Name: Crispy bacon-basted turkey
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 4 h 10 min
Total time: 4 h 35 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 5kg-6kg oven-ready turkey neck and giblets removed and saved for the Sticky port gravy (see 'Goes well with', far right); 2 thyme sprigs; 1 onion halved; 1 lemon halved; 2 bay leaves; 1 garlic bulb halved; 85g flaky sea salt; 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves; 1 tsp crushed black pepper; 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon or pancetta, chopped into small pieces; 140g butter softened; 1 tbsp maple syrup

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Crispy bacon-basted turkey

Crispy bacon-basted turkey

Barney Desmazery

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Serves 6 - 8

More effort

Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 3 hrs and 25 mins - 4 hrs and 10 mins

plus up to 1 day salting (optional) and up to 1 hr resting

A star rating of 5 out of 5.7 ratingsRate

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Make Christmas dinner even more special with our top tips for the the juiciest meat ever, infused with smoky goodness from an indulgent bacon butter baste

Freezable (butter only)

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Alternatives

Complete the dish

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Bacon and onion stuffing balls

A star rating of 4 out of 5.3 ratings

Salted maple-roasted parsnips

A star rating of 5 out of 5.2 ratings

Sticky Port gravy

A star rating of 5 out of 5.21 ratings

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

5kg-6kg oven-ready turkey

neck and giblets removed and saved for the Sticky port gravy (see 'Goes well with', far right)
2 thyme sprigs
1 onion

halved
1 lemon

halved
2 bay leaves
1 garlic bulb

halved

For the salt mix

85g flaky sea salt
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp crushed black pepper

For the crispy bacon butter

6 rashers smoked streaky bacon

or pancetta, chopped into small pieces
140g butter

softened
1 tbsp maple syrup

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Nutrition: per serving (8)

kcal761
fat41g
saturates17g
carbs2g
sugars2g
fibre0g
protein96g
salt8.7g

Method

step 1

If you have time the day before, salt the turkey. Make the salt mix by grinding the salt with the thyme leaves and pepper in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar. Sit the turkey in a roasting tin and season all over, inside and out, using about two-thirds of the salt. Leave the turkey in the tin, breast-side up, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for up to 24 hrs. If you don’t have time, or there is no room in the fridge, simply prepare the salt and season the turkey generously before roasting.
step 2

To make the bacon butter, gently cook the bacon in a dry frying pan for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until the fat has seeped into the pan and is sizzling gently, and the bacon is crisp. Take off the heat and leave to cool slightly. Scrape the bacon and the fat into a food processor with the butter and maple syrup. Blitz to combine, scraping down the sides of the processor from time to time. Roll up the butter in cling film to form a log and place in the fridge. Can be made a few days ahead or frozen for 1 month.
step 3

Remove the turkey from the fridge an hour or so before you want to cook it. Remove the bacon butter from the fridge to soften up. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Calculate your cooking time based on 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg of the turkey, plus 45 mins for every kg after that.
step 4

Gently push your fingers under the skin of the turkey, starting from the neck, until you can push your whole hand in down the length of the breast. Take care not to tear the skin. Use your hands to spread the bacon butter under the skin so that it covers the entire breast area, and there is butter in the crevice between the thigh and the main body. Pop a sprig of thyme under the skin of each breast, then smooth the skin over with your buttery hands. Place the onion, lemon, bay leaves and garlic in the cavity.
step 5

Cover the tin loosely with foil and roast for the calculated cooking time – 30 mins before the end of cooking, increase the oven temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, remove the foil, baste the turkey and return to the oven. When the turkey is beautifully brown and cooked through, remove from the oven and leave to rest on a warm platter covered in foil for up to 1 hr.
step 6

Pour the fat away from the roasting tin, leaving just the juices. If your tin is flameproof, pour in the Sticky Port gravy (see 'Goes well with', right) to reheat with the juices; if not, tip them both into a saucepan and reheat. Serve the remaining salt mix as a seasoning alongside the rest of the meal.

RECIPE TIPS

TOP TIPS

Barney's all-time top tip is to lightly salt your bird a day ahead, for a really deep flavour and juicy, never-goes-dry meat. By making a bacon butter as well, not only does the turkey baste in smoky bacon goodness, but you also get a layer of crisp little bits between the skin and breast meat.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2015

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A star rating of 5 out of 5.7 ratings

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