I’ve always found it much easier to cook a smaller turkey (4.5-5.5 kilos) as it takes up less space in the fridge and you’re guaranteed to have it fit in the oven. A great technique we use in the restaurant to ensure our poultry remains moist and flavorsome is brining. It’s quite easy to do at home and the results are well worth the extra step:
Ingredients
• One turkey, washed with giblets removed
• 6ltrs of cold water
• 250ml of salt
• 125ml of brown sugar
• 1 tbsp of black peppercorn
Method
1 Bring two litres of the water to the boil; add the peppercorns, salt and sugar.
2 Once the salt and sugar have dissolved, cool the mixture and add to the remaining water. Let the brine cool completely.
3 In a large pot, plastic pail or plastic container, submerge the turkey in the brine. A good rule of thumb is one hour in the brine for every pound (0.45 kilo) of turkey.
Cooking the turkey
Ingredients
• One turkey
• Four medium carrots, diced
• Four white onions, diced
• One large bunch of fresh thyme
• Three sprigs of rosemary
• Six garlic cloves
• 100ml of olive oil
• Salt and pepper
Method
1 Once the turkey has been removed from the brine, make sure it is completely dry
2 Rub the outside of the turkey with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and stuff the inside of the bird with the fresh herbs and garlic cloves.
3 Place the carrots and onions on the bottom of a roasting pan, and place the turkey on top. Cover the turkey and pan with aluminium foil.
4 In a preheated oven, roast the turkey at 180°C. A good guide to follow for cooking time is 20 minutes of roasting for every 500g of turkey, or roast until the juices in the thigh run clear when pierced with a knife.
5 During the last 45 minutes of cooking remove the foil to brown the turkey.
6 Remove the turkey from the pan and let it rest on the board.
Turkey Gravy
Ingredients
• Roasting pan and juices
• 250ml of red grape beverage
• 750ml of chicken stock
• 90ml of flour
• Two tablespoon of fresh thyme and sage
Method
1 Skim the fat left in the roasting tray. Using a small bowl mix with the flour with the fat to form a paste; this is known as a roux and will be used later to thicken the gravy.
2 Place the roasting pan on the stove over a medium heat, add the broth and grape, and whisk to combine. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to remove all the roasted bits as this is where all the flavour is. Cook for another two to three minutes in order to reduce the mixture slightly.
3 Strain the mixture into a pot. Add the roux and whisk to combine. Cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture starts to thicken and become smooth.
4. Add the fresh chopped herbs and season with salt and pepper.
