Thanksgiving and Christmas Turkey Recipe: How to Cook a Roast Turkey in HALF the Time this Festive Season

Cook up the perfect juicy turkey in half the time this Christmas or Thanksgiving with this delicious roast turkey recipe from Sasha’s Fine Foods

Cooking a turkey yourself this festive season? If you’re lucky enough to nab one of the limited SG stock of KellyBronze free-range turkeys from Sasha’s Fine Foods this year, you’ll need to know how to cook this delicious bird up perfectly (scroll down for how to get a 15% discount if you haven’t bought yours yet!). Since no one likes having the oven on unnecessarily in this climate, you’ll be happy to know that these turkeys have a much shorter cooking time — less than half the normal cooking time of cooking a turkey due to the bird’s fat percentage that allows the meat to roast faster. This is a big bonus alongside the fact it’s free-range and organic.

KellyBronze turkeys have been raised on the Kelly Farm in Essex, England and are fed on completely natural diet and allowed to roam freely around the farm. The end result: a Christmas turkey centrepiece that will make your festive dinner or lunch something truly special.

Roast Christmas Turkey Recipe

Method:

1. Take your turkey out of the fridge and leave to stand for 2 hours.
2. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (fan: 160°C).
3. Place turkey in a tin, breast side down, with 500ml water and your favourite festive vegetables. Season well. Do not stuff – cook the stuffing separately. Do not use foil, so that you don’t poach the meat.
4. Turn the bird over halfway through recommended cooking time (see below). Season again.
5. Pierce right through the skin between the legs and breast to allow the juices to drain and the thighs to cook.
6. Check its temperature – each turkey is delivered with a KellyBronze turkey thermometer. From halfway through the cooking time, monitor the temperature regularly by putting the thermometer halfway through the thickest part of the meat. Remove the bird from the oven as soon as the temperature reads 60°C.
7. Leave the turkey to rest in the kitchen uncovered. Meanwhile, skim off any excess fat from the top of the stock. Scrape and mix in the caramelised bits from the bottom of the tin. Reheat.
8. Peel off the skin and place on a baking tray, season, and return to a hot oven for 10-15 minutes until crisp like crackling.

Cooking Time:

KellyBronze Turkeys cook much faster than regular turkeys so don’t overcook your bird!
3kg (feeds 6-8) cook for 1.5 hours
4kg (feeds 8-10) cook for 1.75 hours
5kg (feeds 10-12) cook for 2 hours

Defrosting your turkey:

Each turkey from Sasha’s Fine Foods is delivered frozen, complete with easy cooking instructions and a KellyBronze turkey thermometer. To defrost your turkey you should allow to thaw in a fridge in a suitable container to catch any liquid, (at 4c/39F) for 10 to 12 hours per kilogram (6 to 6 1/2 hours per pound).

Get 15% off Sasha’s Fine Foods by quoting SFFSASSY when you place an order! Valid for all first time customers (excludes promotional items and alcohol). Order online here.

Note: 3kg whole turkeys available for immediate purchase at Sasha’s Fine Foods; 4kg and 5kg birds need to be pre-ordered here.