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A Very Merry Festive Feast

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How to cook a brilliant turkey: Roasting

Crank up the heat in the beginning
A very important step (but one people often miss out on doing) is to take the turkey out of
the fridge and allow it to warm to room temperature before roasting it. If the bird is cold it
will take longer to cook, which can dry it out. To cook it like a pro, preheat the oven to its
maximum, and then turn the temperature down to 180ºC (356°F) as soon as the turkey goes
in. The sheer size of the room-temperature bird will cause the oven temperature to drop off

for a while. By starting the temperature at maximum, you’ll maintain the right temperature
at the beginning of the cooking process.

Work out the cooking time
To get an accurate idea of how long to cook your turkey for, weigh it only after you’ve

stuffed it. A good rule of thumb is 35-40 minutes in the oven per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of
meat. A 5 kg (11 pound) turkey will take approximately three hours to cook, so factor this in
to your preparation tasks.

Besides the weight of the bird, cooking times will also depend on the type of oven you have,

the quality of the turkey and whether it was frozen or fresh. Rather be safe than sorry, so
check the turkey every 30 minutes from an hour before the recommended end time.

Baste and baste again
Now that you’re an expert on the perfect stuffing technique, you’ve also got an added

advantage of having a self-basting turkey. Despite this, it’s important that you still keep

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