Christmas Recipe: Roast Turkey!
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Here are my super simple, stress-free steps to a traditional Christmas Roast Turkey recipe, proper homemade gravy and deliciously crispy yet fluffy roast potatoes.
Ingredients (feeds approx. 4 with leftovers):
Roast Turkey:
- 1 Medium Turkey (3.8kg).
- A couple of handfuls of unsalted butter
.
- Sausage Stuffing or Sage and Onion.
-
Rock salt to season
.
Roast potatoes:
- Desiree or red potatoes (waxy make best the best roast potatoes).
- Couple of tblsp of goose fat.
-
Rock salt to season.
Gravy:
- Stock from boiling up giblets and the turkey neck (make sure you’re turkey has these when you buy it).
- Plain flour.
- Rock salt and freshly ground black pepper to season.
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F.
Roast the Turkey:
Notes:
- Allow 15 minutes per 450g/1lb and 10 or so minutes resting time (weight will increase once your turkey is stuffed so allow for this!)
- Blast initially at 200C for 30 minutes then reduce down to 180C for rest of the cooking time.
- Baste the bird every 30 mins.
1. Before you even think about roasting your turkey, i.e. the night before, remove the neck and goblets from the turkey for stock, this will be the added element that will make your gravy incredibly tasty. Put them in a large pan with lots of water and cook low for at least 4 hours (you can reheat this the next day)
2. Clean your turkey, pat dry with kitchen towel and put into your roasting tin. Open the neck flap and put your stuffing of choice in there but don’t over pack it, you can also put some into the body cavity – be aware the more you put in, the longer your turkey will take to cook! If you are stuffing the cavity it is best to truss your bird with string to keep it all neat and stop your stuffing falling out and drying out
3. Take a couple of handfuls of butter at room temperature and smear all over your turkey – be generous. Sprinkle rock salt over the butter – the more salt the crispier your skin will be but be
4. Put your bird into the middle of your oven and make sure you baste the bird in the juices in the tin every half hour to keep it moist. To check if your bird’s cooked spear the fattest part of it with a knife and if the juices run clear your turkey is done. A lot of the time the recommended cooking time on the packaging will be on the more generous side so just keep an eye on it to prevent it overcooking and drying out. You can always put foil over it to keep it moist and then remove at the end to crisp up the skin.
Roast the Potatoes:
The most important thing is to get the right potatoes! You want waxy ones as they crisp up but keep their structure and moisture. I use red or Desiree.
1. Peel and chop your potatoes into quarters (halves if you like them bigger). Put them into a big pan of boiling water but only cook them for for 4 or so minutes, until the outside is slightly soft which is key for the next step. Drain your potatoes and then put them back into their pan, put on the lid and shake them at least 3 times – you don’t want them to fall apart (which if you over cook them they will) but you want the outside to go all fluffy.
2. Put two or more tablespoons of goose fat into a roasting tin over a high heat on the hob. Being very careful, as the fat will spit, put one potato in at a time and make sure they are coated in all the fat the sprinkle liberally with salt. They will only pick up a little bit of colour at this stage! These can go into the oven straight away or but put aside until you are ready – these will need about an hour depending on size so make sure you only put them in the oven at the last hour of your turkey’s cooking time.
The Gravy:
1. When the turkey is cooked, carefully tip it toward you in the roasting tin, using a spoon in the cavity and a fork on the neck, and tip out all the juices – these are important for tasty gravy. Then put the turkey onto a plate to rest and put it back into your warm but now switched off oven with your roast potatoes.
2. Put the roasting tin with the juices on the hob and turn the heat to medium. Once bubbling add a couple of large serving spoons of plain flour and mix it all in, you want it to make a thick paste. Don’t worry it will brown in the heat. Add a bit at a time the hot stock from you giblets, mixing ferociously each time until abosorbed. When the gravy is at the consistency you like (if you run out of stock and it isn’t runny enough just add water from your boiling veg), season with salt and pepper and decant into a ceramic jug for serving. Tip: warm the jug before by filing it with boiling water and then pouring that away just before you refill it with gravy, this will keep it warm at the table longer.
Serve your turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and gravy with bread sauce, Petit Pois, Curly Kale and Carrots.
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