For a tender and succulent Christmas turkey, try this Raymond Blanc’s Perfect Roast Turkey recipe. It’s guaranteed to impress at the Christmas table.
Prep time: 10 Mins
Cook time: 1 Hour 30 Mins
Effort: Medium
Yield: Serves 8 to 10
Image: Raymond Blanc
Ingredients
- 5 kg bronze turkey, free-range or organic, wishbone removed, thawed to room temperature
- 100g turkey neck, chopped into 3cm pieces
- 200g turkey wings, chopped into 3cm pieces
- 20ml rapeseed oil
- 40g butter, unsalted, room temperature
- 2 pinches sea salt
- 2 pinches white pepper, freshly ground
- 200ml water
- 1 tsp arrowroot, diluted in 15ml cold water
Method
Cooking the turkey:
- Preheat the oven to 220°C. Allow your turkey to come to room temperature for 1 hour before putting it in the oven.
- Place a large roasting tray on the stove over a medium heat.
- Add the rapeseed oil followed by the wings and chopped neck and roast for 10 minutes, turning them every 2 minutes to ensure an even colour.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl with the back of a dessert spoon, soften the butter with the salt and pepper. Using a pastry brush, cover the turkey with half of the soft seasoned butter.
- In the last 2 minutes of roasting the wings and neck, add the remaining butter to the tray.
- Place the turkey on the roasted bones and place into the preheated oven for 30 mins.
- After this initial roasting time, baste the turkey all over, reduce the oven temperature to 150°C, and add the water.
- Continue to cook for an hour basting every 20 minutes with the cooking juices to impart maximum flavour and even caramelisation to your turkey.
- At the end of the cooking time, test by inserting a skewer or roasting fork into the thickest part of the thigh of the turkey; if the liquid that runs out is transparent and not bloody, the turkey is cooked. You can alternatively use a temperature probe the thigh meat should reach just above 70°C and the breast meat will be around 63°C.
- Remove the turkey from the oven, place onto a large tray or carving board to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 1.5 hours.
- Reserve in a warm place until needed. This should give you ample time to cook your roast potatoes and other accompanying vegetables as you now have free oven space.
Finishing the roasting juices
- Place the baking tray on the hob on a medium heat. Bring to the boil and stir the bottom of the tray to dissolve the caramelised roasting juices.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if required. Remember to save and add the resting juices from the turkey.
- Stir the diluted arrowroot to slightly thicken the jus as it is simmering.
- Strain through a fine sieve into a warm sauceboat.
