This flavoursome spice rub gives any turkey a tasty boost with minimal effort, plus the skin will have a lovely, burnished finish.
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Yields:
8 serving(s)
Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
2 hrs 55 mins
Total Time:
3 hrs 15 mins
Cal/Serv:
218
Ingredients
4.5-5 kg turkey
1tsp.
black peppercorns
3
bay leaves, fresh or dried, torn, plus extra fresh to garnish, optional
1Tbsp.
flaked sea salt
1Tbsp.
light brown soft sugar
1tsp.
English mustard powder
1tsp.
garlic granules
2tsp.
paprika
Directions
Step 1At least 1hr (up to 24hr) ahead, prepare the turkey. Remove giblets, if present (reserve for gravy, if you like). Pat turkey dry with kitchen paper and pluck any stray feathers with tweezers. Weigh the turkey and calculate cooking time, allowing 30-35min per kg. Put into a large roasting tin.
Step 2Using a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, coarsely grind the peppercorns and torn bay leaves. Add the salt and grind until fine, then mix in the sugar, mustard, garlic granules and paprika. Rub mixture all over the turkey, including a little inside the cavity and under the neck flap. Cover with foil and chill until needed (if preparing more than 1hr ahead).
Step 3One hour before cooking, remove turkey from the fridge (if needed) and allow to come up to room temperature. Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5. Roast for calculated time, removing foil for the final 45min. To check if the turkey is cooked, insert a fork into the thickest part of the breast and see that the juices run clear. If not, return to the oven and keep checking every 10min. Alternatively, use a meat thermometer – the temperature needs to be at least 72°C when inserted into the thickest part of the breast.
Step 4Transfer turkey to a board, cover with foil and lay over a couple of tea towels to keep the heat in. Leave to rest in a warm place for at least 30min, or up to 1¼hr. To serve, unwrap turkey and transfer to a serving board (add resting juices to your gravy, if you like). Garnish with bay leaves, if using, and serve with our Ultimate Get-Ahead Gravy and sides.
GET AHEAD Prepare turkey to end of step 2 up to a day ahead. Keep chilled.
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”!).
