Whenever you think of a Christmas dinner the first thing that pops into your mind is the turkey, well if you've always been nervous about cooking a whole turkey then this article is for you.  We have put together advice on choosing the right bird, how to thaw one from frozen and cooking it for your Christmas feast.

Buying Your Turkey:

Size Does Matter:  The first thing you need to know is how big a turkey to go for.  Well here Nick the Butcher has provided some helpful guidelines, he says "The general rule of thumb is to plan on a least 1/2kg of meat (uncooked) per person."  Obviously if you want enough left over for turkey salad in the evening and tasty savoury boxing day dishes you should double that amount.  Ideally you should look at a 5kg bird to feed 5 people, 7kg for 7 people, etc.

Fresh or Frozen?  This depends on your needs.  A fresh turkey costs more but is ready to cook straight away however it is recommended to order it in advance, if you wait until Christmas Eve they will be sold out.  A frozen turkey is cheaper but would need to be bought in advance and then it will be taking up space in your freezer.  This is fine if you have a chest freezer but obviously most turkeys won't actually fit in the drawers of an upright freezer.  Also bear in mind that you will need to make sure your turkey is thoroughly defrosted before you start cooking - if you put your hand into the chest cavity there should be no ice crystals present.

How to Thaw a Frozen Turkey

There are two safe ways to defrost a frozen turkey:

In the refrigerator: This is the best method as long as you have space in your fridge.  Remove the original packaging and cover in silver foil. Make sure to put the turkey in a bowl on the bottom shelf so that no liquid will drain/drip onto other food products.  You should allow 12 hours per 1kg of turkey therefore a 5kg turkey will take 60 hours (2.5 days) to defrost thoroughly. 

Submerged in cold water: Using your sink or a bucket, keep the turkey in its original wrapper and make sure it is completely covered with cold water. You may need to weigh it down with a plate on top to keep it totally submerged. In order to avoid the risk of food poisoning it is important to change the water every 30 minutes. Using this method, it will take approximately 1 hour per 1kg to thaw a turkey, in other words a 5kg turkey will defrost in 5 hours. 

How to Roast Your Turkey

To prepare the turkey for roasting, first remove the giblets (and save for gravy or stuffing). Next, rinse the bird inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.

If you are stuffing the turkey, stuff the neck cavity only then pull the skin flap back down and secure in place with toothpicks.  Place 1/2 an onion or 1/2 an orange in the body cavity then weigh the complete bird in order to calculate the cooking time.

Put the turkey on a rack inside a roasting tin chest side down and pour a glass of medium/sweet sherry over the top. Cover the turkey loosely with tin foil, making sure to seal the edges tightly under the rim of the roasting tin.

Roast the turkey at 190 deg C / gas mark 5 for 20-25 minutes per lb plus 20 minutes (in other words a 5kg turkey will take almost 5 hours to cook).  Half way through the cooking time turn the turkey onto it's back and spread butter over the breast and thighs, season well with salt and pepper or mixed herbs, re-cover with foil and return to the oven. 

Remove the foil 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time so that the skin can brown.