CHOOSING THE RIGHT BIRD...

CUT ABOVE Paul Kelly & our Laura

1

Always buy a whole bird rather than a crown. Some 70% of turkeys purchased at Christmas are crowns or joints, but Paul says this is wasteful and inevitably more expensive as crowns have a retail mark-up price of 44%.

“Plus, you don’t get all the leftover dark meat with the crown,” he says. “That for me is the best bit.”

Dark meat gets a bad name for its high fat content, but Paul adds it’s also richer in iron, zinc and vitamins B6 and B12 than white meat.

2

Go for a bronze, traditional turkey, rather than a white, one if you can.

Bronze turkeys are an older breed – the average traditional Christmas turkey is around 12 weeks old. Paul says: “Maturity has the biggest single impact on flavour.”

3

Even if you do opt for an easy carve crown or a white turkey, choose a free-range bird, says Paul, as they tend to be more muscular with leaner meat.

“I think a free-range turkey gives a lot more flavour to the meat, because the birds live as nature intended,” he says.

4

Your turkey should be creamy white in colour, with no traces of blue and plenty of fat, particularly on the breast, says Paul.

“Look for the fat tract to make sure you’re making the most of this,” he says. “You shouldn’t be able to feel the breast bone from the outside of the bird. This should be nice and smooth.”

COOKING... 5

When you get up on Christmas Day, take the turkey out of the fridge and leave it to stand for at least two hours, to get the chill out of it.

Allow it to reach room temperature before cooking.

Start by preheating your oven to 180°C, or 160°C for fan ovens, then remove any trussing/string from the bird and the pack of giblets from inside the cavity. Place the bird into a large roasting tin, breast down.

6

Add your favourite vegetables to the tin, along with one pint of water and the giblets or stock, and season well. “I like to add red onions,” says Paul. “The reason for putting water in the bottom of

the tin is not to keep it moist, but to create the wonderful stock and juices as they come out of the bird.”

He recommends separate stuffing, but adds: “If you desperately want to stuff your bird at this stage, maybe just lay some meat gently in the cavity.

“But you’ve got to let the heat get through the bird.”

7

Place preheated the turkey oven, with into the no foil. Leave for an hour.

Paul says: “Tin foil was used to keep moisture in. But if you get a more mature bird, foil does not need to be used.”

8

Halfway time 5kg bird – around through – remove an hour cooking the turkey for a from the oven, turn it over and puncture it right through the thighs.

Season well before returning to the oven. “If the water is all starting to evaporate, add a bit more, as we want to catch all of that delicious stock,” recommends Paul.

9

Check the core temperature using a meat thermometer 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Cooking time for a smaller 3kg bird will be about one-and-a-half hours, and around three hours for a large 9-11kg turkey. Remove the bird from the

10

oven when the core temperature reaches just under 65°C, and leave to stand for a minimum of 30 minutes before you start carving.

Do not cover with foil, says Paul. “Covering it with foil is a disaster, because what you’ve done then is created another little oven for the bird, and it will continue to cook.

“If you have had too much to drink on Christmas Day and you are running late, and the meat is a bit tepid, don’t put it back in the oven and bring it back up to temperature.

“Instead, carve it and then get your stock piping hot and pour it over the meat.”

CARVING... 11

After leaving the bird to stand, you should be able to handle it for carving.

Get a really sharp knife and first take the wings off one by one, holding each wing by the tip and cutting it at the midsection.

Take the legs off next, holding each leg by the end knuckle, before cutting through the skin between the leg and body then twisting it off.

Then tackle the breast meat. Use the tip of the knife to cut along the breast bone, keeping the knife close to the bone until the breast has been removed.

12

Peel off the leg and breast skin, place it on a baking tray and season, before returning to a hot oven for approximately 10-15 minutes until crisp.

Slice up the breast meat and carve the leg off the bone. And you’re ready to go.