COOKING THE TURKEY

It’s game time and your timings are key. Remembering to work out enough time for the bird to come up to room temperature, to cook, and to rest for 2 hours will determine when you start cooking and when you eat. Plan ahead!

THE FIRST STEP IS KEY You must let the bird come up to room temperature after being in the fridge. It will give you more reliable cooking times, as well as juicier, more tender meat, as the bird isn’t shocked when it hits the heat of the oven. ♥ Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ gas 4. If you’ve made and frozen my Get-ahead Gravy (see the book), now’s a good time to get it out of the freezer. You want to cook a higher-welfare bird for 25 to 30 minutes per kilo, and a standard bird for 35 to 40 minutes per kilo (see my guide to roasting meat in the book, as well as my Facebook chatbot). Higher-welfare birds generally have more intramuscular fat, which means they cook quicker than standard, lean birds. If you’ve got a 7kg bird, like I had here, cook it for just over 3 hours, based on the guideline timings above. ♥ Just under 1 hour before the time is up, get the tray out of the oven and remove the tinfoil. Cover the bird with your 12 rashers of higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon, stretching and weaving them into a crisscross pattern as you like. Return the turkey to the oven for the remaining time, or until golden and cooked through. ♥ The simplest way to check it’s cooked is to stick a knife into the thickest part of the thigh – if the juices run clear, it’s done. If you’re worried, use a meat thermometer. You want to reach an internal temperature of 65C for a top-quality bird, such as KellyBronze turkeys, or 70C for a supermarket higher-welfare or standard bird. ♥ Use heavy-duty tongs to lift up the bird so all the juices run from the cavity into the tray, then transfer the turkey to a platter, cover with a double layer of tinfoil and a clean tea towel, and leave to rest for up to 2 hours while you crack on. ♥ Use the tray of trivet veg and juices to make a gravy. If you’ve made my Get-ahead Gravy, follow the last two paragraphs in the book to finish it off. Otherwise, place the turkey tray over a medium heat on the hob. Skim away most of the fat from the surface into a jar, cool and place in the fridge for tasty cooking another day. Stir 2 heaped tablespoons of plain flour into the tray, mashing up all the veg and scraping up all the sticky bits from the base. Pour in up to 2 litres of just-boiled kettle water and simmer until the gravy is the consistency of your liking, then stir in 2 tablespoons of cranberry sauce (for homemade, see the book). Strain the gravy through a coarse sieve, pushing all the goodness through with the back of a spoon, then season to perfection. Keep warm over the lowest heat until needed, adding any extra resting juices from the turkey before serving. WHY WE REST THE BIRD Don’t be under the illusion that when you remove the turkey from the oven it stops cooking. The residual heat will continue to cook the bird, giving the juices time to travel back throughout the meat, meaning a juicier bird all round. Piping hot meat is not a clever thing – warm, juicy meat, hot gravy and hot plates is the holy grail. ➤