How to cook a whole turkey

Our free-range bronze turkey is a smaller, slower-growing breed, typically reared up to 22-weeks, allowing natural fat to develop between the muscle fibres. This process yields a firmer texture and enables the turkey to baste itself as it cooks, resulting in reliably juicy, dense, and complexly flavoured meat. In terms of both taste and texture, a bronze turkey is worlds apart from a commercial bird.

No Christmas feast feels complete without a whole roast turkey. Turkey offers all the nutritional benefits of chicken, with an added depth of flavour from the bird’s age (over 140 days) and its free-range lifestyle.

This traditional festive centrepiece offers guests a delicious choice of moist turkey breast, crispy wings, and tender dark meat.

Roasting a free-range bronze turkey will take less time than a supermarket bird. As a guide, roast for 25–30 minutes per kg, ideally measuring the internal temperature of the thickest part of the leg to 65ºC with a meat thermometer.

It’s essential to remember that your turkey will continue to cook once it’s out of the oven, so a margin of 8–10ºC should be accounted for. Remove it from the oven when the thermometer reads 55–57ºC. We recommend a resting time similar to the time the bird has been in the oven – this step allows all the juices to redistribute into the meat for maximum flavour and tenderness.

1. Remove the turkey from its packaging, pat it dry, and bring it to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Fan 160ºC/Gas 4.
3. Smear softened butter all over the turkey, then season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Place a bunch of bruised thyme on the seasoned breast and another bunch in the cavity with a halved, unpeeled onion.
5. Lay overlapping slices of smoked streaky bacon across the entire breast.
6. Cover the turkey loosely with foil and place it breast-side up in a roasting tin.
7. Roast for 25–30 minutes per kg (refer to the temperature guide above). Aim to baste the turkey 5–6 times during cooking, spooning the fat and juices over the breast, legs, and wings.
8. Remove the foil and streaky bacon for the final 40-minutes to achieve a golden brown breast.
9. Take the turkey out of the oven and allow it to rest in a warm place, ideally for a duration similar to its roasting time.
10. Avoid carving too soon to retain the essential juices and prevent dry meat.

Bread sauce is a beloved British classic, perfect for pairing with roast Christmas turkey, and Valentine Warner’s Bread Sauce Recipe Easy is a winner! Rich and creamy, it’s made with milk, breadcrumbs, onions, cloves, and a hint of nutmeg, offering a comforting contrast to the savoury roast. For a spectrum of textures and flavours, add Val’s Roasted Christmas Apples, stuffed with sausage and jelly, to your festive table. The sweetness of the apples, combined with the savoury sausage and tangy jelly, creates a delightful side dish that complements the turkey beautifully. Together, these elements make for a truly traditional and flavourful Christmas feast.