How do you cook your turkey? (Horror stories of mothers ruining the turkey welcome)

angeltreats

I have heard so many different ways that people deal with the Christmas turkey, I wondered what all the OSers do.

I am brining our turkey a la Nigella with lots of spices, oranges, brown sugar and salt, and then tomorrow will glaze the breast with maple syrup (no bacon) and keep it well basted. We will eat at about 3pm so the turkey will go in about 11:30 and come out at about 2, so it can rest for an hour wrapped tightly in foil while the spuds and veggies cook. This way it will still be hot but has plenty of resting time for the juices to soak back in, so it will be lovely and moist.

My mum is the world's worst cook and has the ability to turn any meat into cardboard. She used to put the turkey in late on Christmas Eve night, cook it all through the night, and leave it on low until about 3pm by which time it would have turned to carboard. One year it was so bad that I had a Goodfellas frozen pizza for Christmas dinner. Now there are only two of them, they have a rolled stuffed breast from the local butcher which she manages to cook to a point where it's still edible.

My mum in law is a good cook, but has a weird habit. If she cooks a roast bird (chicken, turkey or whatever) she cooks it the day before and serves it cold the next day, with the hot trimmings. Apparently this is because it's less hassle. I have to admit I sneak mine into the microwave.

So how do you tackle the turkey?

kippers

I am very boring....I buy a frozen turkey crown from Aldi (approx £10). After defrosting I rub olive oil all over it (used to be butter but DD2 is now dairy intolerant) and then cover in foil and cook until the last 25 mins when I bast it and remove foil. I leave to rest before carving it.

My turkey maybe boring, but we have so much homegrown veg eg. parsnips, cauliflower cheese, peas, carrots, brussells, yorkshires, pigs in blankets etc etc and then we have a range of puddings...and it all goes down well

maman

Frozen turkey here currently defrosting. Although most are ready basted I always rub some spread into the skin and layer rashers of bacon over the breast area. I stuff the neck end with a simple thyme stuffing. I get up to put it in the oven around 7/8 a.m. and then it's ready mid morning to free the oven up for trimmings.

My mother always used to cook the turkey on Christmas Eve. It was always warm the next day though, probably warmed on a plate over a saucepan.

Horror story that comes to mind is seeing Adrian Mole's mother (Julie Walters in the film) defrosting the turkey in the bath on Christmas Day. I suppose people like that do exist?

Lemanie_2

Another vote for turkey a la Nigella!! It really is amazing and the best method I've come across

bluebag

Roast from frozen turkey crown from the land of ice. Takes 3 hours, no need to baste it.

We always remove the skin as the OH is on low fat so it allows him some of the pigs in blankets and other high fat stuff he shouldn't really be having!

I take it out an hour before serving to allow it to rest and to finish off the other trimmings.

I pre cook my sprouts so they just need re heating in the microwave, otherwise I find it too easy to overcook them and they are vile if mushy.
Carrots I really don't mind a bit too soft.

I once had a gift of a huge, and I mean huge Norfolk turkey. Was living in a small flat with an oven more suited to the borrowers.
It never occurred to me that the blessed thing wouldn't fit in the oven, OH had to saw it in half LOL

mummyroysof3

I buy a cook from frozen joint from tesco as it tells me exactly how long to cook for and is easy

Callie22

We have a fresh turkey, and it's normally pretty huge so we cook it on Christmas eve, festooned with sausages and bacon (and butter) and filled with stuffing. It normally goes in the oven quite early on Christmas even morning and is normally ready for us to have the legs on sandwiches for tea - in fact we've just had that

Tomorrow we'll slice and it reheat it gently with some butter and little of the turkey stock, it makes it really moist.

jpscloud

Turkey breast joint or crown in the slow cooker - wouldn't have it any other way now! It goes in the halogen at the end to brown the skin. I cooked mine yesterday and will wrap some slices in foil to heat them up tomorrow, in the meantime have used some for sandwiches and any leftovers will be used as bits to go in rice or pasta dishes.

Nicki

I did ours the Nigella way last year. It wasn't a tremendous faff, but on the other hand I don't think it was any more moist or flavoursome than when I have cooked it normally either.

I normally butter it well and start it off upside down covered in foil. Baste occasionally and for the last half an hour or so turn it breast side up and take the foil off to brown. Leave to rest covered in foil on a warmed tray for at least an hour while I finish the rest.

To be honest so long as it is moist, I don't tend to do too much to the turkey. It isn't supposed to be a dominant taste on the plate IMO. The strong flavours on my Christmas plate come from the stuffings (we usually have Nigella's gingerbread stuffing and then a traditional pork based one, the chestnuts and sprouts which I do with bacon and marsala, and the pigs in blankets. The turkey is more of a foil for these than the main event. It means you can also be more flexible with leftovers, as the flavour of your spices isn't competing with the curry or white sauce or whatever else you are using to make the next dish from

sooty&sweep

Hi
I follow the Delia method & smear the breast with butter & the put streaky bacon across the turkey & then tent of foil over the turkey for the first hour or so. I'm also going to put some sausage stuffing in the neck of the turkey as well.
Jen

meritaten

No longer do Turkey! despite sticking to recommended timings they have either been over or underdone! and we think its too much like chicken anyway! Pork and Beef are a real treat now - so expensive! I couldn't afford as much lamb as is needed to feed 14 people - despite everyone loving it, and in Wales we are outnumbered by sheep - the price is prohibitive. maybe if I was a millionare.............!
we have had Goose and it was lovely - but, as big as the birds are - the yield off them is small! shame as the taste is gorgeous!