My Festive ShowstopperYoutube turkey prep 4

If you’ve been following me for a few years now, chances are you will have seen my ultimate turkey recipe. I am OBSESSED with this big juicy bird, and it’s all you’ll hear me talking about as soon as the mince pies come out in the shops. If you follow my guide to how to cook your turkey this year for Christmas, Thanksgiving or an alternative roast dinner, you’re going to love it.

The Brine

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At my house on Christmas Day I’m generally feeding 6-8 hungry people, so that means getting a lot of turkey if I fancy a little leftover. I’m getting a 3.5-4kg turkey, but you may need to scale the ingredients for the butter and brine up a little if yours is bigger. You can change the flavours of your brine however you like, just make sure it still has salt and sugar.

Personally, I go for:

  • 3 tbsp sea salt
  • 1 1/2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped

Then give this all a mix and set aside while you prep the bird. Dry off the skin with kitchen paper and then get your hands in there – use your fingers to separate the skin from the flesh of the turkey. Be careful not to rip the skin if you can avoid it! Spoon in the dry mixture under the skin and give it all a good massage. Light a few candles and get some Barry White playing to get you in the mood for massages. Place the turkey into a deep baking tray and leave (ideally) uncovered on the bottom shelf of the fridge so the skin can really dry out. This is how you achieve that super crispy skin! If you need to, you can cover it with cling film but it’s not quite the same.

Leave your turkey in the fridge for 2 more days (not including the day you prepared it, so one day in between preparation and cooking) before moving onto the butter step!

The Butter

Youtube turkey prep

Next up is my favourite part, the BUTTER. I love a butter basted turkey so much I could have one for my roast every week.  Again, you can change this up however you like but this is what I use:

  • 200g/7oz unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 1 orange, zested and 1/2 juiced
  • 1 lemon, zested and 1/2 juiced
  • 3-4 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped and finely chopped
  • 6-8 leaves of sage, leaves picked and finely chopped
  • 3 sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped

Just mix everything together in a bowl and push the butter between the skin and the flesh of the bird. Make sure you get around the thighs, don’t leave them feeling left out. Any herb stalks and the juiced lemon and orange can go into the cavity so they steam the turkey from the inside out.

Dry the turkey off again with kitchen paper and leave out to come up to room temperature a little before cooking. If you cook the bird from fridge cold, the flesh can go tight and you end up with tough meat!

The Roasting

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This is where this recipe gets a little bit tricky and I can’t really help you very much. The weight of the turkey determines how long to cook it for, so it’s different for every one! As a guideline, for a 3.5kg turkey I will cook it for around 1 hour 30 minutes. Ideally if you have one I would highly recommend using a meat thermometer, bonus points if it’s one that can go in the oven. Make sure to check the juices are running clear and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh is reading around 70ºc/160ºf before removing from the oven. If you’re still not sure, the best thing you can do is just to cut into it! No one is going to care if there is a bit of a piece taken out of the leg, they’d rather that than have an undercooked turkey for dinner bab.

The Resting

Finally, this step goes for any and all meats that you’re roasting – chicken, turkey, beef, pork etc. Make sure to rest your meat! Ideally you should be resting for the same amount of time as you cooked it, but I know that’s not always possible. Atleast 30 minutes is my rule of thumb when I’m in a bit more of a hurry, otherwise all of the juice you’ve worked so hard to keep in the meat will just ooze out onto the tray. Unfortunately you do end up sacrificing your crispy skin when you rest the meat, so I’ll leave that one to you… It’s worth it for my ultimate turkey, I promise.

Cover the turkey loosely with tin foil and leave in the corner of the countertop for as long as possible. If you’re worried about it being cold, pouring hot gravy over the top when carved will do the trick! You can use all of the resting juices in the bottom of the tray, along with all of the melted butter, to make the most delicious gravy.

Get Stuck In

So, there you have it – my ultimate turkey. I have now told all of my secrets, and shown you them too over on my Youtube Channel so I hope that you can make the festive meal of your dreams. Have a look around the rest of my website while you’re here and check out my ultimate roasties, glazed carrots and braised red cabbage to really up your Christmas dinner game.

Thank me later, after you’ve taken all of the credit for yourself. Go on, I’ll let you x