With Christmas day being only days away, it’s almost time to start prepping the turkey. It’s not often the most pleasant of activities, what with the uh, giblets removal and all but with the right preparation comes the most succulent of Christmas meats.
This year, we’re looking to none other than the queen of the kitchen herself, Mary Berry, for our turkey recipe. After all, who better to help us cook up a storm and impress our family with our kitchen tricks?
Of course, by this point we all have our own traditions for cooking the Christmas turkey but this year, we’ll be adding a little of Mary Berry’s finishing touches to the skin with orange slices.
The perfect finishing touch to roast turkey
So, in Mary Berry’s turkey crown recipe as featured on Mary Berry’s Absolute Christmas Favourites, she has two oranges ― one cut into slices and one cut in half and these add finishing touches to the cooking of the turkey.
So, once you’ve done your own preparations, loosen the skin on the turkey using your fingers or a spatula, gently so as not to tear anything. Then, mix two teaspoons of thyme leaves with 50g of softened butter and smear the mixture underneath the skin of the bird.
Then, arrange orange slices in two neat rows, under the skin and on top of the herb butter.
As for those orange halves? Place one under the skin at the neck end of the bird and any orange trimmings in the cavity.
This mix of citrus and herbs gives a perfectly Christmas flavour to the tastebuds and with not-too-much effort.
Plus, if you have any leftovers, these can be frozen for up to a month. Just make sure you wrap them up well!
Now just to follow Mary’s perfect cooking method for turkey...