classic roast turkey

A succulent roast turkey on Christmas Day with our simple, traditional recipe. You can serve it with all your favorite trimmings on the side.

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 3 hrs – 3 hrs and 30 mins
More effort
Serves: 8 – 10

Ingredients

1 onion, quartered
fresh bay leaves, to flavour and serve
4.5-5.6kg/10-12lb Bronze turkey, giblets removed
1 quantity of stuffing (optional)
85g butter, softened
1 whole nutmeg
10 rashers streaky bacon
glass of red wine, such as Merlot

Step: 1 Turn the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Place the onion and a big sprig of bay in the cavity in the middle of the legs. If using stuffing, pack half into the neck end, pushing it towards the breast. Tight the neck skin in position with skewers and tie up the turkey legs together at the top of the drumsticks to give a neat and good shape.

Step: 2 Weigh the turkey and totalize cooking time at 20 mins per kilo, plus 90 mins. (You may need to use your bathroom scales.)

Step: 3 Set a large sheet of extra-wide foil in a large roasting tin, and place the turkey on top. Streak the breast with the butter, shred over half the nutmeg, and flavor well. Set the breast with bacon, spill over the wine, and loosely bring up the foil, to make a parcel seal well.

Step: 4 Bake in the oven, then 90 mins before the end of cooking, open the foil, dispose of the bacon, and drain off extra fat from the tin. Leaving the foil open, get back the turkey to the oven to brown, basting with the juices several times, and now next 30 minutes before the end of cooking, set pigs-in-blankets and stuffing of your choice (if using) on every side of the turkey, or cook in a separate little oiled tin.

Step: 5 Push a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh to test if the turkey is cooked – the juices should run clear. Even if they are pinkish, cook them for up to 15 minutes more, then test them again.

Step: 6 Pass the turkey, stuffings, and pigs-in-blankets to a salver, cover with foil, next a couple of tea towels, and allow to rest for up to 30 mins before cutting. This gives the juices time to sink back into the meat, making sure that the turkey will be juicy. Garnish with sprigs of the bay, and serve.