Recipe 12 is finally here! Tomorrow all over the world people will be up super early to cook their Turkey.

Turkey can be an awkward bird, but you needn’t worry about it, it’s just a big chicken really.

I make herb butter that’s smeared under the skin of the breast and then cook it breast side down. Always follow the cooking time instructions given with your turkey, but a rough rule of thumb is 30-40mins per kilo. Trust your judgement, ovens vary and use a thermometer, cooked it should read 65-70c and juices run clear.

INGREDIENTS

300g of unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large handfuls of sage, roughly chopped

2 large handfuls of rosemary, roughly chopped

2 large onions, cut in half, skin left on

3 cloves of garlic, skin on and left whole

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt & Pepper

Oil

METHOD

Preheat oven to recommended temp given on instructions or 170c (fan)

Mix butter, lemon and herbs in a large bowl.

In a large roasting dish, remove giblets if any and using the back of a tablespoon gently  push it under the skin on the breast to lift it up. With the same spoon scoop some of the herb butter and smear it under the skin until all gone. 

Give the skin a good sprinkle of salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Very carefully flip the bird over so it’s breast side down. Give it another good sprinkle of salt, pepper and oil.

Pop the onion and garlic in the cavity.

Place in the oven and cook as per instructions. Checking regularly and basting if needed.

For the last 20mins, carefully turn the turkey back over and crank the oven to 200c, this should get the skin a bit crispy. This is point that I usually take the juices from the roasting dish to make my gravy.

Leave to rest for at least an hour. Remove onion and garlic from the cavity. Carve and serve.