How should I cook my turkey for Christmas? Neven Maguire tells Boards.ie members

#1 · 08-12-2009 8:40pm #1

It's one of those tricky questions - how do you cook a turkey properly for Christmas?

I chatted with Neven Maguire for the Christmas forum to find out what he recommends:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsWfovenGuw

Neven chatted to me, as you may see from the video, as part of Safefood's Christmas campaign.

Here's what they recommend for electric fan assisted ovens - they have advice for gas and other ovens here.

Make sure that the turkey is thoroughly defrosted before cooking. If it is not defrosted it will not cook properly and safely. Once thoroughly defrosted a previously frozen turkey cooks in the same way as a fresh turkey.
Think carefully about whether or not to cook stuffing inside the bird, because stuffed turkeys can take a lot longer to cook than unstuffed turkeys. For example, a large (7.5kg) turkey with cavity stuffing took 30% (almost 1½ hours longer) to be properly and safely cooked, than a similar sized or unstuffed bird. Such longer cooking times can impair the quality of the turkey meat. By the time the centre of the stuffing is properly cooked, the meat of the turkey may be dry and overcooked.
Get an accurate estimate of the weight of your turkey, and allow for the increase in overall weight related to the addition of stuffing. Make sure to use the weight of the total oven ready bird, including the weight of the added stuffing, in calculating the correct cooking time for your turkey (see below).
Calculate how much stuffing to add, and don’t add too much, as this increases the cooking time. A weight of stuffing not greater than 10% of the weight of the unstuffed cleaned bird is usually about right.
Cover the bird with tinfoil during cooking and baste every hour. The use of tinfoil helps cook the bird more evenly and gives a more “juicy” product. The turkey should be basted every hour during cooking (the tinfoil can be removed for the last half hour to finally brown the skin).
When cooking unstuffed turkeys in an electric fan-assisted oven, the oven should be preheated to a temperature of 180°C, and the bird cooked at 180°C for- 19 minutes per kg + 124 minutes for all birds of 3.3 kg and above
When cooking cavity stuffed turkeys in an electric fan-assisted oven, the oven should be preheated to a temperature of 180°C, and the bird should be cooked at 180°C for – 28 minutes per kg + 110 minutes for all birds of 3.3 kg and above
Different ovens have different performance characteristics, so it is very important to check the manufacturer’s handbook to ensure safe and optimum performance.
Check that you fully understand and have properly adjusted oven controls to achieve the required cooking temperatures. Even when ovens are correctly adjusted, the presence of other items in the oven, or over-frequent opening and closing of the oven door can make the oven less effective and extra cooking time will be needed.
Don’t “rush” to carve the stuffed cooked bird! One way of making sure that the stuffing is properly cooked, without risking overcooking the meat, is to remove the turkey from the oven when the meat is fully cooked, and leave it to rest for half an hour covered in tinfoil at room temperature, before carving. The stuffing continues to cook inside the hot bird during this time, but the meat is not being overcooked.
Double-check completeness of cooking. It is always essential that you perform additional checks to ensure the turkey is sufficiently cooked before serving. You should check that there is no pink meat left, the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh and breast meat are pierced with a clean fork or skewer and that it is piping hot all the way through. If the bird is stuffed, check that the centre of the stuffing is piping hot as well, before serving.

All their advice is over here.

I won't quote their entire press release from yesterday for you, but the highlights are as follows:

New research commissioned by safefood reveals that 48% of people in the Republic of Ireland found the most challenging aspect of Christmas dinner was getting everything ready on time. This was followed by making sure the turkey was properly cooked and safe to eat (16%) and making sure the meal tastes good (11%). The research also revealed that although consumers think that cooking Christmas dinner is hard work, they still say it is worth the effort (47%).

“The length of time you cook your turkey is a key factor in ensuring it is safe and tasty, but our research reveals just 8% of people work out the cooking time based on the weight of their turkey.

20% of people said they thought their turkey was cooked by either looking at it or by the smell, but these methods don’t guarantee that the turkey is thoroughly cooked.”

“The best way to ensure a turkey is cooked properly is by calculating the correct cooking time based on the weight of the turkey and the stuffing. Why not pick up our FREE leaflet and cooking timer from your local butcher or text our SMS service* and get a cooking time straight to your mobile phone.

You can also call our helpline on 1850 40 45 67, try our FREE cooking calculator application for iPhone or visit our website, www.safefood.eu, where you can view video clips of award winning chef Neven Maguire storing, preparing, stuffing, cooking and carving the turkey.”

“Whatever type of oven, cooking time or recipe you use, make sure to check the turkey is thoroughly cooked before serving.

Pierce the thickest part of the breast and thigh with a clean fork or skewer and make sure that the juices run clear.

Check that there is no pink meat left and that the meat is piping hot throughout.

An under-cooked turkey may cause food poisoning and no one wants that for their family and friends at Christmas time,” said Gary Kearney, director of Food Science for Safefood.

Supporting safefood’s guidelines, Chef Neven Maguire said; “Christmas dinner is undoubtedly one of the most special meals of the year, but preparing a tasty and nutritious meal for family and friends is pointless if the proper food hygiene practices are ignored.

Any leftovers should be cooled and refrigerated within two hours of cooking and eaten within three days, making sure they are piping hot and reheated only once.

Turkey is the meat of choice for Christmas with 94% of people saying they eat turkey on Christmas Day. 83% of people said they buy a fresh turkey, with 11% purchasing a frozen turkey.

Consumers should remember to thoroughly defrost their frozen turkey prior to cooking and carefully wash their hands in warm soapy water if they come into contact with raw turkey.

For information regarding the recommended cooking times and temperatures for gas and non-fan assisted electric ovens and advice on food safety or nutrition visit www.safefood.eu or call the safefood helpline on 1850 40 45 67. Consumers can also request a copy of safefood’s free Christmas leaflet, ‘Time the turkey to perfection this Christmas!’