Peppered Lemon Thyme Turkey With Golden Crackling Recipes

LEMON-HERB ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine the butter, lemon juice, lemon zest and minced thyme. Pat turkey dry. Sprinkle salt and pepper over skin of turkey and inside cavity; brush with butter mixture. Place the lemon, onion, garlic and thyme sprigs inside cavity. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together., Place flour in oven bag and shake to coat. Place bag in a roasting pan; add turkey to bag, breast side up. Cut six 1/2-in. slits in top of bag; close bag with tie provided., Bake at 350° for 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 hours or until a thermometer reads 180°. Remove turkey to a serving platter and keep warm. Let stand for 15 minutes before carving. If desired, thicken pan drippings for gravy. Freeze option: Freeze cooled turkey and gravy in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a covered skillet, gently stirring and adding a little broth or water if necessary.

ROAST TURKEY WITH LEMON & GARLIC

Steps:

• Up to two days ahead, make the salt mix by grinding the salt with the thyme leaves and pepper in a spice grinder or using a pestle and mortar. Sit the turkey in a roasting tin and gently push your fingers under the skin, 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.
• Season the bird all over with the salt mix, inside and out and under the skin. Leave the turkey in the tin, breast-side up, and put in the fridge for up to two days - the longer you salt it, the more succulent the turkey will be. For the crispest skin, leave the turkey uncovered so it dries out, but loosely cover it if you prefer.
• Tip the butter, vegetable stock powder and lemon zest into a small bowl and mix until completely combined. Cover and chill. Can be made a few days ahead or frozen, wrapped in cling film, for one month.
• Remove the turkey from the fridge an hour or so before you want to cook it. Remove the butter from the fridge to soften. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Work out your cooking time based on 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg, plus 45 mins for every kg after that.
• Use your hands to spread the butter under the skin so that it covers the entire breast area and work it into the crevice between the thigh and the main body, then smooth the skin over with your hands. Put the onion, lemon halves, and garlic in the cavity.
• Cover the tin loosely with foil and roast for the calculated cooking time. Around 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 with foil for up to 1 hr. Save the juices from the tin to make gravy.

PEPPERED LEMON & THYME TURKEY WITH GOLDEN CRACKLING

Steps:

• Up to 48 hrs or at least 12 hrs before roasting, mix the baking powder with the sea salt, pepper, chopped thyme and lemon zest. Sprinkle this all over the turkey, rubbing it into the skin. Place the turkey breast-side up in a large roasting tin or on a tray, and leave uncovered in the fridge until you're ready to roast it.
• On the day, remove the turkey from the fridge at least 1 hr before roasting. Heat the oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9. Remove the turkey from the tin or tray to a board, and scatter in the onions, carrots, turkey neck and giblets. If you have a roasting rack, trivet or ovenproof cooling rack, place it in or over the tin and sit the turkey on top. Put the lemon and garlic halves and some thyme sprigs into the turkey cavity, then drizzle over two-thirds of the oil, massaging it into the skin so the whole turkey is completely coated, including the legs and wings. Tie the turkey legs together using butcher's string to keep a neat shape, if you like.
• Put the turkey in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Roast for 1 hr, then remove from the oven and brush with some of the remaining oil. Turn the tin around and return to the oven for 30 mins, then brush with more oil and roast for a further 30 mins. After the turkey has been roasting for 2 hrs, check the temperature with a probe thermometer. The thickest part of the breast should read 65C and the thickest part of the thigh 75C. If it is lower, return it to the oven for another 15 mins and check again until the correct temperature is reached. Leave to cool for 10 mins in the tin, then remove to a board to rest for 20 mins, uncovered (it will stay warm for up to an hour).
• While the turkey rests, remove the lemon halves and garlic from the cavity and put them in the tin with the veg, turkey neck and giblets. Roughly squish everything with a wooden spoon or potato masher. If the roasting tin is flameproof, put it directly on the hob over a medium heat. If not, scrape the contents into a large, shallow pan first. Pour over as much of the gravy base as you can (that is, reserving as much as you need for any vegans or vegetarians first). Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins, adding a splash of water or stock if it's too thick. Strain the gravy into a jug if serving straightaway or another saucepan to reheat when needed. Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.