Aside from decorating the tree and giving presents, sitting down to enjoy Christmas dinner is one of the best parts of the festive season. Nothing beats the crisp roast spuds and homemade gravy (and even brussel sprouts) to get you fueled up for presents under the Christmas tree.
But perfectly cooked turkey isn’t the easiest to achieve - with many Christmas birds served up dry and flavourless. So how do you get that perfect turkey? We’ll give you a step-by-step guide to preparing and roasting your turkey. We’ll also show you some cheaper ways to cook than having the oven on full for hours at a time. And if you want to make a gourmet Christmas dinner, we've got tips from top chefs.
You will need:
100g Butter (softened)
2tsp Sea salt
2tsp Ground black pepper
4.5kg Turkey (with giblets removed)
3 large onions (halved)
Greaseproof paper
Cooking foil
Serves 6
How to prepare your turkey
The night before Christmas, combine the butter with the salt and pepper and rub it all over your turkey. We’d suggest wearing gloves for this - but not the knitted ones you got from grandma.
Cover the turkey with a double-folded piece of greaseproof paper and pop it into the fridge. This will stop it from drying out.
How to cook your turkey
Heat oven to 220°C / 430°F / Gas mark 6.
Remove turkey from the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature. Keep it in the greaseproof paper.
Place your onions in a large baking tray. Then place a wire rack on top of them and put the turkey on top.
Pour 3 cups of boiling water into your baking tray and then wrap everything in tin foil.
Put the turkey into the oven for 20 minutes before turning the oven down to 200°C / 400°F / Gas mark 6.
After 1 hour 30 minutes, remove the foil and greaseproof paper.
Give the turkey another 40 minutes in the oven.
Take a skewer and insert it into the point where the thigh joins the breast. If the juice runs clear, your turkey is cooked. If not, then return it for another 20 minutes and try again. Alternatively you can use a digital thermometer - aiming for a temperature of 74°C / 165°F.
Leave the turkey to rest before carving.
What’s the cheapest way to cook a turkey?
If you don’t fancy leaving your oven running for hours on end, there are many ways to cook a turkey or chicken. You could always use an air fryer or slow cooker. Hometree worked out a price per hour to run each device at an average temperature, and came back with some surprising findings. So we followed some recipes for each device and found out how much it would cost to cook a 2kg turkey breast in a slow cooker, air fryer and oven.
Slow cooker - 5p per hour = 30p
Running a slow cooker is very economical - using about the same energy as a light bulb. To cook a turkey breast (or crown) in a slow cooker will take 6 hours on a low setting. So that’s a bargain at 30p!
Air fryer - 5p per 10 minutes = 35p
There’s a good reason why air fryers are so in demand right now - they’re great value to run. While it’s actually possible to air fry a whole bird (though you might have trouble fitting in a Christmas turkey) they’re perfect for a smaller piece of turkey breast. According to our calculations, cooking a 2kg turkey breast for 70 mins will set you back about 35p.
Oven - 34p every 20 minutes = £1.75
Whether gas or electric, ovens come out as the most expensive option - costing about £1.75 for 105 minutes of cooking.
But before you toss out your oven gloves, there are some caveats. For one thing, you can fit a lot more in your oven in one go - so it’s much easier to cook a full roast in one go in an oven than cooking things in an air fryer bit by bit. And the residual heat of an oven means you can keep your food in there until you’re ready for it. And not all ovens are the same - like our energy efficient Go Greener ovens.
What size oven do I need to cook my turkey?
If you're ordering your turkey online or you're even trying to make your mind up in the supermarket, it can be tough to work out if you're going to be able to fit your turkey in the oven.
Bramble Farm has measured up turkeys by weight. Check out the chart below to make sure that the turkey you're going to buy will fit in your oven. The good news is that most oven cavities are bigger than this. It might just be a matter of removing oven trays to make enough space. And be sure to remember to give yourself enough room for the roast potatoes and all the other trimmings.
4kg – 22cm (w) x 30cm (L) x 15cm (h)
7.4kg – 27cm (w) x 35cm (L) x 19 cm (h)
7.5kg – 26cm (w) x 33cm (L) x 17cm (h)
10kg – 32cm (w) x 39cm (L) x 19cm (h)
11kg – 32cm (w) x 42cm (L) x 20cm (h)
12.5kg – 30cm (w) x 41cm (L) x 20cm (h)
13kg – 30cm (w) x 43cm (L) x 20cm (h)
15kg – 34cm (w) x 44cm (L) x 20cm (h)
Tech tip: A larger oven full of compartments is handy for cooking different parts of the Christmas meal at different temperatures. So if you're buying a new oven, just be sure that one of the compartments is big enough to fit in the turkey size you need.
But what if I don't like turkey?
We get that. It's not for everyone. Whether you're a vegetarian, vegan or you just want to try something different, you'll find some great nut roast tips plus recipes for people with dietary intolerances.
