Mail Online

SPICED AND SUPERJUICY ROAST TURKEY WITH ALLSPICE GRAVY

My Christmas turkey is the brined one. For not only does it tenderise and add subtle spiciness, but it makes carving the turkey so much easier. How hard is it to fill a pan or large plastic bin or bucket with water and spices and lower a turkey into it? At this time of year, it’s fine just to leave it in a cold place. I sit mine by an open window in the kitchen. It means everyone freezes, but who am I going to put first – my turkey or my family? Out in the garden if you’re lucky enough to have one would also be fine, though the pan must be securely covered: I cover it twice with foil then put my son’s skateboard on top to prevent foxy foraging. Though you might find it hard to believe, a raw turkey covered in brine – with its oranges, cinnamon sticks and scattering of spices – looks so beautiful that I can never help lifting the lid for quick, blissfully reassuring peeks.

SERVES 10-16 AS PART OF THE CHRISTMAS FEAST, OR 8-10 IF NOT

approx 6 litres water

1 large orange or 2 smaller, quartered

250g packet Maldon salt or 125g table salt

3 tbsp black peppercorns 1 bouquet garni

1 cinnamon stick

1 tbsp caraway seeds

4 cloves

2 tbsp allspice berries

4 star anise

2 tbsp white mustard seeds 200g caster sugar

2 onions (unpeeled), quartered 6cm piece ginger (unpeeled), cut into 6 slices

4 tbsp maple syrup

4 tbsp runny honey stalks from medium bunch of parsley (optional, if you have some parsley hanging around) 5.5kg turkey

FOR THE BASTING GLAZE

75g goose fat or butter 3 tbsp maple syrup

★ Put the water into your largest cooking pot, a clean bucket or plastic bin. Squeeze the juice from the orange quarters into the water before you chuck the husks in, then add all the other ingredients, stirring to combine the salt, sugar, syrup and honey.

★ Remove any string or trussing from the turkey, shake it free, remove the giblets, if not already done, and put them in the fridge (or straightaway set about making the stock for the gravy), then add the bird to the liquid, topping up with more water if it is not completely submerged. Keep covered in a cold place, even outside overnight or for up to a day or two before you cook it, remembering to take it out of its liquid (and wipe it dry with kitchen paper) 1-2 hours before it has to go into the oven. Preheat said oven to 200C/ 180C fan/gas 6.

★ Melt the goose fat (or butter) and maple syrup together slowly over a low heat. Paint the turkey with the glaze before roasting in the oven, and baste periodically throughout the cooking time. Roast for 2 ½ hours.

★ When you think it’s ready, pierce the turkey with the point of a sharp knife where the body meets the leg, and if the juices run clear, it’s cooked; if still pink, cook it for longer until they run clear, or use a meat thermometer (see below). Then take the turkey out of the oven and let it sit, tented with foil, for 20-40 minutes or even longer if you like, as I do.

HOW LONG TO COOK A TURKEY FOR

The cooking times here always seem shockingly short to other people but we’ve all been overcooking turkeys for years then complaining about how dull and sawdusty they are. If your turkey is at room temperature, and is untrussed and without stuffing, and your oven thermostat is working correctly, these cooking times hold. If you want to be really scientific, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part: when it reads 74C it’s cooked. Free-range turkeys cook faster than a very lean, more mass-produced bird, since the free-range turkeys have more marbling and this conducts the heat faster.

FOOD

en-gb

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://mailonline.pressreader.com/article/281878711642073

dmg media (UK)