Prepare your Christmas Day turkey today with Jamie Oliver’s stress-free recipe

Prepare your Christmas Day turkey today with Jamie Oliver’s stress-free recipe (Image: Getty)

To take the stress out of preparing and cooking everything tomorrow, Jamie Oliver has shared his essential turkey preparation tips.

Jamie wrote: “For me, prepping the turkey a day in advance and taking the time to get it to the stage where it’s ready to cook is a joy.

“I take real pleasure in giving this illustrious bird the focus it deserves, plus saving myself a bit of stress on the big day.”

This recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Christmas Cookbook serves 12 people and takes just 30 minutes to prep the turkey, ready for Christmas day.

It requires just a handful of ingredients which can be purchased well ahead of time to save time and stress.

Prepping the turkey today will help to keep Christmas Day stress-free (Image: Getty)

Ingredients:

For the turkey:

7kg higher-welfare turkey

One clementine

One fresh red chilli

One bunch of fresh rosemary

One bunch of fresh sage

12 fresh bay leaves

250g stuffing

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the gravy trivet:

Turkey giblets, optional

Two onions

Two carrots

Two sticks of celery

Half a bulb of garlic

Method:

Check the main turkey cavity for the bag of giblets, and if they’re in there, remove and tip them into the roasting tray. Jamie said: “The added flavour they’ll give your gravy will be incredible - trust me.”

Peel the onions, wash the carrots and roughly chop with the celery, adding to the tray with the garlic.

Halve the clementine and chilli before placing them into the turkey cavity with most of the herbs. Jamie noted: “Not filling it too full allows hot air to circulate, cooking the bird from the inside out and from the outside in."

Place the stuffing in the neck cavity and then pull the skin back over it and tuck it in. Warm the butter in your hands so it’s soft enough to spread over the turkey, placing it in all of the nooks and crannies.

Jamie explained: “The butter layer serves two purposes - natural basting, plus keeping the seasoning away from the meat until it hits the oven, so the bird stays nice and juicy.

“The butter will melt off as it cooks, adding to the flavour of the gravy, and you’ll also be able to skim off that tasty fat and save it in a jar for delicious cooking another day.”

Generously season the turkey with sea salt, and black pepper and then pat some leftover herbs into the butter.

Jamie recommended grating over a nice coating of nutmeg. Cover the turkey with foil and place it on top of the trivet in the tray.

Wait one hour until the bird comes up to room temperature and is ready to cook, or pop it in the fridge until it is needed.