Cook the Christmas Turkey

Turkey Christmas Dinner Photographic Print
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If this is the first time you've cooked the Christmas turkey, it can be intimidating, especially if you have family or friend coming for dinner. It isn't difficult, though, if you follow a few simple guidelines.

Your first decision is what type of turkey will you choose?

The choice is between fresh and frozen turkeys. You can also choose an organically reared turkey, these are usually fresh but tend to be the most expensive while frozen turkeys tend to the least expensive.

If you choose a frozen turkey, it is extremely important that it is defrosted all the way through otherwise your Christmas could be spoiled by food poisoning. Put it in the refrigerator in its wrappings to defrost slowly.

Before putting the turkey in the oven, wash it, inside and out then pat the outside dry. Check that all of the giblets have been removed from the carcass.

Check that there is no plastic bag of giblets left inside either the main body cavity or the flap of skin at the neck end as cooking the giblets in the plastic bag is not recommended by any of the cookbooks!

Nowadays the advice is not to put stuffing in the body cavity because it could stop the turkey cooking all the way through and lead to food poisoning. The advise is stuff the neck end only. You can cook more stuffing in a separate dish.

In fact, many people do still put stuffing in the main body cavity, as shown in the video below, but it does need to be done with care, if you must do it. Don't cram stuffing in, keep it loose so hot air can circulate. You must make certain that the turkey is cooked all the way through before serving it.

It's usual to loosen the skin at the neck end by sliding your hand gently between the skin and the flesh. By doing this, you can then put more stuffing in there than you would without doing this.

The wings should be tied under the body and the legs tied together. You can spread butter or other oils or fat over the body too. Alternatively, many people put strips of fatty bacon on the body.

Many UK cookbooks give two methods of cooking a turkey; fast and slow.

Fast Method
Wrap the bird in foil before putting it in the roasting tin. Put in a preheated oven, 230 deg C (450 deg F), open the foil about 30 minutes before it finishes cooking so it can brown. For cooking times, see below.

Slow Method
Don't wrap the turkey in foil otherwise it steams rather than roasts. The oven should be preheated to 170 deg C (325 deg F). Baste it regularly. See cooking times below.

My Method
I use a mixture of the two and have done for many years.

I preheat the oven to 220 deg C (425 deg F), I place the turkey on foil, ready to wrap it, but first I smear butter over it quite thickly. Then I wrap it loosely in foil.

I put it in the preheated oven and let it cook for about an hour, then I turn down the heat to 170 deg C (325 deg F) and cook a 10 to 12lb turkey for about another 3 hours but I keep an eye on it and open the foil and check it's not cooking too slowly or too fast. I close the foil and adjust the temperature of the oven if necessary.

I'll take it out of the oven after about 2 hours 30 minutes and open the foil to see how it's doing. If it still has quite a way to go before it's cooked, I close the foil and put it back. If it's very close to being cooked, I tear the foil off so that the bird can brown. At this stage I also turn up the heat to around 200 deg C (400 deg F). If it wasn't ready for browning, I'll look at it again after 30 to 45 minutes and then remove enough foil to allow it to brown. Baste it frequently while it is browning.

Test to see if it is cooked by inserting a thin bladed knife or skewer - the juices should be clear of any trace of blood. Usually the last part to cook is the thickest part of the leg pressed against the body of the turkey. If it is taking much longer to cook than you expected and you have hordes of hungry people expecting dinner shortly, you can cut off the legs - insert the point of a sharp, strong knife into the joint closest to the body after you've cut through the flesh, and twist the knife and the leg should come off fairly easily. Then put the legs back in the roasting tin but with the fleshy side outwards, in effect the legs are back to front, that way the thick part is exposed to more heat and will cook more quickly (this is a tip given to me by my father who was a chef).

With this method it is not as easy to calculate the cooking times but they are about the same as for the slow method. The advantage is that the higher temperature at the start seem to seal in the juices and the turkey is never dry.

Whichever method you use, the turkey should be ready about 30 minutes before you need to carve it. Just leave it somewhere reasonably warm - the kitchen on Christmas Day is an ideal place as it is usually like a furnace in most homes.

Weight

Slow Cooking Time

Quick Cooking Time

 

6 - 8lbs (2.7 - 3.6kg)

3hrs to 3hrs 30 mins

2hrs 15mins to 2hrs 30mins

 

8 - 10lbs (3.6 - 4.5kg)

3hrs 30mins to 3hrs 45mins

2hrs 30mins to 2hrs 45mins

 

10 - 12lbs (4.5 - 5.4kg)

3hrs 45mins to 4hrs

2hrs 45mins

 

12 - 14lbs (5.4 - 6.3kg)

4hrs to 4hrs 15mins

3hrs

 

14 - 16lbs (2.7 - 3.6kg)

4hrs 15mins to 4hrs 30mins

3hrs to 3hrs 15mins

 

16 - 18lbs (7.3 - 8.2kg)

4hrs 30mins to 4hrs 45mins

3hrs 15mins to 3hrs 30mins

 

20 - 22lbs (9 - 10kg)

4hrs 45mins to 5hrs

3hrs 30mins to 3hrs 45mins

 

Stuffing a Turkey
Copyright Rick Kimpel used under Creative Commons Licence

In the UK, the two most commonly made Christmas stuffings are chestnut and sausage meat. Traditionally, the body cavity and neck end of the Christmas turkey have been cooked with stuffing inside them. Nowadays, though, it is recommended that the body cavity is not stuffed as it could stop the turkey being cooked all the way through and may lead to food poisoning.

You can still put stuffing inside the skin at the neck end and, mingled with the juices of the turkey, it is usually delicious. If you still want two types of stuffing, you can use one end in the neck end and cook the other in a separate dish.

Chestnut Stuffing
Ingredients
2oz butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
6oz mushrooms, sliced
1 can of chestnut pureé
3 rashers (slices) bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 tbs parsley, chopped
2oz fresh breadcrumbs
turkey heart and liver, chopped (optional)
season to taste

Method
1. Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the onion, turkey heart and liver (if used) and mushrooms until all the butter has been absorbed.

2. Break up the canned chestnut pureé in a bowl and then mix in the fried ingredients together with the parsley, bacon, breadcrumbs and seasoning.

3. Use this to stuff the neck end of the turkey, pushing it between the skin and flesh. Make sure you fold the flap of skin back under the bird when you have finished to stop the stuffing leaking out during cooking.

Potted Herbs, Sage Art Print
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Sausage Meat Stuffing
Ingredients
1.5 pounds (24 oz) of high quality pork sausage meat
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 to 1 tbs sage according to taste
4oz fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
Season to taste

Method
Put the sausage meat into a large bowl and then mix all the ingredients into it. The best way to do this is with your hands - it's quicker and much more effective than trying to use a spoon. Just make sure you have a bowl of hot water ready to wash your hands afterwards.

This stuffing was traditionally used in the body cavity but you can cook it in a greased dish or oven tin for about an hour on the floor of the oven with the turkey when it is on a low heat. See Cooking the Christmas Turkey.

Both of these recipes are infinitely adaptable and you can add or substitute ingredients according to what you and your family like.

Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
8oz sugar
1/2 pint (300ml) water
8oz cranberries

Method
Put the water and sugar into a pan and heat. When the sugar has dissolved, boil for 5 minutes then add the cranberries and simmer until the berries are burst open, about 5 minutes. Cool and serve. This can be made up a day or two before needed.

Bread Sauce
Ingredients

Peppercorns in Jar and in a Heap Photographic Print
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1 onion
2 cloves
3/4 pint (400ml) milk
salt & a few peppercorns
1/2 bayleaf
3oz fresh breadcrumbs
knob of butter

Method
Peel the onion and stick the cloves in it before putting it in a pan with the milk, salt, peppercorns and bayleaf. Now heat the pan until the mixture nearly boils then remove from the heat and leave standing for about 20 minutes. Take out the bayleaf and peppercorns. Add the butter and breadcrumbs, mix and then return the pan to a low heat for about 15 minutes so that the sauce cooks thoroughly but without burning on the bottom of the pan. Remove the onion and cloves.

Wash the giblets and neck and put them in a large pan with plenty of water. Chop up an onion, carrot and stick of celery and add to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. Drain off the stock.

When the turkey has cooked and is resting on a board or large plate, you have a roasting pan with the fat and juices from the turkey in it. Now you need to separate the fat from the juices. The easiest way to do this is by cooling it down quickly so the fat rises to the top. You could put the liquid into a jug, then stand the jug in iced water, for example.

If you like your gravy thin, just mix the turkey juices into the giblet stock. Taste, season as needed.

If you prefer thick gravy, you can use about 1 tablespoon of the fat from the turkey (or cooking oil), to make a roux sauce. Heat the fat in a pan, stir in one tablespoon of plain (all purpose) flour. Keep stirring and let it cook for about one minute.

Now gradually add the stock removing the pan from the heat for each addition. Immediately put it back on the heat, bring to a full simmer without stirring, then stir vigorously. Repeat until it's the thickness you like. Stir in the juices from the turkey that you separated earlier. Again taste and season if necessary.

There are some traditional 'trimmings' usually cooked and served with the Christmas turkey.

Devils on Horseback
Wrap a slice of bacon around a small sausage (chipolata) or a pieces of large sausage. Repeat until you have enough or have used up all the sausages. You can cook them in a separate pan in the oven or put them alongside the turkey if it has had the foil removed. They shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to cook, depending on your oven.

Bacon Rolls
Loosely roll up rashers (slices) of bacon and put a cocktail stick through each one to keep it in a roll. Now you can grill (broil) or cook in the oven. They won't take long, maybe 10 minutes in the oven.

Stuffing Balls
Roll your stuffing into small balls, maybe an inch or inch and a half across. Put them alongside the turkey after you've taken off the foil. Again, these shouldn't take longer than 30 minutes.

Serve these as accompaniments to the turkey.

Christmas Dinner Table Setting Photographic Print
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