Traditional Roast Christmas Turkey (made easy!)

Of course, we love a traditional roast turkey at Christmas but we want to make it as easy as possible, and Jamie Oliver always comes out on top, so here’s his roast turkey made easy – and it’s delicious too. 

Ingredients 

Free Range Beech Ridge Turkey (Click here see our post about what size to buy to feed your family and friends)
Olive oil
sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 clementine, halved
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped

For the stuffing

Olive oil
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
A few sprigs fresh sage, leaves picked and roughly chopped
300 g higher-welfare pork mince
1 large handful breadcrumbs

Take your turkey out of the fridge about an hour before you cook it so it comes up to room temperature and Preheat your oven to full whack. 

1. Pat the turkey with some kitchen paper and then drizzle with a good lug of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub all over the bird, making sure you get into all the nooks and crannies.
2. Now, let’s get started on the stuffing. Pour a lug or two of olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat and fry off the chopped onion for about 10 minutes or until softened.
3. Stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper, the ground nutmeg and the chopped sage leaves, then continue to fry and stir for another minute or two.
4. Spoon the onion mixture into a large bowl and let it cool completely. Once cooled, add your pork mince and breadcrumbs and use your hands to really scrunch everything together. Once it’s mixed really well, bring the stuffing together into a ball, then cover and chill until you’re ready to stuff your turkey.
5. Pull the skin at the neck-end back so you can see a cavity and push about half of your stuffing inside your turkey. Not too much: you don’t want to pack it so tightly it slows down the cooking. Once done, pull and fold the skin over the opening and tuck it under the bird so it looks nice.
6. Turn the turkey around and drop a few small pieces of stuffing into the larger cavity along with your clementine halves and a few sprigs of rosemary. Place your roughly chopped veg in the bottom of a roasting pan and lay your turkey on top. Cover the turkey with tin foil then put it in the hot oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Cook for about 35 to 40 minutes per kilo.
7. Check on your turkey every 20 minutes or so and keep it from drying out by basting it with the lovely juices from the bottom of the pan. With about an hour remaining (depending on the size of your bird), remove the foil so the skin gets golden and crispy.
8. When the time is up, take your turkey out of the oven and stick a small sharp knife into the fattest part of the thigh. If the juices run clear and the meat pulls apart easily, it’s ready. If not, pop the turkey back in the oven to cook for a bit longer then check again. When you’re confident it’s cooked, rest the turkey for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours for bigger birds. You can get your veg and gravy ready now! Click here for our Turkey gravy recipe.