Cooking a turkey is often seen as a huge challenge. This is why we’ve put together the perfect steps to cook a moist turkey with inspiration taken from Chef Dominic Chapman’s recipe to help you get the perfect turkey this Christmas.
The preparation
If you’re preparing a fresh turkey that you have not frozen, you can start from the seasoning instructions.
If you have frozen your turkey, it’s suggested that you should let your turkey defrost in your fridge at least 3 days before cooking or thaw it in water for up to 12 hours, and after this let it sit in your fridge for an additional day before you plan on cooking it.
- It's important to use your Turkey the day after defrosting.
- It's also key to ensure that's your Turkey it's fully defrosted before cooking.
Once your turkey is fully defrosted, season the turkey well inside and out with salt, herbs, and butter, and place the turkey into a roasting tray, and begin following the method below.
The method
- Preheat the oven to 210ºC / Gas mark 7 and bring turkey to room temperature.
- Arrange the parsnips, carrots, garlic, thyme, and bay around the turkey. Then pour 1 litre of water into the roasting tray.
- Tightly wrap the turkey with tin foil, make sure the tin foil is tightly covering the turkey and roasting tray so that the turkey will steam.
- Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Then, turn the oven down to 170ºC/Gas mark 3 and continue cooking for another 2 hours.
- For the last half hour of cooking remove tin foil from the turkey.
- Turn the oven up to 200ºC/Gas mark 6 and roast until the skin of the turkey is golden brown and crisp. Once roasted remove from the oven and allow to rest for 45 minutes.
The results
Once you’ve followed the instructions above you should be left with a moist roast turkey.If your turkey is reading at 74 degrees C, you have hit the perfect cooking temperature. It’s key to note that if you have stuffed the turkey, that must be checked too, ensuring it’s hot all the way through.
Why shop at Parson’s Nose?
While you’re at it why not browse through the Parson’s Nose Christmas section, where we have all the components needed to create the best Christmas dinner. From the butcher’s bacon and sausages to create the ultimate pigs in blankets, to the goose fat needed to cook the most perfect crispy roast potatoes, you can see what the butchers have to offer here.
Parson's Nose are a premium butcher in London offering the finest meat for delivery across the capital. Shop online today.
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