I hear so many people say they don’t cook turkey on X’mas day because ‘it’s dry and tasteless’…. Cook it the right way, show it a little love and your guests will be raving it’s the most flavour bursting, moist, succulent, juicy turkey they’ve ever eaten!!!
Firstly, I’m going to show you how to wet brine the turkey the day before, making it extra juicy and succulent.
Secondly, how to make a garlicky herb flavoured butter marinade, I made a curry leaf butter which you can put on veggies, fish, garlic bread… practically everything!
Then, how to marinate and inject the turkey (inject only if you want to get hard core…) Injecting is optional as you need a meat flavour injector (such a worthwhile investment as this gives an extra boost of flavour and juiciness all the way to the bone). BUT you can get a great result from just rubbing the flavoured butter inside the cavity and outside the bird as well as under the skin.
Finally, how to roast the turkey in the oven to golden bronzed perfection! It cooks on top of roughly chopped veggies which get soaked in the turkeys buttery drippings and this becomes the silky smooth gravy for your roast.
Hope you give this one a go!! If you would like to watch the videos on each step then check out my Instagram page @zarskitchen.
METHOD TO BRINE THE TURKEY METHOD TO MAKE CURRY LEAF BUTTER METHOD TO MARINATE/ INJECT A TURKEY 2-24 HOURS BEFORE COOKING 1. When ready to inject/ marinate the turkey, remove it from the brining liquid, discard the brine 2. Pat the turkey with paper towels so it is very dry and place it breast side up in a roasting tin 3. In a saucepan on a low heat, melt the curry leaf butter, this becomes your marinade 4. Insert the injector (if using, if not using then skip to point no. 10) into the marinade making sure the perforations are completely submerged 5. Pull back the plunger and fill the injector with the marinade 6. Insert the needle into the breast a few times and slowly push it into the opposite side being careful not to rip the skin 7. Inject the marinade slowly until you feel pressure pushing back, as you withdraw the needle, slowly inject more sauce to allow for even distribution of the flavours 8. Don’t go too fast or the built-up pressure will cause the marinade to squirt out at you, then using the same method, inject the thighs, wings and legs a few times (if using a whole turkey) 9. Try to work fast as the butter tends to start solidifying making it harder to inject 10. Rub some marinade all over the skin of the turkey, lift the skin of the breast meat and place some marinade in the pockets, don’t forget to rub some inside the cavity too 11. If your injector has smaller hole which don’t allow the garlic to pass through, strain the bits out and inject the bird with the strained liquid, you can then rub the garlic on the outside of the turkey as well as inside the cavity, set aside 12. In your roasting tray add the onion, carrots, celery and leeks, drizzzzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper 13. Place the turkey on top of the vegetables, tie the legs together with cooking twine 14. Cover the tray with foil and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours before cooking METHOD TO COOK THE TURKEY 1. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before roasting 2. Preheat oven to Fan 170C 3. Cover the turkey loosely with foil 4. Roast in the oven and keep basting the bird with the juices from the bottom of the pan a few times during cooking (I did this every 20 mins) 5. Keep an eye on the internal temperature of the bird if you have a meat thermometer, it should be 70C (my 5.5kg Turkey took 3 hours to cook but cooking times vary with different ovens) 6. In the last hour check that the wings and legs of the turkey are not browning too much, you can cover those areas with a loose piece of foil if needed 7. Remove the turkey from the oven when the internal temperature is 70C or the juiciest run clear when you pierce the thickest part with a knife 8. Transfer to a carving board to rest for 30 minutes under foil (the turkey will continue to cook 5-10 degrees while resting) GENERAL COOKING TIME CALCULATOR *times may vary depending on both your oven and if you are using a organic, free range or supermarket bought turkey* If your turkey is under 4kg, roast 20 mins per kg plus 70 mins If your turkey is over 4kg, roast 20 mins per kg plus 90 mins METHOD TO MAKE TURKEY GRAVY 1. Transfer the contents of the roasting pan with all the vegetables, turkey drippings and brown bits at the bottom of the pan into a saucepan and bring to a boil 2. Mash all the vegetables and garlic with a spoon or potato masher 3. Continue to boil and mix the plain flour into the pan 4. Set a large clear jug or bowl in the sink with a fine sieve over the top and gradually ladle in the contents of the saucepan using the back of a wooden spoon to mash the vegetables and garlic through the sieve 5. At this point you could use a fat separator to remove the fat so you are left with the turkey drippings only 6. If you don’t have a fat separator then leave the mixture to cool for 10 minutes and you will see the fat rise to the top and solidify a bit, scoop out most of the fat and discard 7. Add the sieved turkey drippings back into a saucepan with the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat then simmer until the gravy has thickened to your liking 8. Season with salt, pepper and a dash of Worcestershire sauce or Maggie liquid seasoning sauce 9. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired 10. Transfer hot to a gravy jug and serve METHOD TO CARVE THE TURKEY 1. First cut off any twine holding the legs together and discard 2. Then using a sharp carving knife, cut off the legs and slice through the skin between the leg and the breast. Then find the joint link between the leg and the thigh and cut through to remove the leg completely on both sides 3. Next cut out the thighs by finding the joint link again (twist the bones a little and if the turkey is cooked well they should separate with a little help from your knife easily!) 4. Pull the wing away from the body and slice through the skin, cut through the joint to remove the wing 5. At this point, you can arrange the legs, wings and thigh meat (sliced or left whole) onto the platter 6. Tip out the contents of the cavity discarding the lemon but reserve the onions, any extra fat pieces or bones into the container (to make the best soup later!!) 7. Cut along the breastbone while following the curve of the bones and gently pull the breast meat away while using the knife to remove the meat from the ribs on both sides 8. Remove the backbone into the container with all the other bones, transfer these into a bag and freeze them 9. Slice the breast pieces at an angle and arrange them onto the platter with the legs, thigh meat and wings 10. Serve with the hot gravy and enjoy!
Ingredients
Instructions