It’s the centrepiece of the traditional Christmas lunch and you all know the drill by now. Season it well. Allow plenty of cooking time. Don’t get carried away and buy a 2-ton turkey... it’ll take ages to cook and stress you out.
Method
1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C, 160-170°C fan oven, Gas Mark 4; put your roasting tin in the oven, so that it pre-heats as well.
2. Make your clarified butter: melt the butter in a saucepan and allow to cool. Once the water has evaporated, skim off any solids that float to the surface. Pour the clarified butter into a large bowl, being careful not to include any of the milk solids. This butter can be used to cook at higher temperatures without burning.
3. Make a light paste by crumbling 2 Knorr Chicken Stock Cubes into the clarified butter. Remove the giblets if there are any from inside the turkey and then massage the paste into the bird cavity, inside and out, reserving around a spoonful. No need to add salt to season the turkey – salt tends to drop off the bird during cooking, but if you use a paste the seasoning is absorbed into the bird and stays where you have put it.
4. Chop the wings off the turkey and drop them into your pre-heated roasting tin. You can use these later to make gravy.
5. Pour a little oil to cover the base of the roasting tin and add the turkey. Spread the reserved spoonful of the flavoured butter paste over the top of the bird and roast for 4½ hours, basting regularly.
6. Check to make sure the turkey is cooked. To do this, insert a skewer or the tip of a sharp knife into the leg and catch the juices that run out in a spoon. If they are clear, then the turkey is cooked through. If they are pink, then the turkey isn’t yet totally cooked through. Don’t panic! Just return it to the oven and check again in 15 minutes.
7. Once you’re happy the turkey is cooked through, then remove it from the oven and transfer it to a preheated serving dish. Cover it well with foil to keep it warm and set it aside to rest for around 45 minutes.
8. Now is the time to make the gravy. Take the tin you used to roast the turkey and skim off the fat from the remaining cooking juices. Put the fat to one side, so you can use it later.
9. Next transfer the roasted turkey wings from the tin into a saucepan and cover with the remaining sediment from the tin. Remember to scrape out all the tasty ‘goodness’ from the bottom of the tray.
10. Add to that some hot water and ½ a Knorr Vegetable Stock Pot. Boil rapidly for about 5 minutes to reduce the gravy and then sieve it into a clean pan to refine the texture. Now you should have gravy that is ‘blonde’ rather than dark brown – the perfect complement to the white meat of the turkey.
* Healthy Tips:
Use 4 tablespoons of olive oil rather than goose fat or clarified butter to mix with the Knorr Stock Cubes.
No need to add the final bit of butter, but do baste the turkey regularly to keep moist.
