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Even if you’re a keen cook who plates up a delicious Sunday roast each weekend, there is one meal a year which almost everyone finds difficult to perfect: Christmas Dinner. Or, to be more precise, the Christmas turkey.
One of the biggest complaints people have at this festive time of the year is that, no matter what they try, the turkey always ends up too dry. While we typically cook a chicken throughout the rest of the year, which often weigh approximately 1.8kg, a Christmas turkey can weigh anywhere between a whopping 4kg and 8kg.
If you have an oven big enough, you might find yourself still trying to juggle the space to cook all of your other Christmas Dinner trimmings.
Which is the best oven setting for cooking a turkey?
There are so many different makes and models of ovens that it would be hard to pin down what your individual oven can do and what it can’t. However, the best thing to do is to try and find a setting which cooks your turkey from the top and the bottom at the same time.
This setting will usually have horizontal lines at the top and bottom of the symbol, indicating that both elements will be used to roast the meat. This is a pretty safe setting for roasting any meat, with the recommended time for cooking equal to 20 minutes per kilogram, plus 90 minutes on top overall.
Top tips for cooking a turkey
- Make sure you defrost your turkey in advance – if you forget, there won’t be enough time on the day for it to thaw in time to cook it.
- Preheat your oven to make sure it’s ready for roasting.
- Don’t forget the seasoning, butter and any other stuffing you might want to add.
- If you don’t have a meat thermometer then it’s time to invest in one – it will let you properly gauge the internal temperature of the meat so you don’t overcook it.
- Give the turkey a final blast on high heat if you want nice, crispy skin.
- If you don’t quite get your timings right, the meat can be kept warm for a short while by placing it under clean tea towels in a warm room – leaving it in the oven will only dry it out!
- Finally, remember that the weight of the turkey in your cooking calculations should include any stuffing as well.
There are plenty of different recipes, techniques and cooking appliances with which you can achieve your perfect turkey dinner – it’s all about trying which combination works best for you and your family. Remember, if you don’t manage to get a nice, moist turkey slice, there’s always next year!
But if you’re struggling with your oven because it has broken or isn’t working to its optimum, you can put that right and give yourself the best chance of making the Christmas Dinner right by contact the professional team at Domex Ltd. Our team on engineers work across London and the home counties to provide oven repairs – putting Christmas back on track.