Best Christmas Turkey | Turkey Recipes | Jamie Oliver Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to cook Christmas turkey Jamie Oliver? ›

Place your roughly chopped veg in the bottom of a roasting pan and lay your turkey on top. Cover the turkey with tin foil then put it in the hot oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Cook for about 35 to 40 minutes per kilo. The 5kg bird in this recipe will take about 3 to 3½ hours.

Impart rich flavor and add moisture to your Thanksgiving turkey by adding a layer of butter under the skin before roasting. Learn how to do this simple (but genius) technique for a delicious Thanksgiving turkey.

Yes! You can season, stuffed and butter up the turkey the night before and place it onto a roasting pan, then into the refrigerator. Can I make the garlic butter ahead of time? Yes, I recommend making the garlic butter ahead of time to save time the day of, especially if you have lots of other dishes to prepare.

Preheat your oven to full whack, get the turkey in the roasting tray and cover with foil. As soon as it goes in the oven, immediately turn the heat down to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. As a rough guide, you want to cook the turkey for about 35 to 40 minutes per kilogram, so a 7kg turkey will want about 4 to 4½ hours in the oven.

Bake for exactly 1 hour and turn off the oven. Do not open the oven door! Leave the turkey in the oven until the oven completely cools; this may take 4 to 6 hours. Reserve the pan juices and refrigerate the turkey if it will not be served soon after roasting.

Placing butter under the skin won't make the meat juicier, though it might help the skin brown faster. However, butter is about 17 percent water, and it will make your bird splotchy, says López-Alt. Instead, rub the skin with vegetable oil before you roast.

Stick with salt and pepper, put herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage to work, or take spicy Cajun seasoning for a spin for some kick. Whatever blend you choose, spread it all over the turkey—on top, underneath, between the body and wings and legs, under the skin, and even in the cavity of the bird.

Place roast, skin side up, on a flat roasting rack in 2-inch deep roasting pan. Do not add water to pan. Roast uncovered according to Cooking Schedule or until meat thermometer in center of breast roast reaches 170° F and in center of turkey roast reaches 175° F.

Roast 1 hour, then baste every 30 minutes with pan liquids, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh (avoiding bone) registers 125°F, about 3 hours. Remove foil; raise oven heat to 400°F. Continue roasting, basting occasionally, until thigh reaches 180°F, 45 to 60 minutes more.

Put the turkey on top of the vegetables, put in the oven and roast in the oven for 45 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Reduce the heat to 350 and continue roasting, basting with the warm chicken stock every 15 minutes until basting with some of the chicken stock every 15 minutes, about 2 to 2 ¼ hours longer.

How long should a turkey sit out before cooking? ›

Your turkey will cook more evenly and faster if you start it out at room temperature so remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting. If you plan to stuff your turkey, wait until you're ready to put it in the oven before putting the stuffing in the turkey.

Yes, I always buy a very large turkey that takes many hours to cook…so I stuff and slather it with butter and cover lightly with tin foil the night before and pop it in the oven early in the morning. Leave the foil on for the first 3/4 of roasting time…but BASTE c. every 1/2 hr… add more butter if you need to.

Roasting your turkey ahead will save you the time spent testing and carving, allowing you to spend more time with your guests. It's easy: Simply cook it a day or two in advance, let it cool completely, then carve the bird into large pieces—breasts, wings, thighs and drumsticks.

You don't want the meat to dry out while it sits overnight, so you will need to cover it with a liquid. Spoon some chicken broth or the drippings from the roasting pan (and the cutting board) over the turkey so it stays moist. Cover snugly and refrigerate overnight.

Cook your turkey on Christmas Eve and start in the morning so that it has plenty of time after cooking to cool before chilling overnight. 3. Take the fresh or defrosted turkey out of the fridge about an hour before cooking to bring to room temperature.

Roast the turkey in the hot oven for 10–15 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven, baste the bird with the pan juices and lay the bacon rashers over the breast to keep it moist. Baste again. Lower the setting to 180°C/Gas 4 and cook for about 2 1⁄2 hours (calculating at 30 minutes per kg), basting occasionally.

Once a frozen turkey has defrosted (see 'prepare' above), store it in the fridge straightaway, as above, unless you are going to cook it immediately. Whole birds and pieces of turkey will keep in the fridge for up to two days. Turkey mince should be cooked within 24 hours of purchase.