Jamie Oliver Turkey Crown Recipes

EASY TURKEY CROWN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Smear the butter all over the turkey crown and season all over with salt and half the five spice. Put in a roasting tin, skin-side up, and roast for 30 mins. While the crown is roasting, mix all the glaze ingredients in a bowl with the rest of the five spice.
• Remove the crown from the oven and brush the skin generously with half the glaze. Continue to roast for another hour, glazing twice more, until cooked all the way through and the glaze is sticky and caramelised. Leave to rest for at least 20 mins before carving. Save the juices from the tin to make gravy.

JAMIE'S EASY TURKEY

Steps:

• PREP - if you want to get ahead, do all this prep on Christmas Eve, ready for the big day. Either way, get your turkey out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours in advance, depending on its size, so it can come up to room temperature.
• Check the main cavity for the bag of giblets, and if they're in there, remove them and tip into your roasting tray. The added flavour for your gravy later will be incredible - trust me.
• Warm the butter in your hands then rub and massage it all over the bird, getting into all the nooks and crannies, then sprinkle from a height with sea salt and black pepper.
• Halve the clementine and place in the main cavity with the fresh herbs - you don't want to pack it full as you want to allow hot air to circulate.
• Use a handful (200g) of Gennaro's pork & onion stuffing to fill the neck cavity, but don't stuff it in too tightly, then pull the skin back over it and tuck it under the bird. You'll get a good contrast between the soft, juicy stuffing here and the crispier stuff you can bake off in a dish.
• Roughly chop the veg - there's no need to peel them - and chuck into the tray with the giblets to make your trivet, then sit the turkey on top and cover the tray with tin foil.
• Remember now to wash your hands, plus any kitchen kit the raw turkey has touched, before moving on.
• COOK - Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
• As a guide, you want to cook a higher-welfare bird for 25 to 30 minutes per kilo, and a standard bird for 35 to 40 minutes per kilo. If you've got a 6kg bird, like I had here, do it for 2 hours 42 minutes - this sounds very precise, but I find that 27 minutes per kilo for a higher-welfare bird is the sweet spot.
• Remove the tin foil about 45 minutes before the end of cooking, to allow the turkey to get nice and golden.
• To check it's cooked, the simplest way is to stick a knife into the thickest part of the thigh - if the juices run clear, it's done. If you're worried, you could also use a meat thermometer. You want to reach an internal temperature of 65ºC for a top-quality bird, such as Paul Kelly's turkeys, or 70ºC for a supermarket higher-welfare or standard bird.
• Use heavy duty tongs to lift up your bird so all the juices run from the cavity into the tray, then transfer the turkey to a platter, cover it with a double layer of tin foil and a clean tea towel, and leave to rest for up to 2 hours while you crack on with everything else.
• See how to finish your gravy by checking out my Christmas day gravy recipe.
• CARVE - Choose from the two methods below, or watch the How to carve a turkey video on Food Tube.
• Remove the wing, slice the skin beside the leg, then pull out and chop the legs off. You can either slice or pull this brown meat - it's so tasty. Keep it warm while you move on to the breast meat. Use the full length of the knife in a nice smooth action to slice through the breast meat, transferring it to a platter as you go.
• Remove the leg as above, then feel where the backbone is and cut with the length of your knife all the way down beside it until you hit the carcass. You can then lift the whole breast off the bone. Remove to a board and slice.

TURKEY CROWN WITH ROAST GARLIC & PANCETTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Rinse the turkey then pat dry with kitchen paper. Weigh it to calculate the cooking time, allowing 20 mins per kg, plus 70 mins (or 90 mins when roasting a crown over 4kg). Sit the turkey on a board, very lightly rub all over with olive oil and season with pepper. Lay the pancetta or streaky bacon over the top of the turkey, slightly overlapping to cover it. Tuck the slices under the bird to secure at the bottom. Insert small rosemary sprigs haphazardly between the slices. Season with pepper. Tie the crown across in 2-3 places with butcher's string, to hold the shape together. Put the onion wedges in the middle of a large roasting tin and sit the crown on top. Cover the turkey with a loose tent of foil, then roast following your calculated time.
• Make the stuffing. Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan. Tip in the onions and garlic, and fry for 5-8 mins until softened and starting to turn golden. Push the onions to one side of the pan, then add the pine nuts and continue to fry for 1 min more, stirring the nuts until golden. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Stir in the remaining oil, all but a small handful of the Parmesan and the remaining stuffing ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Loosely spoon stuffing mixture (don't pack it down) into an oiled ovenproof dish, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, then lay a sheet of baking parchment on top. Set aside. Can be made 1 day ahead and chilled.
• Thirty mins before the end of the cooking time, remove the turkey and increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. If you are roasting potatoes put them in now. Roast the garlic. Remove the foil, place the garlic halves and lemon wedges around the turkey, then baste them and the turkey with the cooking juices. Return the tin to the oven and continue to roast for the final 30 mins. To test if cooked, pierce the fattest part of the crown with a skewer - the juices should run clear, not pink. If they are pink, continue to roast, checking at 10 min intervals.
• Remove the turkey, garlic and lemon from the oven, transfer to a warm serving platter and rest, covered loosely with foil, for 30 mins before carving. Meanwhile, increase oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the stuffing in the oven and bake for 20 mins, then remove the paper and bake for a further 5 mins until the stuffing is golden.
• Make the gravy. Pour off any excess fat from the roasting tin but leave the juices and onions. Stir all the sticky bits from the bottom of the tin into the juices. Set tin over a medium heat, add the flour and cook, stirring continuously, for 2 mins. Pour in the Marsala and simmer for 2 mins. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 5-10 mins or until reduced to your liking. Season with pepper if needed. Strain the gravy into a pan, warm through, then pour into a jug. Serve the turkey garnished with rosemary sprigs, surrounded with the roasted garlic and lemon, and accompanied by the gravy and stuffing.

ROAST TURKEY FOR 6

Steps:

• GET AHEAD
• 1. Check the main turkey cavity for the bag of giblets; if they're in there, remove and tip them into your roasting tray, discarding the bag. The added flavour they'll give your gravy will be incredible - trust me.
• 2. Peel the onions, wash the carrots and roughly chop with the celery or the leek tops, then add to the tray with the unpeeled garlic cloves.
• 3. Place your stuffing in the neck cavity, then pull the skin back over it and tuck it under the bird. You'll get a good contrast between the soft, juicy stuffing here inside the turkey, and the crispier stuff you can bake separately in a dish.
• 4. Place the softened butter on a board and press down with your hands. Pick over 3 sprigs of thyme, finely zest ½ a clementine and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and scrunch all together to make your flavoured butter.
• 5. Halve the clementines and place in the main turkey cavity with the remaining thyme - not filling it too full allows hot air to circulate, cooking the bird from the inside out and from the outside in.
• 6. Get your turkey and use a spatula to work your way between the skin and the meat. Start at the side of the cavity just above the leg and work gently up towards the breastbone and towards the back so you create a large cavity. Pick up your butter and push it into the cavity you've created. Use your hands to push it through the skin right to the back so it coats the breast meat as evenly as possible. Do the same on the other side.
• 7. Drizzle the turkey all over with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and generously sprinkle from all sides with salt and pepper.
• 8. Cover the turkey snugly with tin foil and place it on top of the trivet in the tray.
• ON THE DAY
• 1. Take your turkey out of the fridge 1 hour before it's due to go in the oven.
• 2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
• 3. You want to cook a higher-welfare bird for 25 to 30 minutes per kg and a standard bird is 35 to 40 minutes per kg. For a 4kg bird, pop it in the oven for 1 hour 40 minutes, basting several times with all the lovely juices in the tray and covering with foil when beautifully golden brown.
• 4. The simplest way to check it's cooked is to stick a knife into the thickest part of the thigh - if the juices run clear, it's done.
• 5. Use heavy-duty tongs to lift up your bird so all the juices run from the cavity into the tray, then transfer the turkey to a platter and leave to rest for up to 2 hours while you crack on. You can cover it with a double layer of tin foil and a clean tea towel to keep warm, if you like.
• 6. Skim away the fat from the turkey tray, save it in a jar, and leave to cool. When cold, transfer to the fridge for cooking with at a later date.
• CARVING THE TURKEY
• 1. Once the turkey has rested, it's time to carve. There are two ways you can do this.
• - The first method is to remove the wings, slice the skin beside the legs, then pull out and chop the legs off. You can either slice or pull this brown meat - it's so tasty. Keep it warm while you move on to the breast meat. Use the full length of the knife in a nice smooth action to slice through the breast meat, transferring it to a platter as you go.
• - Alternatively, remove the leg as above, then feel where the backbone is and cut with the length of your knife all the way down beside it until you hit the carcass. You can then lift the whole breast off the bone. Remove to a board and slice.

JAMIE'S EASY TURKEY - 2 WAYS

Steps:

• GET-AHEAD
• 1. You can do all this prep on Christmas Eve, ready for the big day. Check the main cavity for the bag of giblets, and if they're in there, remove them and tip into a large roasting tray. The flavour they will add to your gravy will be incredible - trust me.
• 2. Peel and quarter the onions, and roughly chop the rest of the veg (there's no need to peel them), adding everything to the tray as you go. Halve and add the clementines, then throw in the woody herbs and bay leaves.
• 3. Fill the neck cavity with half of the stuffing (don't stuff it in too tightly), then pull the skin back over, and tuck it under the bird, then place the turkey on top of the vegetable trivet.
• 4. Lay your deboned turkey legs skin-side down on a board. Now, you're aiming to create a flat rectangular surface area for stuffing, but don't worry, it doesn't need to be perfect - just try to make it roughly the same thickness all over. Start by slicing away from you into the thickest part of the meat, then fold over and open it out flat, like a book.
• 5. Lay 16 x 30cm pieces of string on your chopping board in two sets of eight, making sure there is a 2cm gap in between each piece. Place the turkey legs skin-side down on top of the string, ensuring there are 8 pieces under each leg. Pack the remaining stuffing into the middle of each leg, filling in any pockets left by the bones, then wrap the meat back over and tie it tightly with the string using a double-knot. Transfer to a small roasting tray. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over each of the legs and crown, and rub it into the meat, then cover both trays with tin foil and store in the fridge overnight.
• ON THE DAY
• 6. Take your turkey trays out of the fridge 1 hour before they are due to go in the oven.
• 7. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 and season the crown and legs with sea salt and black pepper.
• 8. As a guide, you want to cook a stuffed higher-welfare bird for 25 to 30 minutes per kilo, and a standard bird for 35 to 40 minutes per kilo. If you have a 3kg crown and 2 stuffed turkey legs, like I have here, roast them for 1 hour 30 minutes, basting several times with the lovely juices in the tray.
• 9. To check the meat is cooked, the simplest way is to stick a knife into the thickest part of the thigh or breast - if the juices run clear, it's done. If you're worried, you could also use a meat thermometer. You need to reach an internal temperature of 65ºC for a top-quality bird, such as Paul Kelly's turkeys, or 70ºC for a supermarket higher-welfare or standard bird.
• 10. Use heavy-duty tongs to lift up your bird so all the juices run from the cavity into the tray, then transfer the turkey to a platter, and brush the legs with the maple syrup or honey. Cover with a double layer of tin foil and a clean tea towel, then leave to rest for up to 2 hours while you crack on with everything else. To see how you finish off your gravy, check out my Chestnut gravy recipe.
• CARVE
• 11. To carve the legs, cut off the string and slice, at an angle, through the juicy leg meat. For the crown, cut along the backbone with the length of your knife all the way down it until you hit the carcass. You can then lift the whole breast off the bone. Remove to a board and slice.
• These nutritional values are based on 120g of cooked turkey, per person.

ROAST TURKEY & CRANBERRY WELLINGTON

Steps:

• Trim the turkey breast. Its natural shape does not suit the rolled and wrapped wellington. The thicker neck end can first be trimmed to establish a more cylindrical shape. Trimmings from 2kg/4lb 8oz breasts and upwards, will be enough for the 350g/12oz needed for stuffing. Once trimmed, tie the breast with a 2cm/1in gap between each loop of string, to give a rounded shape.
• Heat 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large frying pan or roasting tray. Season the turkey before pan frying until golden brown all over. Remove from the pan and cool. The breast can now be refrigerated to firm up before removing the string.
• Make the stuffing: cook the onions in a knob of butter for a few minutes until softened. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Roughly chop the turkey trimmings before blitzing in a food processor until smooth. Add sausages and continue to blitz for 30-40 seconds until mixed in. Season and add the eggs. These can be blitzed into the meat for a further minute until the texture thickens.
• Spoon the stuffing into a large bowl. Mix in the onions and remaining stuffing ingredients along with extra seasoning, if desired. The stuffing can now be chilled while the bacon and pastry are prepared.
• The streaky bacon needs to be rolled thinner. This extends the length of the rashers helping them to wrap around the turkey and stuffing. The easiest method to follow is to lay 3-5 rashers between two sheets of cling film and press with a rolling pin as if rolling pastry. The rashers will easily thin and extend this way. Peel away the top layer of film and remove the rashers and put on a tray. Repeat until all rashers are pressed. Chill until needed.
• Roll the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle approximately 45 x 35cm/18 x 14in. The rashers of bacon can be laid on top of the pastry, leaving a 3-4cm/1½in border all round. Slightly overlap the rashers as they are laid on the pastry (you'll need about 14-15 rashers).
• Spread the cranberry stuffing over the bacon, first mixing it well if it is chilled and set. Keep back a few heaped tablespoons. Remove the string from the turkey and lay the breast lengthwise and presentation side down on top of the stuffing. The reserved stuffing can now be spread along the centre top of the turkey. Lift 4-5 rashers at a time and press them against the breast. Continue until all the rashers on both sides have been lifted and pressed. The remaining rashers can now be laid lengthwise along the top, covering the stuffing that was spread there.
• Bring one long side of the pastry up and over the turkey. Brush the other long side with beaten egg, along the 3-4cm/1½in border, then seal. Brush both ends with beaten egg and fold up to seal in all the ingredients. Turn the wellington so that the presentation side is up and put on a lightly oiled baking tray, or one covered with greased parchment. Chill.
• To cook the wellington: preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6/170C in a fan assisted convection oven and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes maximum. After 45 minutes, brush the wellington with egg to help colour the pastry. For the most golden of finishes, brush again before the last 15-20 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven and rest for 15-20 minutes before lifting carefully on to a carving board with two large fish slices.
• While the Wellington is baking the sauce can be made: melt a knob of butter in a pan, once bubbling add the shallots or onions and cook on a medium high heat until a rich deep golden colour. Add the honey and continue to cook for a few minutes until bubbling and almost caramelising. At this point add the red wine vinegar and red wine. Bring to the boil and reduce by half. Add the water or stock and return to simmer. Mix the flour with 25g/1oz butter. Whisk into the sauce a little at a time until completely whisked in. Return the sauce to the boil before reducing to a simmer and cooking for a few minutes. Strain through a sieve and season. Slice the wellington and serve with noisette potatoes and buttered Brussels sprouts.

BEST TURKEY IN THE WORLD - JAMIE OLIVER.

Steps:

• For the Butter:.
• You need to finely chop the carrots, onion and celery. Chop rosemary and thyme.
• Mix into the butter thoroughly.
• The Turkey:.
• Using a tablespoon, gently seperate the skin from the meat through the cavity up towards the breastbone of the bird.
• Once the skin is separated, take half of the flavoured butter and push in between the skin and the meat. Massage so that the butter is evenly distributed.
• The other half of the butter is to be smoothed over the outside of the turkey.
• Using a skewer or rosemary sprigs, secure the cavity, so that the skin doesn't slide.
• Cover in cling film and keep in the refridgerator until ready to be cooked.
• Before cooking, chop 2-4 clementines and place in the cavity.
• Stuff the neck of the bird with as much stuffing as possible.
• Cook the bird on 350 / Gas Mark 4. Time scale is approx 30 minutes per kilo, plus 20 minutes at the end.
• For best results, baste the turkey every 45 minutes.
• Enjoy.

THE BEST TURKEY IN THE WORLD

Steps:

• In my books, the perfect bird is 14 to 18 pounds/ 6.5 kg to 8 kg in weight because that's a good size to handle, feeds about 10 to 14 people and has better flavour than bigger birds. If you're buying from a small producer, like the lovely turkey I used from my mate Paul Kelly, you'll often find these birds come with their own cooking instructions. Really good-quality birds do cook in a shorter time so follow the instructions if it has them.
• This year I'm using a flavoured butter to give a bit of extra love to my turkey, and this is a job you can do the day before. Get your turkey and use a spoon to work your way between the skin and the meat. Start at the side of the cavity just above the leg and work gently up towards the breastbone and towards the back so you create a large cavity. Pick up half of your butter and push it into the cavity you've created. Use your hands to push it through the skin right to the back so it coats the breast meat as evenly as possible. Do the same on the other side then rub any leftover butter all over the outside of the bird to use it up. If you've got any herb stalks left over, put them in the cavity of the turkey for added flavour as it cooks. Cover the turkey in cling film/ plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until you need it.
• Take your turkey out of the refrigerator a few hours before you are ready to put it in the oven so it has time to come up to room temperature. That flavoured butter will already be under the skin so you'll only need a few tweaks to finish it off. Halve 2 to 4 clementines and pop them in the cavity with a few more sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, bay and thyme. The fruit will steam and flavour the birds in a really lovely way. Take a sprig of fresh rosemary, pull off the leaves at the bottom then spear that through the loose skin around the cavity to hold it together and keep it from shrinking back as the turkey cooks.
• Open up the neck cavity and pack as much stuffing as possible in there, then carefully pull the skin back over the cavity, tuck it under the bird and pop it in the roasting tray. If you've already made your gravy like I've done, you won't need a vegetable trivet, if not, do that now by roughly chopping 2 or 3 carrots, 3 peeled onions, and 2 celery sticks. Preheat your oven to full whack and get the turkey in the roasting tray. As soon as it goes in the oven, immediately turn the heat down to 350 degrees F/ 180 degrees C/ Gas 4.
• As a rough guide, you want to cook the turkey for about 35 to 40 minutes per 2.2 pounds or 1 kilogram, so a 15 1/2 pound/ 7 kg turkey will want about 4 to 4 1/2 hours in the oven. But there are so many variables such as the sort of oven you have and the quality of your bird. Check on your turkey every 30 minutes or so and keep it from drying out by basting it with the lovely juices from the bottom of the pan.
• After 3 1/2 hours, remove the foil so the skin gets golden and crispy. If you are at all worried just stick a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. When the internal temperature has reached 150 degrees F/ 65 degrees C for a good quality bird, and about 180 degrees/ 82 degrees C for a cheaper bird, it's ready to come out.
• Carefully put a metal skewer in the cavity and use it to lift the bird and angle it over the roasting tray so all of the juices from the cavity run out. Move the turkey to a platter then cover it with a double layer of tinfoil and 2 tea towels to keep it warm while it rests for at least 30 minutes.

JAMIE'S CHRISTMAS TURKEY

Steps:

• If you're worried about cooking the perfect Christmas turkey because you're afraid you'll get it wrong, don't be. This recipe is nice and simple and will help you achieve brilliant results for your Christmas meal. Take your turkey out of the refrigerator about an hour before you're ready to cook it so it comes up to room temperature before roasting. Give it a good rinse then pat it dry with some kitchen paper, making sure you soak up any water in the cavity. Drizzle the meat with a good lug of olive oil, add a few good sprinkles of salt and pepper and then rub this seasoning all over the bird, making sure you get in to all the nooks and crannies. Preheat your oven to full whack then get started on your stuffing. For the stuffing: Pour a lug or 2 of olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat and fry off your chopped onion, for about 10 minutes, or until softened. Stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper, the ground nutmeg and your chopped sage leaves, then continue to fry and stir for another 1 minute or 2. Spoon the onion mixture into a large bowl and let it cool completely. Once cooled, add your pork mince and breadcrumbs and use your hands to really scrunch everything together. Once it's mixed really well, bring the stuffing together into a ball, then cover and chill until you're ready to stuff your turkey. Pull the skin at the neck-end back so you can see a cavity and push about 1/2 of your stuffing inside your turkey. Not too much: you don't want to pack it so tightly it slows down the cooking. Once done, pull and fold the skin over the opening and tuck it under the bird so it looks nice. Turn the turkey around and drop a few small pieces of stuffing into the larger cavity along with your clementine halves and a few sprigs rosemary. Place your roughly chopped onion, celery, and carrots in the bottom of a roasting pan and lay your turkey on top. Cover the turkey with tin foil then put it in the hot oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 350 degrees F/ 180 degrees C/ Gas 4. Cook for about 35 to 40 minutes per kilo/ 2 pounds 2 ounces. The 11 pound/ 5 kg bird in this recipe will take about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Check on your turkey every 20 minutes or so and keep it from drying out by basting it with the lovely juices from the bottom of the pan. After 2 1/2 hours, remove the foil so the skin gets golden and crispy. When the time is up, take your turkey out of the oven and stick a small sharp knife into the fattest part of the thigh. If the juices run clear and the meat pulls apart easily, it's ready. If not, pop the turkey back in the oven to cook for a bit longer, then check again. Once ready, cover the turkey with tin foil and a few clean tea towels for 30 minutes and let it rest while you get your vegetables and gravy ready.