, herbs and bacon, if I can be bothered.

I would be fine leaving it for four hours, but definitely Google the guidelines.
I know Gordon and Jamie both say a turkey needs to rest for as long as its cooked, so depends on turkey size I imagine.

If its wrapped up super tight in foil with clean tea towels over it it'll probably retain loads of heat if it's a large bird.

We only tend to baste ours once or twice and have forgotten to a few times. But I make a seasoned butter and smush loads under the skin onto breast, legs etc, and then cover the breast area in a lattice of streaky rashers overlapped across each other.

Put a pound of butter out to soften the day before, for at least 2-3 hours.
Add plenty of salt and pepper
Chop plenty of herbs finely - I like some sage and some rosemary with lots of thyme and lots of parsley - add those.
And for turkey butter, I like to add the finely zested skin of 1 lemon and 1 orange.
Mix thoroughly with a fork/spoon.

I like to allow flavours to develop overnight before smushing it under the skin.

(I usually add the zested lemon and orange, sliced in half each, into the body cavity for extra moistness and flavour, perhaps with a sprig of thyme).

When the bird is buttered and has its bacon coat on in the tray, I usually put a good couple of glasses of white wine into the tray which helps keep moist as well. (And adds flavour to gravy!).

And I tend to cook covered in foil for 4 hours and only taking off foil for the last hour. You could do that as soon as you get in for the last few minutes while getting potatoes ready etc - before taking it out to rest under the foil covered in a couple of towels to keep the heat in.

Thanks for the replies, I have read about making it the day before and it not being very good so I don't think I want to try that.
I would love to cook it before we go out and wrap it well, you are right Gordon does recommend that but I also read 2 hrs max for poultry to be left out the fridge. I wonder if turkey is different due to the size?
Failing that a recipe that roasts it slower than normal would be good if anyone has one please.

Cook it the day before.
I usually do this anyway, as it makes things a lot less chaotic on Christmas Day.

But OP, cooking a crown can take less than two hours, but a whole bird takes longer because it needs to be basted etc.
Which are you buying?

If you need to cook a full turkey then maybe the brining process (Al la Nigella) may help you?
I'm no expert but I will say cold turkey covered in bread sauce or gravy wouldn't arse me if you did it Christmas eve.
Or, outside the box thought, how about you do your Xmas day meal Christmas eve and then you're able to have left overs as and when on Xmas day?

I always buy a Kelly bronze turkey and it always takes less than 2 hours to cook. Expensive but fast!

I will probably buy the whole bird then, I cant wait two hours for a crown to cook then resting and using the oven for all the trimmings. Ideally it needs to be cooked earlier in the morning or when we get back. I think you can get self basting? If not I would put lots of butter under the skin and bacon on top.

https://www.vickery.tv/recipes/phils-perfect-roast-turkey/

this always works

If you're open to doing goose instead of turkey, you can do half the cooking the day before. I steam mine 45 min over boiling water the day before (keep the extra fat for roast potatoes). Then only do 2 hrs or so in the oven on Christmas day. Much tastier than turkey and (Dickens notwithstanding) you can feed a similarly-sized crowd.

Tip 1: Don’t. It’s the only inedible meat out there, tastes like gone wrong chicken even if moist.

I second brining overnight. It makes it taste far better and more forgiving and definitely less prone to drying.

I test my turkey for hours if I'm doing it. My kitchen is the size of a postage stamp so needs must. Wrap in foil and clean tea towels it will be fine.

I think it's JO who says rest for the number of hours you cook it for.

Or get a rolled breast joint, my butcher does a lovely stuffed one wrapped in bacon, cooks in about 90 minutes so if your oven is big enough you can do potatoes at same time as the meat

@cocksstrideintheevening thanks, how long do you leave yours out?

OP can't you set the timer on your oven to come on and off? You don't need to be there then.

@caringcarer frustratingly I bought an all singing dancing oven that steams, built in thermometer, cleans itself etc and the stupid thing has no timer!

I've left mine five hours before op, it's still steaming hot.

Do you have a meat thermometer? Then you could cook at a lower temp for longer and just check that the internal temp has reached the correct height (i think 75 C but would need to check for turkey).

Actually, if your all singing all dancing oven has a built in thermometer, can it turn itself off when things hit a pre-set temp, even if not a pre-set time?

Ok sorted thanks everyone I will cook it early in the morning and leave it well wrapped.