You could roast the turkey breasts on Christmas Day thus cutting down on cooking time two breasts serve six to 10

You could roast the turkey breasts on Christmas Day, thus cutting down on cooking time (two breasts serve six to 10 depending on size), reserving the legs.83 Keep the rest of the bird in the freezer, to use at a later date in another form such as turkey pie.84 Or mince the leg meat to make turkey burgers for grilling. For a 5lb (2.25kg) bird, allow one and a half hours only.70 10lb (4.5kg) bird – 2 hours71 15lb (6.75kg) bird – 234 hours72 20lb (9kg) bird – 312 hours73 25lb (11.25kg) bird – 412 hours74 How to cook it: lay the turkey breast down in a large roasting tray, and start cooking it in a preheated oven at 400F/ 200C/Gas 6 for 30 minutes…75 .. then turn it down to 350F/180C/ Gas 4 Baste occasionally. Turn over for last half-hour to brown the breast.USING THE MEAT76 So you’re left with the carcass, having eaten as much of the bird as you reasonably could on Christmas Day. or white wine.47 Make it salty and savoury with the addition of truffles…48 .. onion49 .. mushrooms50 .. celery51 … or soy sauce.52 Consider a bitter contrast to the blandness with mustard or…53 .. herbs such as sage54 .. or thyme55 …

or marjoram.56 Rowanberry and cranberry, again, are bittersweet, too.57 For flavour, don’t hold back on fat You need it for basting as the bird cooks Choose butter (as above)…58 … or oil.59 Introduce extra and necessary flavours and textures in the accompaniments such as a string of crispy roast chipolatas…60 .. giblet gravy61 .. bread sauce62 .. roast potatoes63 .. roast sweet potatoes64 .. roast parsnips65 .. wild or cultivated mushrooms66 .. creamed celery67 .. creamed onions68 … or succotash – green beans cooked with sweetcorn.ROASTING TIMES69 The most important rule when roasting a turkey is don’t overcook it. Use to introduce the taste elements you require: sweet, sour, salty or bitter.34 For sweetness use dried fruits such as apricots…35 .. prunes36 .. raisins or sultanas37 .. or nuts such as chestnuts38 .. hazelnuts39 .. almonds40 .. pistachios41 … or cashews.42 Introduce sharp flavours such as redcurrant jelly…43 .. or rowanberry jelly44 .. cranberries45 .. lemon juice46 …

The Victorians used generous amounts of minced veal and pork in their stuffings, however.33 Stuffing adds flavour to a white meat which can be both bland and tasteless. When you calculate your minutes per pound, you must also allow for the total weight of bird plus the stuffing. See roasting times (numbers 69- 75).32 Assume that stuffing was originally devised to make the meat go further, containing cheaper ingredients such as breadcrumbs and sausage-meat as well as liver and perhaps other bits of the bird. It helps if you have ordered a turkey that’s tasty in the first place.

Organic, by preference, because you can be reasonably sure they have been fed decently and that, along with breed, is the key to taste. The bronze turkeys seem to have the most flavour.29 For the rest, it’s really up to the cook to bring out the best of the flavour. Keeping the bird moist as it cooks is the sure way to make it appetising. Very serious cooks wrap the bird in a sheet of buttered muslin, rubbed plentifully with softened butter. This both bastes the meat and provides insulation to prevent the bird drying out.30 Less messy is to slip an overcoat of aluminium foil over the bird, removing it for the last half hour to brown the skin.31 Stuff it This keeps the bird moist inside but increases cooking time. or even a bullshot: a shot of cold, concentrated consomme (boil down a cupful of clear turkey consomme in a wide pan to required intensity) served chilled with half its volume of vodka and salt, pepper and Tabasco.COOKING AND STUFFING28 What about the turkey itself? Compared to goose, duck and game birds, it does lack flavour, though this may be a relief to young palates For adults this problem can be overcome. and cock-a-leekie with leeks and prunes.25 The turkey consomme we made earlier could go into a Russian borscht with grated raw beetroot26 .. or Italian pasta in brodo (broth)27 …