roast turkey with lemon and garlic

Try crispy skin on roast turkey. You’ll love this recipe which uses storecupboard ingredients to make a mouthwatering festive favourite even more than special.

Prep: 30 mins
Cook:3 hrs 25 mins
Plus resting and up to 2 days brining
Easy
Serves: 8

Ingredients

5-6kg oven-ready turkey, neck, and giblets removed and kept for the gravy
1 onion, halved
1 lemon, halved (save the zest for the butter)
whole bulb of garlic, halved
2 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp thyme leaves
1 tsp peppercorns
100g butter
4 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder (we used Marigold)
1 lemon, zested (from the lemon for the turkey)

roast turkey with lemon and garlic Method

Step: 1 For up to two days ahead, grind the salt with the thyme leaves and pepper in a spice grinder or use a pestle and mortar to make the salt mix. Put the turkey in a roasting tin and carefully push your fingers below the skin, start it from the neck, till you can push your full hand in down the length of the breast. Make sure to not tear the skin.

Step: 2 Season all over the bird with salt mix, everywhere and under the skin. Let the turkey in the tin, breast-side up, and place in the fridge for around two days – the longer you salt it, the more juicy it will be. To make the crispest skin, let the turkey bare so it dries out, but loosely cover it if you want.

Step: 3 Tip into a small bowl the butter, vegetable stock powder, and lemon zest and mix until fully combined. Then cover and chill. (This can be made a few days ahead or frozen, packed, or wrapped in cling film, for about one month).

Step: 4 Take out the turkey from the fridge one hour or so before you desire to cook it. Take out the butter from the fridge to soften. Warm oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Calculate your cooking time based on 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg, plus 45 mins for every kg after that.

Step: 5 Spread the butter with your hands under the skin so that it covers the total breast area and work it into the crevice between the thigh and main body, and then smooth over the skin with your hands. Place onion, lemon halves, and garlic in the pocket.

Step: 6 To roast for the calculated cooking time cover the tin loosely with foil. About 30 mins before the end of cooking, raise the oven temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, take off the foil, baste the turkey, and put it back in the oven. When the turkey looks deliciously brown and cooked through, take it out from the oven and let it rest on a warm platter covered with foil for around 1 hr. To make the gravy save the juices from the tin.