Christmas turkey

⏲Time taken: 3 hours 30 minutes 🍽 Serves 8-10 plus at least 12 hours of dry brining and 20 minutes resting

to make Christmas turkey you need

5-6kg oven-ready turkey with the neck, chopped, and giblets included
150g butter
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
large handful of mixed herbs such as parsley, thyme, or bay, leaves picked and chopped, stalks reserved, plus extra thyme and herbs to serve (optional)
2 lemons, both halved, 1 juiced
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped

for the gravy

2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tsp yeast extract
a large glass of red wine (about 200ml)
500ml chicken or turkey stock

instructions

Step: 1 Up to 48 hrs and at least 12 hrs earlier than cooking, slack the skin over the turkey breast
so you can obtain your hands beneath it. flavor the bird everywhere, as well as under the skin,
with 2 tbsp sea salt. Place the turkey in a huge roasting tin, breast-side up. Leave unprotected in the fridge till ready to cook.

Step: 2 Pull out the turkey from the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour before making. Turn on the oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9. Liquify the butter in a pan set over low heat, next add the garlic, chopped herbs, and lemon juice. crackle for 1 minute, eliminate from the heat, and rest to cool a little. Pull out the turkey from the tin and disperse in the onions, carrots, turkey neck, and giblets.
Put a roasting rack, trivet, or ovenproof cooling rack in or over the tray and position the turkey
on top.

Step: 3 Stuff the pinched and whole lemons in the turkey cavity with the herb trunk and
extra thyme. Raise the skin and spoon about 4 tbsp of the garlicky herb butter over the meat
beneath, next massage the skin to increase it out. Brush most of the remaining butter in every place of the bird, and put aside about 2 tbsp. For a neat finish, bind the wings and legs with each other.

Step: 4 Place the turkey in the oven and lower the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cook for 1 hr, next detach from the oven and grease with additional butter. Turn the tin around and return to the oven for 30 mins again with the butter and cook for another 30 mins. Behind the
turkey has had 2 hrs in total, check its temperature with a heat probe. It’s cooked
superbly when the widest part of the breast reads about 65C and the widest part of the
thigh reads 75C.

Step: 5 If the temperature is beneath, return the turkey to the oven for the time of
15 minutes till the temperature is stretched out. Chilly for 10 mins on the rack, then transmit to a board and rest upside down – the turkey should rest for at the minimum of 20 mins and will remain hot for at least 40 mins more.

Step: 6 For now, prepare the gravy. If the roasting tin is heatproof, place it directly over a medium heat. If not, scrape the contents into a big, facile pan. Separate over the flour and whisk to make
a paste. Add the soya sauce and yeast take out, whisk, and next pour in the wine and mix to form
a thick paste. Pour in the stock and turkey juices (if you aren’t already making them in the
roasting tin). cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring to make a rich gravy. Distension into a jug or pan to reheat when needed.