Nigella Lawson's Spiced and Superjuicy Roast Turkey
Over a year ago
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Ingredients
- 6ltr water
- 1 large orange, quartered
- 4 cloves
- 1 x 250g packet Maldon sea salt
- 3 tbsp black pepper corns
- 1 bouquet garni
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds
- 2 tbsp all-spice berries
- 4 star anise
- 2 tbsp white mustard seeds
- 200g caster sugar
- 2 onions (unpeeled), quartered
- 1 x 6cm piece ginger (unpeeled), cut into 6 slices
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 tbsp runny honey
- stalks from medium bunch of parsley
- 1 x 5.5kg/12lb turkey
- 75g goose fat or butter
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
Accompaniment
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Description
You have only to try this method to be utterly convinced that it's a surefire way of cooking a succulent turkey.
Method
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1
Put the water into your largest cooking pot or a bucket or plastic bin.
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2
Squeeze the juice from the orange quarters into the water before you chuck the husks in.
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3
Add all the other ingredients, stirring to combine the salt, sugar, syrup and honey.
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4
Remove any string or trussing from the turkey, shake it free, remove the giblets (if not already done) and put them in the fridge.
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5
Add the bird to the liquid, topping up with more water if it is not completely submerged.
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6
Keep covered in a cold place, even outside, overnight or for up to a day or two before you cook it.
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7
Take the turkey out of its liquid and wipe it dry with kitchen paper a good hour before it has to go into the oven.
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8
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.
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9
Melt the goose fat (or butter) and maple syrup together slowly over a low heat.
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10
Paint the turkey with the glaze before roasting in the oven.
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11
Baste periodically throughout the cooking time.
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12
Roast for 21/2 hours.
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13
When you think it's ready, pierce the turkey with the point of a sharp knife, where the body meets the leg.
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14
If the juices run clear, it's cooked; if still pink, cook it for longer until they run clear, or use a meat thermometer.
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15
Take the turkey out of the oven, and let it sit, tented with foil, for 20-40 minutes or even longer if you like.
Chef's Tips
MAKE AHEAD TIP: Leave the turkey submerged in the brine, securely covered, in a very cold place for up to 2 days.
HOW LONG TO COOK YOUR TURKEY
The cooking times here always seem too short to other people, but the truth is we have all been overcooking our turkeys for years. If your turkey starts at room temperature, and is untrussed and without stuffing, and your oven thermostat is working, these cooking times hold.
If you want to ignore my timings and give your poor old bird longer, you can rest assured that a turkey prepared to my brining method (see right) is not going to taste dry, even if it is untrustingly overcooked. I beg you, though, for the sake of succulence, to have the courage of my convictions.
A turkey is generally held to be cooked through when a meat thermometer, inserted into its thickest part, reaches 71C, though some cooks recommend 75C.
A free-range turkey will be cooked at 65C - it also cooks faster than a very lean, more mass-produced bird, since the free-range turkeys have more marbling, and this conducts the heat faster.
The timings here are for free-range birds, put in the oven at room temperature. If you have stuffed the bird, add the weight of the stuffing to the weight of the bird to calculate the total weight and cooking time. If you choose to stuff the cavity, do so loosely and add a further half hour.
Weight of bird Cooking time
2.25kg/5lb 1 1/2 hours
3.5kg/8lb 1 3/4 hours
4.5kg/10lb 2 hours
5.5kg/12lb 2 1/2 hours
6.75kg/15lb 2 3/4 hours
7.5kg/17lb 3 hours
9kg/20lb 3 1/2 hours
11.5kg/25lb 4 1/2hours
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