The roast with the most

There’s no shortage of celebrity cooks dishing out tips for the best culinary Christmas. But we’ve turned to the head chef of a multiaward-winning Kent pub for his takeonpreparingtheperfect festive roast

Sam Mcclurkin - whose food at The Dog in Wingham was this year voted Britain’s best - shares his tips on giving the turkey a twist and your roasties some razzmatazz. His knowledge will help you bring some extra flair and flavour to the table without needing Michelin Star skills. And it starts, he says, with sourcing the best ingredients, including the star of the show

- a fresh, free-range turkey from your local butcher and fresh vegetables from a farm shop. “It’s all about maximising flavours and there are a few simple things you can do to give each ingredient a lift without hours of preparation,” says Sam.

“With the turkey, you want it crisp and golden on the outside, while keeping the meat moist and tender.

“Farm shop fresh veg is best, and then you’ll need some herbs, butter, oil and a bit of preparation to get the best results.”

The turkey...

Sam starts by patting the surface of the turkey down with kitchen paper before rubbing sea salt all over the bird, which he says helps the skin go crisp during roasting.

Then he generously plasters it with butter before stuffing the bird with herb butter, hard herbs including rosemary, thyme and sage - as well as garlic and half a lemon.

The turkey is then placed on a rack in a roasting tray so the heat can move around it. In the tray he puts a mirepoix - which is a mix of chopped carrots, onions and celery, to which he adds a generous glug of white wine and more herbs.

Sam says a slow-cooked turkey initially at 160C and then down to 100C for up to eight hours provides the best results. But shorter cooking times at higher temperatures still works.

Either way, he strongly advises using a probe to check the temperature of the meat all over which, should be 75C to ensure thorough cooking.

He also places a piece of kitchen foil over the breast for the first 30 minutes to stop it overcooking too early.

When it’s ready, he saves the meat juices for the gravy and recommends allowing the turkey to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Roasted carrots...

Sam prefers to use organic bunched carrots from a farmers’ market. He removes the tops, leaving 1cm, and scrubs well - but leaves the skin on to increase earthy flavour.

The carrots are coated liberally with butter, thyme, garlic, sea salt, honey and good quality olive oil and roasted for 20 minutes at 180C.

Brussel sprouts...

Sam has a twist to the often-maligned brussel sprout.

He peels off the outer leaves and washes them, before slicing them up and blanching them in boiling water.

He then dices up pancetta and sweats it down before adding the sprout leaves, and sautes them with crushed chestnuts before adding black pepper.

Roast potatoes...

Sam recommends a good quality maris piper, which he peels and halves before par boiling in water, with a pinch of salt. When about 80% cooked he strains off the water and lets the potatoes cool.

Then he scores the surface of them with a fork to help give them crispy edges during roasting.

A tray of duck fat is then heated and the potatoes added and liberally drenched in the liquid before roasting and turning for 40 minutes until golden brown.

Roasted parsnips...

Peel parsnips and quarter and core them. Sam like to roast them with lots of butter, sea salt, honey and good quality olive oil, again for 20 minutes at 180C.

He recommends removing them from the oven when the honey caramelises.

With both the carrots and parsnips, he recommends not boiling them first to keep their crunchy delicious texture.

Greens...

Sam prepares the Collard greens by trimming and removing the tough stems.

He blanches them for 30 seconds before straining and mixing with dijon mustard and fresh lemon.

The gravy...

Here’s where the flavoursome meat juices you saved earlier from the oven tray come into their own.

Sam adds a good glug of red wine, a little water from the cooked veg and a squeeze of lemon. Melt a large knob of butter with cornflour to thicken.