Roast turkey – Leadoux Turkeys

Roast turkey is takes pride of place on the Christmas table, thanksgiving, or any other special occasion. There are many convoluted recipes out there, but we like to keep it simple – here is our guide.

Use a thermometer if you have one

We recommend using a digital thermometer when cooking your roast turkey. There can be a lot of pressure on Christmas day to get that turkey perfect, and a thermometer takes away all the guesswork, reduce stress and is your secret weapon to cooking the perfect turkey.

A thermometer with an external monitor and remote probe that you can leave in place whole cooking the turkey is the best way to go as you don’t have to open the oven to check the temperature of the turkey. Otherwise any accurate meat thermometer will do.

The temperature to aim for is 75° celsius – this is the minimum safe temperature to reach to be safe.

The temperature probe should be inserted into the thickest part of the breast but not touching bone.

Remember to let the turkey rest outside the oven for 30 minutes after cooking. The temperature in the thickest part of the breast will continue to rise while resting, so you can remove the turkey from the oven just before it reaches 75° celsius, ensuring that the internal temperature registers a steady 75° celsius or higher while resting.

You can visually confirm your turkey is cooked by checking that the juices that come from the turkey run clear and are not pink when carving.

If you don’t have a thermometer your cooking time guide is:

Oven: 45 minutes per kg (including seasoning) PLUS 30 minutes in a pre-heated 180° celsius oven.
Weber (kettle with Heatbeads): 25 minutes per kg (including seasoning) PLUS 30 minutes.

Seasoning

For seasoning, you can’t go wrong keeping it simple with salt, pepper and maybe a little thyme, rosemary and sage. Ensure the turkey is dry, brush the dry skin with olive oil, generously apply your seasoning and rub into the skin.

Stuffing

You can get as creative as you like with stuffing, but our go-to favourite is simply half a loaf of day old bread torn into 1 inch pieces, 2 small onions chopped, 250g of fatty bacon pieces, and 5 grams (one tablespoon) of mixed dry herbs. Mix together and half fill the cavity being sure to allow hot air to get into the cavity. You can also stuff the neck cavity. The turkey should be stuffed just before cooking, and if you are cooking by weight without a thermometer, remember to add the weight of the stuffing for your calculation.

Final tips

60 minutes prior to cooking remove the turkey from the fridge to allow the temperature to start to rise.

You do not need to wash your turkey – simply drain off any liquid and use clean kitchen paper to dry the skin and cavity prior to seasoning and stuffing.

Cover your turkey with a tent of foil while cooking, ensuring it does not touch the skin. The foil can be removed towards the last third of cooking to brown the skin. If you are using a Weber you do not need foil.

Brining turkeys prior to cooking has become popular to keep the turkey moist, but if you are starting with a good quality free-range turkey (like a Leadoux free-range turkey) we don’t think it’s necessary, particularly if you are cooking with a thermometer. Brining can be a good way to add flavour, but it will also add salt.

Many of the cooking guides and recipes recommend covering your turkey with bacon or adding butter under the skin to stop it from drying out. By all means do this if you want, but we don’t this is necessary if you are starting with a quality free-range turkey and are cooking with a thermometer.

When cooking by weight – remember that each oven will be a little different. Keep an eye on your turkey as it cooks – this is where the thermometer is super useful.

If you are roasting on a Weber Q or equivalent gas BBQ you will need to use a trivet and convection tray to raise the turkey off the grill and to protect it from direct heat.

All the tips above apply to turkey rolls as well, but you want stuffing you’ll need to order pre-stuffed or do you seasoning on the side.

If you’re an experienced cook and what you have been doing is working fine for you – ignore this guide and keep on doing what you do. If it ‘aint broke, don’t try and fix it.