Salt & pepper turkey

Name: Salt & pepper turkey
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 4 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 10
Cuisine: british
Ingredients: 4.5-5.6kg/10-12lb turkey thawed if frozen, giblets removed; 1 tbsp black peppercorns; 1 tbsp Maldon sea salt; 1 lemon; a few bay leaves plus extra sprigs to garnish; stuffing of your choice; 50g butter melted; 10-12 rashers streaky bacon; 2 tbsp plain flour; 600ml turkey or chicken stock; 150ml/0.25 pint port; 4 tbsp lingonberry preserve or cranberry sauce; 2 tsp wholegrain mustard

5.00 (4)

⏱ 270 mins 🍽 Serves 10 🌶 british ✅ Easy 🏷 Recipes

This British Christmas turkey is seasoned with a fragrant mix of crushed peppercorns, sea salt and lemon zest. Roasted with butter and covered in a bacon lattice, it makes a festive centrepiece. The bird is served with a rich gravy made from pan juices, port, and lingonberry preserve. Allow plenty of time for roasting and resting before carving.

Ingredients

4.5-5.6kg/10-12lb turkey thawed if frozen, giblets removed
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp Maldon sea salt
1 lemon
a few bay leaves plus extra sprigs to garnish
stuffing of your choice
50g butter melted
10-12 rashers streaky bacon
2 tbsp plain flour
600ml turkey or chicken stock
150ml/0.25 pint port
4 tbsp lingonberry preserve or cranberry sauce
2 tsp wholegrain mustard

Method

Set your oven to 190C/gas 5/ fan 170C. Rinse the turkey inside and out, then pat it completely dry with kitchen paper. Season the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper.
Use a pestle and mortar to coarsely crush the black peppercorns. Add the sea salt to them. Finely grate the rind from the lemon and mix it into the salt and pepper. Cut the lemon into quarters and place these inside the turkey cavity along with several bay leaves.
If using stuffing, fill only the neck end of the bird, taking care not to pack it too tightly as it will expand. Shape any extra stuffing into balls the size of walnuts to cook later. Secure the neck flap closed with a small skewer.
Tie the turkey's legs together with kitchen string to help it keep a neat shape. Weigh the turkey to calculate its roasting time, allowing 18 minutes per 450g/1lb.
Place the prepared turkey in a large roasting tin. Brush it all over generously with the melted butter. Sprinkle the prepared salt and pepper mix evenly across the breast and legs.
Loosely cover the turkey with a large piece of foil. Roast it for the calculated time, basting with the tin juices every hour. Thirty minutes before the end of cooking, take off the foil and the string. Re-tie the legs using one rasher of bacon, then arrange the remaining rashers in a lattice pattern over the breast. Add any stuffing balls to the tin. Remove 6 tablespoons of the pan juices and put them into a saucepan for the gravy, then return the turkey to the oven.
Once cooked, move the turkey to a serving platter. Cover it tightly with foil and let it rest for 15-45 minutes.
To make the gravy, warm the reserved pan juices in the saucepan. Whisk in the plain flour and cook for 3 minutes until it turns golden. Slowly whisk in the turkey or chicken stock and the port, continuing to cook until smooth. Stir in the lingonberry preserve or cranberry sauce and the wholegrain mustard. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and add seasoning if needed. Skim the fat from the juices left in the roasting tin, then add about 150ml/0.25 pint of these juices to the gravy. Heat it through before pouring into a warmed gravy boat.
Carve the rested turkey and serve it with the gravy.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories644 kcal

Fat25 g

Saturates9 g

Carbs9 g

Sugars4 g

Protein91 g

Sodium1436 mg

Salt3 g

Recipe details

Skill levelEasy

CategoryRecipes

Cuisinebritish