Favourite Christmas Recipes

Turkey

How much turkey will you need ?

The following chart is a rough guide to help you calculate the size turkey you will need.

Roasting Your Turkey

When roasting your turkey remember you are cooking two different types of meat, the delicate breast meat, which you don't want to dry out and the darker leg meat which takes a little longer to cook.

It is important to cook the turkey long enough for the leg meat to cook properly so you will need to baste your turkey frequently.

What You Do

Remove the giblets if they are there and wash the inside of the bird thoroughly.
Stuff the neck end of the bird and fold the neck skin over.
Make sure the turkey is evenly shaped and truss it with the wings folded under the body and the legs tied together.
Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time. You will need to allow 20 minutes per 450g (1 LB) plus 20 minutes extra.
Place the turkey in a roasting pan and brush with oil or melted butter.
Roast in the oven at 180c (350f, gas mark 4) basting regularly.

Note:
place tin foil over the turkey breast if starts to become too brown

Options:
You can place rashers of streaky bacon over the turkey breast to help prevent it drying out.

Serve with:
gravy, bread sauce, small sausages, bacon rolls, potatoes cooked your favourite way and cranberry sauce.