Turkey Masterclass: How to Cook a Perfect Turkey

Cooking a turkey doesn’t need to take as long as you think it does if you follow these simple cooking tips. This blog post was filmed/photographed at a KellyBronze turkey masterclass at Jamie Oliver’s HQ and there’s a special appearance by Jamie himself!

Note: KellyBronze turkeys are available in both the UK and the USA.

If you’ve been following my Instagram stories you will have known that I took a little jaunt south to London not too long ago, as I was shortlisted for a UK Best Food & Drink Blog award (I won!). I arrived in London the day before the awards ceremony, and it just so happened that earlier that week an invite had dropped into my email inbox: would I like to attend a KellyBronze turkey masterclass at Jamie Oliver’s HQ? 

As I had nothing else planned for that evening, I accepted. This was only the fourth time I’ve ever visited London, and despite receiving many invites over the years for events in the city, it tends to be far too expensive to travel from the Shetland Islands to go to them.

That morning, as I took the train from Cornwall (I took a bit of a detour to get from Shetland to London!) another email arrived: there might be a guest appearance by a very special KellyBronze fan. I didn’t dare get my hopes up…!

My train arrived in London around 3 pm, and come 7 pm I was at Jamie Oliver’s HQ and shaking hands with none other than Jamie Oliver himself! I might have fangirled! He thanked me (and my plus one, a dear friend from Shetland who made the trip to come to the awards ceremony for moral support) for coming to the event and I don’t even think I managed a hello back – I might have just grinned and nodded like a starstruck fool!

I’ve been a fan of Jamie’s for a very long time. I bought his book, The Naked Chef, when I was teaching myself how to cook properly when my eldest (who is now nearly 19) was just starting to eat solid foods as a baby.

This blog post isn’t about Jamie though, it’s about turkey.

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ABOUT KELLYBRONZE TURKEYS

Paul Kelly and his family have been perfecting the art of rearing flawless turkeys for nearly half a century, and they have become a household name for producing high-quality turkeys for the Christmas season (and for Thanksgiving overseas). Consequently, the KellyBronze brand has become synonymous to turkey excellence, loved by celebrity chefs and the public alike.

KellyBronze birds are entirely free-range and have the unparalleled luxury of living through every season, foraging in their natural woodland habitat at the family farm in Danbury, Essex and in Virginia, USA. They are matured to over twice the age of a standard industry turkey and plucked by hand – a method of preparation dating back to medieval times. This enables them to be dry hung like game birds, tenderising the meat and intensifying the taste; creating a turkey like no other for this Christmas.

A KellyBronze turkey has a well-marbled flesh due to its maturity, and this means that they are never dry. The ‘bronze’ in the name refers to a heritage breed originating from Mexico which has bronze-tinged feathers. They fell out of popularity during the 1950s when rapid-growing white-feathered varieties took over the supermarket shelves at the expense of flavour and quality.

KellyBronze, through years of hard work and slow food methods, has brought the bronze turkey back into popularity in both the UK and USA markets. 

There’s no need to brine, baste, butter or cover a KellyBronze turkey in foil, Paul Kelly says. All of these tricks came into being to keep the moisture in the turkey when they were being slaughtered younger and younger (did you know that an average supermarket turkey is slaughtered at only 12 weeks?), and they weren’t old enough to have any fat deposits. A KellyBronze turkey is matured twice as long, so it has its own natural fat deposits which keep the bird moist.

1. Take the turkey out of the fridge and leave to stand for at least two hours, allowing it to reach room temperature.
2. Three hours before you want to eat Christmas dinner, preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F or 160°C/320°F for fan ovens. 
3. Remove any trussing/string from the bird and the pack of giblets from inside the cavity, and place in a large roasting tin, breast down. All the fat deposits in the matured turkey will render down through the meat
4. Add your favourite vegetables (Paul likes to add red onions) to the tin along with 500 ml of water and the giblets, and season well with salt and pepper. The reason you add the water is not to keep the bird moist, but rather to catch all the lovely juices from the turkey.
5. Place in the preheated oven WITH NO FOIL.
6. Remove from the oven halfway through cooking, turn the bird over and puncture right through the thighs. If there’s not enough water in the tin as it’s evaporated off, add a bit more. Season well before returning to the oven.
7. Check the core temperature using a meat thermometer 30 minutes before the end of cooking time.
8. Remove from the oven when the core temperature reaches just under 65°C/150°F, and leave to stand for a minimum of 30 minutes before carving. DO NOT COVER WITH FOIL. The internal temperature will continue to rise while it rests, and this resting step is important to tenderise the meat.

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HOW LONG TO COOK A TURKEY

Cooking times for a whole turkey vary depending on the size and quality of the bird.

KellyBronze turkeys are processed using a dry artisan process, so their product is very safe from food poisoning bugs; the meat does not need to reach the same high temperatures as standard turkey.

A KellyBronze will cook quicker because of the presence of intramuscular fat that is not present in a standard bird; it conducts the heat a lot quicker than a lean bird. KellyBronze does not recommend stuffing your turkey, as the heat needs to get through the bird in order to cook it evenly. If you do want a little stuffing, just place a little bit gently in the bottom of the cavity. 

Don’t guess; trust a meat thermometer when cooking your turkey. Remove the bird from the oven just before the needle hits 65°C/150°F and leave it to stand for at least 30 minutes before carving. At the end of 30 minutes, if the temperature is 60°C/120°F it’s pink. If it’s 65°C/150°F it’s perfect and if it’s 70°C/158°F it’s overcooked. Of interest, Paul Kelly likes his turkey pink.

KellyBronze turkeys come with a meat thermometer so you can be sure they are at the right temperature.

• 3 kg – 1 hour 30 minutes 
• 4 kg – 1 hour 45 minutes
• 5 kg –  2 hours
• 6 kg – 2 hours 25 minutes
• 7-8 kg – 2 hours 45 minutes
• 9-11 kg – 3 hours

Note: cooking times are a guide only for KellyBronze turkeys. Always use a meat thermometer.

HOW TO CARVE A TURKEY (FROM THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD HOLDER!)

In 2009 Paul Kelly won the Guinness Book of Records for the fastest time to carve a turkey, a whopping 3 minutes and 19.47 seconds! He also holds a turkey feather plucking world record.

His unique method of carving a turkey makes the whole process super easy and failproof. Just follow these steps:

1. Take the wings off first. Hold each wing by the tip and cut it at the midsection (where the two wing bones meet).
2. The legs come off next. Hold the leg by the end knuckle and cut through the skin between the leg and the body. Twist the leg off and repeat with the other leg.
3. Remove the breast meat. Using the tip of a sharp knife, cut along the breastbone (keeping the knife close to the bone) until the breast is removed. Repeat with the other side.
4. Make turkey crackling! Peel off the skin from the leg, breast and shoulder, lay out on a baking tray. Season with salt and roast in the hot oven for 20 minutes or so until crisp.
5. Slice the meat. Slice your turkey breast and carve the leg meat off the bone. Arrange on a serving platter.
6. Pour over the piping hot gravy juices from the pan. Allow them time to soak into the meat before serving.

WHAT TEMPERATURE TO COOK TURKEY

• Oven: 180°C/350°F
• Fan Oven: 160°C/320°F
• Aga: Hot Oven

WHY YOU SHOULD BUY A WHOLE TURKEY AND NOT A TURKEY CROWN

The popularity of the turkey crown or pre-prepared joint has risen in recent years, with around 70% of turkeys purchased at Christmas being a crown or joint. Public perception continues to be that crowns are easier and simpler to cook than a whole bird, but we should really be questioning what happens to the legs and wings that are removed to create turkey crowns. From a sustainability standpoint, the amount of waste created by the demand for crowns is alarming.

The main consumer argument for the rise in popularity of the turkey crown is the price, as many believe that crowns or joints are the cheaper alternatives to a whole bird. When you look at the cost per kg and the added bonuses that come with having a whole turkey, the reality is very different.

Paul Kelly has been tracking the cost of whole birds versus crowns and joints for the past couple of years to show that the best value for money is always in a whole bird. When looking at the average 2017 price per kg of fresh, standard and basted turkeys across a number of UK retailers (including four big supermarket chains) the cost per kg of a whole turkey is 44% less than the cost of a turkey crown. You are paying for nearly a whole bird, but only getting half of it!

The shocking truth that a turkey crown is nearly double the cost per kg of a whole bird should be reason enough to make the switch this year. All turkey producers add the cost of the legs and that removed on to the price of the crown, so when you buy a crown you have paid for the whole bird regardless. With all the amazing recipes that use the leftovers from a whole bird, there is no excuse for buying a crown.

RECIPES FOR LEFTOVER TURKEY

There are so many benefits to cooking a whole bird. First, of which is the ability to make a good stock – you need the bones from the legs and back which contain the bone marrow to create a delicious stock, which can then be used to add bundles of flavour to other dishes.

Another glorious thing about cooking a whole turkey at Christmas is the leftovers, which more often than not consists of the hugely underappreciated dark meat. Whilst it is true that dark meat (ie: that of the legs and thighs) is slightly higher in cholesterol and fat, it’s predominantly the heart-healthy mono and polyunsaturated kinds. Dark meat contains more iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamine and vitamins B6 and B12 than white meat.

To use up those leftovers, why not try Paul’s Hoisin-glazed turkey wrap (mentioned in the video above) or one of the other recipes on the KellyBronze website. Jamie Oliver also has quite an extensive collection of Christmas Leftover Recipes. Alternatively, this time last year I wrote a mammoth recipe round-up post for 96 Recipes to Use up Leftover Roast Turkey

Pictured below, the rather gorgeous sliced turkey and coleslaw served in a brioche bun, served by Jamie Oliver at the event.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this KellyBronze Turkey Masterclass in London, and I was delighted to have had the opportunity to meet Jamie Oliver. I also met and chatted with Paul Kelly’s father, Derek Kelly, the inspiring man who began the KellyBronze brand. 

It was at this event I had the opportunity to meet Fiona from London Unattached, a London blogger I have been following for many years, and the charming Gary from The Big Spud.

UK Readers: Why not find your local KellyBronze Turkey stockist and treat yourself to a quality turkey this Christmas. In Shetland, our local stockist is the Scalloway Butchers. I’ve rung them recently and they do still have a few KellyBronze turkeys left.

USA Readers: KellyBronze has a farm in Virginia, and the deadline for placing a USA home delivery order is the 17th of December. You can collect one from their farm up until the 19th of December.

Do you have any turkey roasting tips? Have you tried a KellyBronze turkey before? What’s your favourite way to use up leftover roast turkey? Let me know in the comments!

How to Cook the Perfect Turkey & Make Turkey Crackling

Cooking a turkey doesn't need to take as long as you think it does if you follow Paul Kelly's cooking tips to cook a KellyBronze turkey. These are available both in the UK and the USA.

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Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

Author: Elizabeth

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 4-5 kg KellyBronze turkey
• ▢ 500 ml water
• ▢ Shetland sea salt to taste
• ▢ freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ▢ vegetables of choice optional

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Instructions 

how to cook the perfect turkey

• Take the turkey out of the fridge and leave to stand for at least two hours, allowing it to reach room temperature.
• Three hours before you want to eat Christmas dinner, preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F or 160°C/320°F for fan ovens.
• Remove any trussing/string from the bird and the pack of giblets from inside the cavity, and place in a large roasting tin, breast down.
• Add your favourite vegetables to the tin along with 500 ml of water and the giblets, and season well.
• Place in the preheated oven WITH NO FOIL.
• Remove from the oven halfway through cooking, turn the bird over and puncture right through the thighs. Season well before returning to the oven.
• Check the core temperature using a meat thermometer 20-30 minutes before the end of cooking time.
• Remove from the oven when the core temperature reaches just under 65°C/150°F, and leave to stand for a minimum of 30 minutes before carving. DO NOT COVER WITH FOIL.

to make turkey crackling

• Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F or 160°C/320°F for fan ovens.
• Peel the skin off the cooked turkey and lay it on a baking tray. The extra maturity of a KellyBronze turkey means the extra fat under the skin will render down beautifully, crisping up the skin.
• Season the turkey skin with salt, and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes

• One year ago: 96 Recipes to Use Up Leftover Roast Turkey
• Two years ago: Coconut Mint Christmas Chocolates
• Three years ago: Banitsa – Bulgarian Cheese Pie
• Four years ago: Peppermint Candy Cane Christmas Chocolates
• Five years ago: Whipped Shortbread – A Christmas Essential!
• Six years ago: Shetland Pepperkakehus
• Seven years ago: Steampunk Costume

PIN THIS TURKEY MASTERCLASS RECIPE FOR LATER

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Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary was invited to a KellyBronze Masterclass at Jamie Oliver’s HQ. This is not a paid post, and we were under no obligation to create content. All thoughts and opinions expressed (unless they’re Paul Kelly’s) are our own.