Tasked with cooking the Christmas turkey this year? Fear not, for this butter-roasted turkey is as delicious as it sounds and will feed up to 10 guests (with plenty of leftovers for Boxing Day turkey sandwiches).
Not only does the rice and apricot stuffing ensure the meat retains its moisture throughout the cooking process, but it takes one task off your to-do list, too. Next up: pigs in blankets, crispy roast potatoes, and the all-important turkey gravy.
For more Christmas turkey recipe ideas from Good Housekeeping, head here.
Loosen skin at the neck end of the turkey, easing your fingers up between the skin and the breast. With a small, sharp knife, remove the wishbone to ease carving. Remove and reserve the giblets. Spoon cold stuffing into neck end only, then neaten the shape, tuck neck skin under and secure with metal skewers or wooden cocktail sticks.
Step 2
Place the turkey in a roasting tin, breast-side down; spread with butter (see tip). Season with a little salt and plenty of pepper. Place giblets around the turkey, then cover with foil to make a tent'.
Step 3
Cook at 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5, basting regularly. About 45min before the end of the cooking time remove the foil, turn the turkey over, baste well and continue cooking.
Step 4
When the turkey is cooked (the juices should run clear when a skewer is inserted into a thigh), tip it to let the juices run into the tin, then place on a carving board. Cover turkey with foil and set aside to rest for 30min. Serve garnished with holly.
Using giblets for stock
If you're not using the giblets for stock, add all of them, except the liver, to the roasting tin. The liver can be cut up and added to the stuffing.
Cooking the turkey breast-side down helps keep the breast meat moist. The legs cook more easily and skin becomes nicely browned.
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”!).
