The classic combination of citrus, thyme, and rosemary makes this one of our most popular Christmas turkey recipes – and with good reason, too. The meat is packed with flavour, while the addition of white wine produces delicious roasting juices to use in the accompanying lemon turkey gravy.
lg Spanish onion, about 450g (1lb), cut into chunks
450g
(1lb) prepared stuffing of your choice
375g
(13oz) pancetta or thinly sliced streaky bacon
125g
(4oz) butter, softened
150ml
(5 fl oz (¼ pint)) white wine
Fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs to garnish
Directions
Step 1
To make carving easier, first remove the wishbone from the turkey. Loosen the skin at the neck end, ease your fingers up between the skin and the breast and, using a sharp knife, remove the wishbone. Remove the giblets and reserve. Season the inside of the turkey, then stuff with thyme and rosemary sprigs and a few pieces of lemon and onion. Spoon the cold stuffing into the neck end only, neaten the shape, tuck the skin under and secure with metal skewers or cocktail sticks. We suggest if you're turkey is between 2.3 - 3.6kg it should be cooked for 2 - 3hrs and if weighed between 3.6 - 5kg it should be cooked for 3 – 3 1⁄4hr.
Step 2
Place the turkey in a large roasting tin, spread with the butter and arrange the slices of pancetta or bacon on the breast. Place the remaining lemon and onion chunks around the turkey and add the wine to the tin. Cover with a loose tent of foil. Roast at 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5 for about 3hr, basting from time to time. If the butcher has tied the legs together tightly, loosen after the first hour so they cook through more evenly. Remove the foil 45min before the end of the cooking time, lift off the pancetta and set aside. Return the turkey to the oven to continue cooking.
Step 3
When the turkey is cooked (the juices should run clear when a skewer is inserted deep into the thigh), tip the turkey so the juices run into the tin, then place the turkey on a carving board. Place the pancetta back on the breast, cover the turkey with foil and set aside to rest for 30min before serving.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
