Cooking Instructions (whole turkey)

  1. Remove the bird from the fridge, leave it to stand at room temperature for 2 hours before cooking.
  2. Place the turkey, breast down, in a roasting tin along with the giblets and an onion cut in four then season the back of the bird with salt and pepper. Most of the fat deposits are on the back of the bird which will percolate through the breast allowing the turkey to cook in its own juices.  Add one cup of water to the tin.
  3. Place a large peeled onion in the cavity for extra flavour. We do not recommend stuffing the bird but to cook it separately.
  4. Do not use tin foil as this will result in a steamed skin rather than a crispy one.
  5. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC (gas mark 4) before putting the turkey in the oven. If you have a fan assisted oven and cannot turn the fan off, reduce the temperature to 160ºC.
  6. Turn the turkey over (to brown the breast) 30 minutes before the end of cooking time. Cooking time is only a guide ensure the turkey is removed for the oven when the temperature of the thickest part of the breast reaches 65ºC .  This is easily done by holding the end of the drumsticks with oven gloves (be careful of hot fat). Insert your meat thermometer halfway through the thickest part of the breast and place back in the oven.
  7. Check every 5 minutes until correct temperature is reached during the last 30 minutes and remove from oven.
  8. Allow to stand for 30 to 60 minutes before carving, loosely cover with tinfoil

The stock that is produced from a Buchanan’s  turkey is truly the best. Please do not ruin it with gravy granules etc. Simply skim the excess fat from the top of the stock and then scrape all the delicious crispy bits off the bottom of the roasting tin. Re-heat the stock and then carve the meat into the stock before serving.

 

Guideline cooking times – Whole bird / Crown

Oven ready weight Time*
4kg
2 Hours
5kg
2 ¼ Hours
6kg
2 ½ Hours
7kg
2 ¾ Hours
8kg
3 Hours
9kg
3 ¼ Hours
10kg
3 ½ hours
11kg
3 ¾ Hours

*Without tinfoil and no stuffing

This is only a guide ensure the turkey is removed for the oven when the temperature of the thickest part of the breast reaches 65ºC