Tender Turkey

The hero of the hour, especially at Christmas!

Prep time: 10mins | Cook time: Check your turkey for cook times
Ingredients
  • Turkey
  • Vegetables for trivet (we recommend onion, carrots and parsnips)
  • Tbsp of butter
  • Handful of fresh sage
  • Handful of fresh thyme
  • 6x slices smoked streaky bacon (optional)
Method
  1. Bring the turkey up to room temperature. If you’re cooking a frozen turkey, it will take about 2 hours for every 450g of meat to defrost
  2. TOBY TIP: To cut down on cooking time, we recommend using a turkey crown
  3. Create a veg trivet - lay parsnips, carrots and onions on the bottom of your roasting tray to create a gap between the bird and the tray. This will then form part of your gravy
  4. Add sage and fresh thyme to a generous helping of butter and using your hands rub under the skin of the turkey between the skin and breast to add flavours and keep your turkey tender
  5. TOBY TIP: Line the top of your turkey crown with streaky smoked bacon to flavour it further
  6. Cook according to the packaging instructions and ensure the thickest part of the bird gets to 75C. Invest in a food probe if you want to be sure – they’re readily available online
  7. After cooking, make sure you let your meat stand for around 45 minutes underneath some foil and tea towels, so the meat 'relaxes' and the juices flow through the joint

A few words on carving

If you're thinking of using an electric knife, here's my advice: please don't.

Ideally, you need a long, sharp knife. A serrated blade works quite well if you'd rather not be sharpening all the time.

Here's the proper way to sharpen a carving knife. First, don't sharpen both sides or you'll probably blunt it. The trick is, if you're right-handed, sharpen the right-hand side; and vice versa if you're left-handed.

Use the entire length of the knife to carve, cutting against the grain to slice up the meat fibres.

If you use a fork to hold the meat in place, press lightly. If you stick the fork hard into the joint, everything will collapse and you'll squeeze those sumptuous juices out. Ideally, you should only use a fork to move the sliced meat.

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Cooking times will vary according to your equipment specification and timings are given for guidance. We use a fan assisted oven for our recipes. Please follow instructions given on product packaging for best cooking instructions as these recipes are for guidance only. (V) indicates vegetarian recipe, (Ve) indicates vegan recipe. Double check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies, intolerances or food preferences.