The Christmas Turkey

Ok, I have been cooking turkeys at Christmas for almost 40 years so I ought to know something about it, or do I? I have to say that every year I tend to pick faults with the bird. Too dry and not enough flavour are probably the main constants.

This year we were invited to cook for my daughter who recently had twins and is thus rather over occupied. In addition, some very special friends were invited for Christmas Day so I decided to get the best I could find. After a little research it became clear that Kelly turkeys were constantly noted as being the finest beast you can get. So off I went to the Kelly website and ordered a 4 Kg turkey, this being the smallest size of a "normal" turkey. It's bloody expensive, £87.52 including delivery! 

So, was it worth it? 

It arrived at 08:30 on Saturday 22nd in a large box delivered by Fedex. That was an excellent start, it might have been sent by Hermes in which case it probably would not have arrived until Christmas 2019! 

The large box turned out to be insulated and contained another box holding the bird itself. I took a quick peek before it went in the fridge. It looked really special, dry, signs of proper hanging and wrapped in paper - no plastic in sight. 

I checked out Kelly's recommendations for cooking. Mr Kelly declares he likes to eat his turkey slightly pink, wow! This must be one of the bravest comments I have seen for a long time and indicates the level of welfare that goes into a Kelly turkey. The turkey should NOT be stuffed. Ok, I always stuff my turkey but on this occasion, I decided to follow the rules to the letter, the stuffing would be cooked separately. Kelly also strongly recommends using a meat thermometer, lots. Cooking time was estimated at 1 hour and 45 minutes. 

I have an oven thermometer I bought a while back to check my oven temperature so I took this to check out my daughter's oven, an accurate temperature is really important. 

On the day, the beast was taken out of the fridge a couple of hours before cooking. It was rubbed all over with butter and seasoned very well with sea salt flakes. It was then placed on top of carrots, celery and onions breast side down and with half a litre of water added to the pan, no foil was used. It went into the fan oven at 160 degrees for 50 minutes. 

After 50 minutes the turkey was turned over so the breast was uppermost. I seasoned it again with plenty of sea salt flakes and it went back into the oven for 40 minutes. 

Now it was time to test the internal temperature. This was just over 50 degrees so it went back into the oven for 5 minutes. I repeated this every 5 minutes until the internal temperature of the breast reached 59 degrees. The turkey was then left to rest on a plate for an hour with no foil or other covering whilst everything else was finished off. 

So, was it worth it? 

I'll say so! The turkey was really moist and flavourful, significantly more so than any other turkey I have cooked or eaten. Even when cold, the breast meat was still glistening and moist, without even the slightest hint of dryness. 

Whilst I had already made gravy in advance, the remaining water and juices in the pan were orgasmic, my better half was caught dipping bread in it so that was added to the gravy too. 

If you are looking for the most delicious turkey you can buy next year then go for a Kelly Bronze and cook it strictly according to the instructions. I can assure you, you will be delighted.