How To Cook A Turkey

Don't know how to cook a turkey? Cooking a Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey is simple with these easy turkey cooking instructions.

If you buy a fresh, oven-ready turkey, you can keep it refrigerated for 2 days before roasting.

A frozen turkey needs careful thawing - follow the supplier's instructions carefully.

Before cooking, prepare your turkey for roasting.

You can do this the day before you want to cook, but don't stuff the bird until just before you want to roast it.

First, wash the bird inside and out under cold running water, and set it on to a layer of kitchen paper towels to drain.

Pat both inside and outside of your turkey dry with kitchen paper. Trim off any excess fat and skin around the neck and the opening to the body cavity, and underneath the bird.

If you are planning to stuff the bird, refrigerate it at this stage and use one of these Turkey Stuffing Recipes to make a well-flavoured dressing.

To stuff the breast, gently loosen the skin at the neck end and use a tablespoon to carefully push the stuffing in between the breast and skin. Keep the stuffing loose, as it expands when cooked and will burst the skin if you pack it in too tightly.

For food safety reasons, it's better to cook any remaining stuffing separately rather than placing it inside the body of the turkey. If you do stuff the cavity, use a meat thermometer to check that the stuffing is thoroughly cooked.

If not, you can put any aromatics of your choice inside the turkey to enhance the flavour - a halved lemon, a peeled and halved onion, bunches of fresh herbs or some roughly chopped apple.

Take the stuffed or unstuffed bird and place it on a clean board. The legs and tail may already have been trussed together. If not, tie the ends of the legs together firmly, using non-meltable string, then tie both to the tail. This helps to prevent the bird from gaping open during roasting.

Preheat the oven. The starting temperature depends on the size of the bird, check here for how long to cook a turkey.

Place the turkey on a wire rack in a large roasting tin or pan.

Rub or brush the bird lightly all over with oil such as sunflower. Season with salt and pepper and dried mixed herbs.

If you are using a meat thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the leg, making sure the tip of it is not resting on the bone.

Wrap a sheet of turkey foil loosely over the bird, leaving some space between the turkey and the foil. Tuck the ends in.

Place the turkey in the oven for the first period of cooking, then turn down the heat - see turkey cooking time for detailed instructions.

Finally, remove the foil for the last half hour of cooking so that the breast can brown.

The most accurate test for done-ness is to use a meat thermometer, which should register 185F when the bird is cooked.

You can also pierce the thickest part of the breast with a skewer to check that the juices are running clear. The leg should be showing signs of coming away from the body.

When the bird is cooked, remove from the oven, lift carefully out of the roasting tin or pan, place on a warmed platter and leave to rest, covered, for at least 10 minutes and up to half an hour before carving. The bird will hold its heat for this amount of time and the meat will shrink down, making it much easier to carve.

Don't forget to make the most of your turkey, and try some of these leftover turkey recipes for delicious sandwiches and salads.

You can also make a great turkey soup recipe, or try a turkey meat loaf recipe.

With all these delicious dishes at your fingertips, you'll be glad you learned how to cook a turkey.