Christmas Roasting Guide

TO ROAST A WHOLE TURKEY ON THE BONE

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas 5. Remove the turkey from the fridge and bring it back to room temperature. Remove any remaining bits of feathers from the turkey with some tweezers. Season the neck and body cavity with salt and pepper.
Spoon your chosen stuffing into the neck cavity only, rounding it nicely to give the bird a nice shape, then tuck the flap of skin back under the bird and secure with a small, fine skewer. Put any remaining stuffing into a small, lightly greased baking dish, cover and set aside.
Spike a couple of lemons all over with a skewer and push these into the body cavity with 3 rosemary sprigs, 4 fresh bay leaves and some parsley stalks.
Truss the turkey. This keeps the bird in a compact shape, and pulls the legs close in to the body which helps to stop them drying out. Sit the bird on a board with its neck cavity and wings facing you. Take a long piece of string – about an arm’s length – and slide it under the bird so that it lies around its ‘waist’ (i.e. between the wings and the legs). Pull the ends of the string so that you have an equal amount of string on either side. Take one end of the string in each hand and run it along the gap between the legs and the body, and under the end of each drumstick. Bring the ends of the string to the outside of the bird and over the top of each drumstick ends. Tie them together, as closely as you can. Pass each end of the string under the parsons nose – in opposite directions - and tie together once more, over the tops of the parsons nose.
Now weigh the bird and calculate the cooking time. For turkeys weighing over 4kg, allow 20 minutes per kilo plus an extra 90 minutes. For turkeys under 4kg, allow 20 minutes per kilo plus an extra 70 minutes.
Pour 300ml of water into a large roasting tin and place a rack in or over the tin. Rest the turkey on the rack, spread some softened butter over the bird and season well. Cover the turkey and tin with a large sheet of foil and seal it securely under the rim. Place it in the oven and cook for the calculated time, uncovering the turkey for the last 15-30 minutes to brown the skin. To check that the turkey is cooked, push a fine skewer into the thickest part of the meat, which is through the part of the breast sitting just above the wing and the thickest part of the leg. If the juices run clear it’s cooked. If there are still any traces of pink, return it to the oven for 15 minutes or until the juices are clear.
Remove the turkey from the tin and lift it onto a carving board. Increase the oven temperature to 200C/180F/Gas 4. Cover the turkey with the foil and leave to rest, somewhere warm, for 20-30 minutes. Strain the cooking juices into a jug and leave to settle. Skim off the excess fat from the surface and discard and use the remaining juices for making the gravy. Add the baking dish of leftover stuffing to the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

TO ROAST A BONED AND ROLLED WHOLE TURKEY JOINT

Bring the boned and rolled joint back to room temperature if necessary. Weigh the joint, after stuffing if necessary, and calculate the cooking time, allowing 15 minutes per 450g plus 20-30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7. Put the turkey joint skin-side up into a roasting tin and pour around 450ml water or a mixture of 150ml white wine and 300ml chicken stock.
Spread some softened butter over the skin of the turkey and season well with salt and pepper.
Cover the turkey and tin completely with foil and seal it well under the rim.
Place the turkey into the oven and roast it for 20 minutes – this gets the heat right into the centre of the joint. Then lower the oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and continue to cook the joint for the remainder of the cooking time, uncovering the turkey for the last 20-30 minutes to brown the skin.
To check that the turkey joint is cooked, push a fine skewer into the centre of the meat. If the juices run clear it’s cooked. If there are still any traces of pink, return it to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the juices are clear.
Lift the turkey joint onto a board, cover tightly with foil and leave it to rest for 15 minutes. Strain the cooking juices into a jug and leave to settle. Skim off the excess fat from the surface and discard and use the remaining juices for making the gravy.

TO ROAST A BONED AND ROLLED TURKEY BREAST JOINT

Bring the boned and rolled joint back to room temperature if necessary. Weigh the joint and calculate the cooking time, allowing 15 minutes per 450g plus 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7. Put the turkey joint skin-side up into a roasting tin and pour around 450ml water or a mixture of 150ml white wine and 300ml chicken stock.
Spread some softened butter over the skin of the turkey and season well with salt and pepper.
Cover the turkey and tin completely with foil and seal it well under the rim.
Place the turkey into the oven and roast it for 20 minutes – this gets the heat right into the centre of the joint. Then lower the oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and continue to cook the joint for the remainder of the cooking time, uncovering the turkey for the last 15-20 minutes to brown the skin.
To check that the turkey joint is cooked, push a fine skewer into the centre of the meat. If the juices run clear it’s cooked. If there are still any traces of pink, return it to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the juices are clear.
Lift the turkey joint onto a board, cover tightly with foil and leave it to rest for 15 minutes. Strain the cooking juices into a jug and leave to settle. Skim off the excess fat from the surface and discard and use the remaining juices for making the gravy.

 TO ROAST A TURKEY IN THE AGA

Bring your turkey back to room temperature if necessary.
Remove any remaining bits of feathers from the turkey with some tweezers. Season the neck and body cavity with salt and pepper.
Spoon your chosen stuffing into the neck cavity only, rounding it nicely to give the bird a nice shape, then tuck the flap of skin back under the bird and secure with a small, fine skewer. Put any remaining stuffing into a small, lightly greased baking dish, cover and set aside.
Spike a couple of lemons all over with a skewer and push these into the body cavity with 3 rosemary sprigs, 4 fresh bay leaves and some parsley stalks.
Truss the turkey. This keeps the bird in a compact shape, and pulls the legs close in to the body which helps to stop them drying out. Sit the bird on a board with its neck cavity and wings facing you. Take a long piece of string – about an arm’s length – and slide it under the bird so that it lies around its ‘waist’ (i.e. between the wings and the legs). Pull the ends of the string so that you have an equal amount of string on either side. Take one end of the string in each hand and run it along the gap between the legs and the body, and under the end of each drumstick. Bring the ends of the string to the outside of the bird and over the top of each drumstick ends. Tie them together, as closely as you can. Pass each end of the string under the parsons nose – in opposite directions - and tie together once more, over the tops of the parsons nose.
Pour 300ml of water into an Aga roasting tin and place a rack in the tin if you wish. Rest the turkey on the rack, spread some softened butter over the bird and season well.
Weigh your turkey and then choose the cooking method of your choice; Fast, Medium or Slow

A: Fast method (2,3 and 4 oven Aga cookers).
Hang the roasting tin from the lowest set of runners in the Roasting Oven and cook for up to 1 hour until nicely browned. Then cover the turkey with a loose tent of foil and roast for the remainder of the cooking time (see below).
The TOTAL fast method roasting times are:
8-12 lbs / 3.6-5.4kg - 1¾- 2 hours
12-16 lbs / 5.4-7.25kg - 2- 2½ hours

16-20 lbs / 7.25-9.0kg - 2½ -3 hours

20-24 lbs / 9-10.8kg - 3-3½ hours

24–28 lbs / 10.8–12.6kg - 3½ - 4 hours
B: Medium Method (3 and 4 oven Aga cookers only)
Hang the roasting tin from the lowest set of runners in the Roasting Oven and cook for 1 hour until nicely browned. Then tent loosely with foil, transfer to the Baking Oven to finish cooking, for the following additional cooking times:
ADDITIONAL times:
8-12 lbs / 3.6-5.4Kg - 1½ - 2½ hours

12-16 lbs / 5.4-7.25Kg - 2½ - 3½ hours

16-20 lbs / 7.25-9.0Kg - 3½ - 4½ hours

20-24 lbs / 9-10.8Kg - 4½ - 5½ hours

24–28 lbs / 10.8–12.6Kg - 5½ - 6½ hours
C: Slow Method (2, 3 and 4 oven Aga cookers)
Place the turkey in the Aga roasting tin without a grill rack. Roast on the floor of the Roasting Oven for up to 1 hour and as soon as it starts to brown, tent loosely with foil. After the first hour in the Roasting Oven, transfer the turkey to the Simmering Oven to finish cooking, for the following cooking times:
ADDITIONAL times:
8-12 lbs / 3.6-5.4Kg - 3-5 hours

12-16 lbs / 5.4-7.25Kg - 5 – 7½ hours

16-20 lbs / 7.25-9.0Kg - 7½ - 10 hours

20-24 lbs / 9-10.8Kg - 10 – 12½ hours

24–28 lbs / 10.8–12.6Kg - 12½ - 15 hours

 TO ROAST A GOOSE

Bring the goose back to room temperature if necessary. Remove the clumps of fat from the body cavity. Put them into a small pan with a little sunflower oil and melt over a low heat. Strain into a bowl and set aside or reserve for cooking. This is excellent for cooking roast potatoes.
Season the body cavity of the goose, push in a small bunch of sage or spoon in some sage and onion stuffing, and then seal the opening with a fine metal skewer. Tie the legs together with string.
Weigh the goose and calculate the cooking time, allowing 14 minutes per 450g.
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Season the outside of the goose with salt and pepper but DO NOT prick the skin. Place the goose on a rack resting over a large roasting tin and roast for 30 minutes.
Remove the goose from the oven and decrease the oven temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Pour all the fat from the roasting tin into a bowl, return it to oven and continue to cook for the calculated cooking time, pouring away the fat from the tin every 20-30 minutes. This fat can also be saved for cooking.
When the goose is cooked, lift it onto a board, cover with foil and leave to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.

TO ROAST A DUCK

Bring the duck back to room temperature if necessary. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/Gas 8. Weigh the duck and calculate the cooking time allowing 15 minutes per 450g.
Season the body cavity of the duck with salt and pepper and then tie its legs together with string. Season the bird all over with salt, place on a rack resting over a roasting tin and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the duck from the oven and decrease the oven temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Pour the fat from the roasting tin into a bowl, return it to the oven and roast for the remainder of the cooking time, pouring away the fat from the tin every 20 minutes.
Remove the duck from the oven, cover it loosely with foil and leave it to rest for 10 minutes before carving.