If you are reading this on Christmas morning with a bird on the counter, here is the short version: fan oven at 170°C, use the timing for your weight below, cover loosely in foil until the last 40 minutes, then rest it for half an hour.
Fan oven at 170°C. These are the farm timings for our Charlesfort White and Woodland Bronze whole birds. Add extra time if the bird is stuffed, and check the stuffing reaches 74°C too.
| Turkey weight | Approx. time | Minimum serving |
|---|---|---|
| 4kg | 3 hrs 40 mins | 5 |
| 5kg | 4 hours | 7 |
| 6kg | 4 hrs 20 mins | 10 |
| 7kg | 4 hrs 40 mins | 12 |
| 8kg | 4 hrs 55 mins | 14 |
| 9kg | 5 hrs 10 mins | 16 |
| 10kg | 5 hrs 20 mins | 18 |
These are a starting point. Ovens vary more than people expect, and a bird straight from a cold fridge takes longer than one that has stood out. The only reliable test is 74°C in the thickest part of the thigh.
Ours are fresh and never frozen, so this is for a supermarket bird. Allow 10 to 12 hours per kilo in the fridge. A 6kg turkey needs roughly three days, which is why the panic on the 23rd is an annual tradition. Never defrost at room temperature.
Nothing clever. Done in the right order, it works every year.
Bring the bird out of the fridge an hour or two before it goes in. A cold centre is the most common reason a turkey takes longer than the table says.
Preheat a fan oven to 170°C and let it come fully up to temperature. Putting a large bird into a half-heated oven throws every timing out.
Work softened butter under the skin over both breasts, then butter and season the outside. Put a halved lemon and a few herbs in the cavity instead of stuffing.
Cover loosely with foil and roast to the timing for your weight band. Baste once or twice, no more.
Take the foil off for the last 40 minutes so the skin browns and crisps properly.
Probe the thickest part of the thigh, near but not touching the bone. 74°C means done. If the juices still run pink, it needs longer.
Lift onto a warm board or platter, tent loosely with foil, and leave it for 30 to 45 minutes while you make the gravy and finish the potatoes.
Do not bin it. An hour of doing almost nothing turns it into several litres of stock, and the broth is the best thing you will eat that week. Our stock and broth recipe walks through it, and the turkey and ham pie is what St Stephen's Day is for.
About 4 hours in a fan oven at 170°C. Confirm with a thermometer reading 74°C in the thickest part of the thigh.
Allow 10 to 12 hours per kilo in the fridge, so a 6kg bird needs about three days. Our turkeys are sold fresh and never frozen, so this only applies to a frozen supermarket bird.
Cook the stuffing in a separate dish. Stuffing in the cavity slows the heat reaching the middle, so the breast is dry by the time the centre is safe. If you must stuff it, allow extra time and check the stuffing itself reaches 74°C.
The thickest part of the thigh, close to but not touching the bone. The thigh is the slowest part to cook, so if it reads 74°C the whole bird is done.
Not much. Twice is plenty. Every time the oven door opens the temperature drops and the cooking time stretches, which does more harm than the basting does good.
At least 30 minutes for a whole bird, and up to an hour is fine. It will still be hot, and it gives you the oven back for the roast potatoes.
Yes. Choose farm collection at checkout and select your collection day (21 to 24 December). On 24 December we close at 12pm. Dedicated collection days mean there is no queuing.
