How To Roast a Free Range Bronze Turkey

Cooking a turkey for Christmas or Thanksgiving is a scary task that many people dread as more often than not it will end up dry and uninspiring and the centre piece of the feast is not enjoyed, yet we return to this traditional bird again and again.

I can't promise that what I am going to explain will help you with your turkey as there are so many factors that can influence cooking time - size of the bird, stuffing, temperature of the bird, size of the oven, strength of the oven and the amount of times you open the door to check on your bird.

However, this worked for me and resulted in a moist and juicy bird that was full of flavour, so fingers crossed it wasn't a one off.

Ingredient

1 Turkey (We used a 5kg bird)
50g butter (soft)
Half an onion
Half an orange
Half a lemon
Six rashers of streaky bacon
Salt and pepper

1. Start by removing the string from the turkey and take out the giblets for use in the gravy. Leave the bird to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, while the oven is heating to 220 degrees.
2. Place the onion, lemon and orange deep inside the bird, but we are not going to put any stuffing inside as it does little for the flavour and complicates the cooking time.
3. Mix the salt and pepper in with the soft butter and rub this all over the bird, including the legs and wings. You really want to get your hands dirty for this job, so don't hold back.
4. Take out a pre-heated tray from the oven and place the turkey breast down and put the pan in the oven for 20 minutes.
5. Now take the pan out of the oven, closing the door to keep the heat in, and turn the turkey over. Use a plastic turkey tester and insert it an inch from the breast bone towards the front of the bird. This will pop out when the turkey is done.
6. Turn the oven down to 170 degrees and wrap the turkey in foil so that the pan is covered but that the foil is not too tight to the turkey.
7. The turkey should need 2 hours 30 minutes from this point, but you can use the temperature tester for guidance and when it pops up check the juices are running clear.
8. 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the foil and lay on the bacon across the bird.
9. Leave the turkey wrapped in foil to cool for 30 minutes before carving and use any extra juices in the gravy.

Enjoy!