Upside down turkey

kittycat07

We tried this a few years back - I don't think that the appearance is affected too badly - I tend to "right" it 30-40 mins before the end of cooking so keep the skin (though you may want to put a little grease - butter or something on top of the skin before you turn it upside down becuse I've had the skin tear off in the past). I think it makes the meat really nice and tender and always do chickens this way now.

rasmus

I cook mine on its side, then turn it over to the other side and finally breast side up to crisps the skin.

skintandsad

I always have my butcher take the legs off my turkey for me (you can do it yourself if you don't get your turkey from a butcher - or buy a turkey crown and legs separately from the supermarket).

This way the crown cooks more quickly so dries out less. I stuff the end of the crown, cover with bacon, and roast it in a tin with a little wine added to the bottom and covered in foil. Take it out the oven every half hour and baste well. The final 20mins I remove all juices from the tin, remove the foil and let it brown up.

I am a martyr to basting - it makes such a difference. I never cook it upside down.

With the legs, I take out the bones and stuff them, roll them in greaseproof paper, tie them with string, and roast them.

They slice up lovely.

Some might say its a lot of faffing around - but I soooo love turkey and Christmas that for me its worth the extra effort.

I make up my own stuffing - but if you use a packet - try the cranberry stuffing mix, and add some cranberries soaked in port to the mix. Yum!