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Easy Roast Turkey – for Thanksgiving or Christmas
This is how I cook our easy roast turkey for Christmas every year, and it turns out perfect and moist every time. Roast turkey is the most popular meal for Christmas and for Thanksgiving. With guests and family over, you want to make it a success. Plan the timing of everything, so once you have a glass of wine, you don’t need to think of what to do. You will have a plan.
I’ve given you my easy-to-follow schedule at the end of this post to show you exactly how to plan and cook your turkey. This schedule has saved me many times and allowed me to relax and have a glass of wine. I don’t have to think, I just have to look at my timesheet and know exactly what has to be cooked when. Set a timer for each next step and make this easy roast turkey.
GENIUS!!! The perfect way to cook a turkey that involves BUTTER and BACON! With a cooking scheduleBecause turkey is a low-fat meat and has to be cooked for hours, it can very easily dry out. To avoid this, I stuff the skin, cover it with butter then wrap it in bacon. I start at the neck end and separate the skin from the turkey breast to create a cavity.
In the cavity, you place a pork and sage stuffing which adds moisture, fat and flavour. I also stuff inside the turkey with more pork and sage stuffing, again, for more moisture, fat and flavour.
To wrap the easy roast turkey, use large sheets of aluminium foil. Place 1 sheet lengthwise and 1 sheet sideways to the turkey. Once the turkey is ready for cooking, loosely wrap the first sheet of foil over and crimp (fold) the edges together to form a seal.
Do the same with the next sheet and crimp (fold) the edges. The turkey should be sealed from any moisture being lost. It will look like one huge silver Christmas present. If there are any gaps, use another sheet of foil.
For healthy Christmas Low-Carb Sweet Treats, take a look at my new eCookbook. You can enjoy parties AND stay on track this year.
The Night Before
Try to get some preparation completed the night before.
- Make the pork and sage stuffing. Roll a quarter of the mixture into stuffing balls. Keep in the fridge
- Peel and cut the roast vegetables. Leave in a large saucepan or mixing bowl of water to stop them from browning
- Peel and cut any vegetables that need to be cooked on the stovetop
- Make any desserts
- Wrap the sausages in bacon, place in a baking dish and cover with aluminium foil. Keep in the fridge
Timings
Firstly work out when you want to serve the roast turkey meal. Christmas day lunch for us is 1 pm. After calculating cooking times, work the schedule backwards. Always check your turkey to ensure it is completely cooked as your oven may vary in cooking temperature and heat distribution.
- Calculate the turkey cooking time according to its weight. 20 minutes at 200C/400F to get the turkey and all the stuffing up to temperature, plus 15 minutes per 500g/1 lb at 180C/350F (For example, 2 hours for a 4 kg/8 lb turkey) plus 20 minutes at the end to remove the foil and cook uncovered to crisp the bacon, plus a further 30 minutes once it is all cooked to allow the turkey to be removed from the oven, wrapped and kept warm which allows the meat to relax and the juices to settle. So if I am cooking a 4kg (8 lb) turkey, the time it will take from first putting in the oven, to being ready to carve is 20 minutes + 2 hours + 20 minutes +30 minutes = 3 hours and 10 minutes.
- Now deduct this from the time you want to be able to carve the meat. Lunch for us is usually at 1 pm. Here are my timings.
Easy Roast Turkey Cooking Schedule
The times shown are calculated for a 4 kg/8 lb turkey.
- 9.50am I put the turkey in the hot oven at 200C for 20 minutes
- 10.10am reduce the temperature to 180C and cook for 2 hours
- 12.10pm remove the foil and cook uncovered to crisper the bacon and turkey skin for 20 minutes
- 12.30pm remove the turkey from the oven, cover in the foil again and place a few tea towels on the clean side of the foil to insulate, keep the turkey hot and let the meat rest for 30 minutes
- 1 pm ready to carve
Add these times into the turkey schedule if you are cooking sausages, roast vegetables and stuffing balls.
10.10am = I run out of cooking space in my oven so I add the roast vegetables at 10.10am, cook for an hour
11.10am = remove roast vegetables then cook the bacon wrapped chipolatas and stuffing balls for 30 minutes
11.40am = remove chipolatas and stuffing balls
12.30am = When I remove the turkey at 12.30 to allow it to rest, I put the roast vegetables, chipolatas and stuffing back into the empty oven to bring them back up to temperature. I make the gravy and cook the stove top vegetables already prepared last night.
1 pm = all ready
Stuff The Cavity And Under The Skin
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- Stuffed Turkey
-
- Turkey Smothered In Butter
-
- Cover In Bacon
-
- Ready To Wrap In Foil
-
- Wrap Lengthwise
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- Wrap Across And Crimp Edges
Sausages Wrapped In Bacon
Some suggestions to accompany the easy roast turkey.
- Buttery bacon Brussels sprouts
- Leeks with garlic and cream
- Spinach carbonara
- Eggplant parmesan bites
- Mashed cauliflower
- Zoodles
For healthy Christmas Low-Carb Sweet Treats, take a look at my new eCookbook. You can enjoy parties AND stay on track this year.
Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving, Christmas, and healthy new year.
Easy Roast Turkey
Ingredients
Easy Roast Turkey
- 4 kg turkey
- 500 g streaky bacon
- 55 g butter
Pork and Sage Stuffing
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 tbsp dried sage
- 750 g pork sausage meat
- 1 egg
- +/- salt and pepper
Instructions
Pork and Sage Stuffing
- Place the onion, sage, pork and egg in a mixing bowl.
- Mix through with your hands, squeezing all the ingredients together.
- Half will be used to stuff the turkey breast, a quarter will be used to stuff the turkey cavity, and the remaining quarter can be rolled into balls and baked for 30 minutes.
Easy Roast Turkey
- Separate the skin from the turkey breast and push half of the stuffing gently as you can into the space.
- Rub the butter over the skin of the turkey breast and legs.
- Cover turkey as shown with slices of streaky bacon.
- Loosely wrap the large aluminium foil around the turkey and turn over the edges to make a wrapped parcel. This will keep the turkey moist.
- Place in a large roasting dish and cook according to the cooking schedule above.
For dessert or after dinner treat, try these.
- Tiramisu
- Mocha ice bombs
- Lemon bars
- Lemon meringue pies
- Walnut and brandy truffles
- Chocolate mint truffles
Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving, Christmas, and healthy new year.
Laura says
Thanks for all your dedication & experimentation! I would love to know your recipe for (turkey)gravy, too!
Sonja says
Can you please tell me if the temperatures you suggest are in a fan forced oven, or should I reduce the temp a bit so as not to overcook?
Jenny says
Hi Libby, the turkey looks fantastic. Where do you get your sausage meat and sausages from? I find most of them have so many additives in them, I would love to find a source in Whangarei.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I tend to buy Henderson’s bacon, and you can buy that in New World, Countdown etc. I choose sausages that are 85% or above meat. Check the carb content. If it is above 1-2% it indicates there are a lot of fillers in there such as wheat, rice flour etc so avoid those. Turkey is all free range here in NZ so that’s an easy one.
Julia says
I’ve just come across this as it’s the first year holding Christmas at ours, so I’ll be cooking the turkey for a change! This recipe looks fab, however I can’t put bacon on the turkey as I have family members who can’t have it. Would the recipe work without bacon, and with sage and onion stuffing instead? I want to keep the turkey moist. Thanks, Julia
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Yes, it would work without the bacon. I simply use bacon to flavour the skin and to keep the turkey moist. Just ensure the turkey is wrapped in the aluminium foil well and the edges are crimped together so the turkey doesn’t dry put. Enjoy 🙂
Julia says
Super, thank you Libby! 🙂
sjwnana1 says
thanks libby,,,, for all u do
I agree once you do this for a long time it is just…WHAT U DO.. I have been baking for my cancer group bake sale.. sooo.I will finish up tomorrow and deliver them wed.. collect and they can enjoy all my old favorites…and nope I did not even lick the beaters… thank god,,, it just does not tempt me anymore……I have come down a long,, long,, way on my weight and want to keep it that way also… ..and you have helped me a lot… thanks again
merry christmas dear lady
sheila in ga
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Wow Sheila, you are incredible and such kind lovely words. It truly does become a part of life doesn’t it. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Libby (way down in NZ) x
Julie Hawkes says
Wow! I’ve just read through your Christmas recipe ideas and your easy turkey recipe, you make cooking so easy with pictures and detailed instructions. I’m so looking forward to a feast of tasty food without feeling like I’ve missed out on all the sugary and high carb foods that I normally pig out on! Thank you for making this so simple for us to manage. I live in the UK and I’m sharing your website with anyone who’s interested and those who aren’t!!! I’m feeling better about Christmas now and know that I can do a LCHF end to the year without feeling bad about myself and going on a stupid diet in the new year.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Julie I am so glad my instructions are clear and easy to understand. Once you have been doing something for years, it is hard sometimes to put it in words for others to understand. I like to have a checklist then I can hit the wine and not worry 😉 And yes, isn’t it great knowing we won’t be starting the new year trying to lose the weight we usually put on over christmas. My weight remains pretty much stable year on year now, and I continue to eat all the recipes you see here, real food, healthy fats and not a low fat item in sight. Have a fantastic Christmas. Libby x