Treat your loved ones to a delicious honey flavoured Christmas turkey, a whole turkey gives guests a choice of juicy breast meat, crispy legs and wing meat. Dressed with all the trimmings, and carved at the table, it will add a real sense of theatre to the occasion.
You can use leftovers for Boxing Day cold cuts and sandwiches, and make a hearty stock and gravy from the bones.
To make this dish you will need:
- 1 x 5kg turkey, or size of your choice, giblets removed
To glaze
- 125g unsalted butter
- 75g clear honey
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
For the brine
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp whole cloves
- 1½ tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 x 15g pack thyme
- 6-8 bay leaves
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 2 oranges
- 700g coarse rock salt
- 500g demerara sugar
To roast
- 2 onions, roughly sliced
- 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 leek, roughly chopped
- 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 1 orange, quartered
- 2 bay leaves
To cook simply follow these steps:
1. To start you will need to make the brine, to do this simply add the sugar and salt into a large saucepan with 1.5 litres of boiling water from your Fohen instant boiling water tap, then stir until dissolved. Add the cloves, peppercorns, and coriander seeds. Pour this into your preserving pan and add 4 litres of cold water. Then add in most of the thyme (keep a few sprigs to go inside the turkey), onion, bay leaves and celery. Pare the zest from the oranges with a veg peeler; add, then squeeze in the juice.
2. You will need to allow time for the brine to cool, once cooled add your turkey (remember to make a note of its weight to calculate the cooking time). Add more cold water until the turkey is submerged. If necessary, cover the turkey with a plate to hold it down below the level of the brine. Cover, and allow to cool for 24-36 hours.
3. Then preheat the oven to 190°C, fan 170°C, gas 5.
4. Next you will need to make the glaze. To do this, melt the butter in a pan, let it settle for a few minutes, then pour the clear melted butter off into another pan and discard the milky solids. Add the mixed spice, honey and a little seasoning and mix well. If the glaze sets, you can just reheat it gently.
5. To roast the turkey, tuck the orange quarters, bay leaves, reserved thyme sprigs and some of the onion into the turkey cavity. Tie the legs together and put the rest of the onion and the other veg into the bottom of a large foil-lined roasting tin, then sit the turkey on top.
6. Brush some of the honey glaze all over the turkey, then cover it loosely with foil. Roast the turkey for 20 minutes per 500g, basting with a bit more of the honey glaze every 30-45 minutes. Keep a little glaze back for a final basting. A good indicator of when the turkey is ready is to move the legs – if it’s uncooked, they will be tight and firm; if it’s cooked, they will have a bit of movement. Also, pierce the thickest part of the leg; the juices must run clear.
7. Remove the foil from the turkey, give it a final honey glaze and return to the oven for about 10 minutes to crisp up the skin and give it a glossy brown colour. Remove the turkey from the oven, and place on a platter, cover with foil to keep the warmth in and rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. A whole turkey will stay hot for at least 2 hours if covered like this.
8. Add the vegetables, gravy, potatoes, then serve and enjoy.
Cooking for a large number of guests can be quite tiresome so why not take the stress out of cleaning up and rinse the pots and pans with instant boiling water to remove any stubborn leftovers.