cider roast turkey

⏲Prep: 15 minutes and Cook: 4 hours (Approx 4 hours cooking for a 4.5kg bird)

🍽Serves: 8 persons

ingredients you need

For the turkey

4.5-6kg/10-13lb turkey, giblets removed and kept
450g stuffing
2 leeks, trimmed and halved
2 carrots, halved
50g butter, softened
300ml dry cider

For the gravy

300ml dry cider
600ml chicken stock
2 tbsp quince or redcurrant jelly

instructions

Step: 1 Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Wash and dry the turkey, removing any feathers. Get out the giblets and the neck, after that set aside. Raise from a lower to the skin that covers the neck opening, next stuff the stuffing up and under the skin, securing it strongly beneath with a skewer or two cocktail sticks. Weigh the stuffed turkey, and after that calculate the cooking time, allowing 40 mins per kg (20 mins per lb).

Step: 2 Place the leeks and carrots along the base of a roasting tin in a single layer – this will make a trivet for the turkey to sit on and add season to the gravy. Add the neck to the tin. Set the turkey on top and cover the breast throughout with butter. Pour in the cider, cover with foil, and after that roast according to your timings. Keep checking the tin – if the vegetables look like they’re burning, add a swash of water or cider. 30 minutes before the end of cooking, remove the foil and season generously.

Step: 3 To test that the turkey is ready, pass through the thigh through its thickest part; the juices should run clear. Take the turkey out and leave it to be laid, covered with a tidy tea towel. Can leave to be placed for up to 1 hr. Now make the gravy. Drain the fat and juices from the tin into a jug, and dispose of the veg and the neck. Put the tin over a fire, after that pour in the cider, scraping up the flavor-filled crusty bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce the cider by half, then strain it into a saucepan (this will save you some space later).