Gordon Ramsay reveals the “Perfect Roast Turkey” for use this Thanksgiving, by Henry W. and Samson L.

Perfect Roast Turkey

Ingredients: [Serves 8-10]

1 free-range turkey (ideally Norfolk Black or Bronze), about 5-5.5kg

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 onions, peeled and halved

1 lemon, halved

1 head of garlic, halved horizontally

6 bay leaves

Olive oil, to drizzle

8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon

For the lemon, parsley and garlic butter: 

375g butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp olive oil

Finely grated zest and juice of 2 small lemons

3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped

Here’s how you make it!

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7. While the oven is heating, prepare the herb butter. Put the butter into a bowl, preferably a large one, and season it with salt and pepper. Add some olive oil and mix it well. Make sure to add lemon zest and juice, and also crushed garlic and chopped parsley. Mix it until all the ingredients are combined.

2. Remove the giblets from the cavity of the turkey. Season the cavity to your liking with salt and pepper, or any other seasonings. Then, stuff the cavity with onions, lemon, garlic leaves, and two bay leaves. (OPTIONAL)

3. Using your hands, loosen the outer layer/skin of the breast from both ends of the turkey so that you will be able to stuff flavored butter underneath it, making sure you keep the skin intact. Repeat these same steps with the skin on the legs – from the lower side of the breast, feel your way under the skin and out towards the leg, loosening the gap.

4.  Stuff half the butter mix into the opened spaces under the skin. From the outside of the skin, gently massage the butter around the breasts so that the meat is evenly covered. Finally, insert the rest of the bay leaves under the skin of the breasts. 

5.  Place the turkey in a large/medium sized roasting tray, breast side up. Spread the rest of the butter all over the skin. Season well with salt and pepper, then drizzle with a little olive oil. If you want to prepare this in more than a day, you can wrap the turkey in foil and refrigerate at this step.

6. Roast the turkey in the hot oven for 10-15 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven, baste the bird with the pan juices and lay the bacon rashers over the breast to keep it moist. Baste again. Lower the setting to 180°C/Gas 4 and cook for about two and a half hours (calculating at 30 minutes per kilogram), basting occasionally.

7. To test whether your turkey is cooked, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the leg and check that the juices are running clear, rather than pink. As oven temperatures and turkey shapes and sizes vary, it is crucial to check your turkey about 30 minutes before the calculated roasting time. If the juices are pink, roast for another 15 minutes and check again. Repeat as necessary until the turkey is cooked.

8. Transfer the turkey to a warmed platter and remove the parson’s nose, wings and tips of the drumsticks; reserve these for the gravy. Leave the turkey to rest in a warm place for at least 45 minutes; make the gravy in the meantime. Remove the bay leaves from under the skin before carving. Serve the turkey with the piping hot gravy, stuffing and accompaniments.

Now you’ve finished making your turkey and you’ve probably had the best Thanksgiving thanks to Gordon Ramsay and his expertise. This is truly an amazing recipe, once again, by the legend of cooking. For more articles, visit the rest of the website at www.theroaringgazette.net.