the best roast turkey - christmas or any time

I first came across this recipe back in 2004 when I watched Jamie on the Today show. For some reason, I just HAD to make the turkey that year (I didn't cook EVER). This recipe just looked SO good and the stuffing that went with it was AWESOME!!!! It turned out wonderfully and I have been making Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner ever since. And it awakened a love of cooking in me. I've been experimenting and trying new recipes ever since. Best turkey recipe EVER!

This was the first thanksgiving where I had the duty of making the the turkey (20lbs). A lot of pressure. I've always loved Jamie Oliver's cooking, so I really wanted to try this recipe. My family is very traditional, keep it simple etc. And although most of Jamie's recipes are simple, this one seemed to raise an eyebrow.<br /> <br /> I'll simply say that this is the best turkey I've ever had. The legs were falling off the bone and had a distinct aroma of rosemary and pancetta. It was fun to have two different flavors of turkey from 1 bird. <br /> <br /> Putting the stuffing between the skin and breasts was very easy. After peeling a little bit it became very easy to maneuver my hands all the way around, just gotta be gentle. The stuffing kept the breasts moist as others here have said, it was incredible. 1 thing to note is that when removing the stuffing from the bird, I noticed the stuffing was sticking to the skin a bit. Nobody minded, in fact, a little turkey skin in the stuffing made it all the better in my opinion.<br /> <br /> The orange inside the chicken was the biggest put-off from my family, they really didn't want the turkey to taste orangey or too sweet, and either did I. I couldn't tell at all. I knew it served a dual purpose in keeping the turkey moist, but I just imagined a bubbling orange overpowering everything. Unnoticeable.<br /> <br /> Which brings me to the gravy. Hands down the best part of this recipe and I'm sure others will agree. The roasted vegetables really made it stand out. I was afraid that cooking a 20 lb bird for 6.5 hours would be too intense and the vegetables would burn. They caramelized and melted into the drippings. This is where I thought the orange made a showing. A very slight hint of orange was what made it all stand out so well. Salt pepper to taste. AMAZING. Again though, didn't taste orangey or sweet, you'd have to know there was a hint of orange to realize why it tastes so damn good.<br /> <br /> All in all, everyone loved it and I highly recommend this recipe.

Roast Turkey recipe - Jamie Oliver

How about just using an oven bag- I heard that works amazingly well.

I made this turkey last year with a few minor changes to simplify. I used Stove Top Stuffing with cranberries to pack under the skin, I untied the legs so they would cook ecevnly with the breast to prevent the breast from drying out and I placed the bird in a cooking bag tied off and resting in a roaster pan. When the turky was done I tore open the bag and let it brown nicely keeping a watchful eye so as not to burn it. I also added a can of 7-up (you can pour the 7-up in a small zip lock bag and puncture with a needle all over the top to help it fit better) along with the orange in the cavity.<br /> This was the BEST turkey I have ever eaten! Everyone agreed. I didn't need fancy dressing or added spices and herbs. But feel free to add whatever you like to personalize the boxed dressing (I used Stove Top's cornbread stuffing mixed with their pork dressing). Don't forget to remove the orange and 7-up can/bag. <br /> I also placed my raw vegetables (I used whole scrubbed but not peeled carrots, halved potatoes and quartered onions) around the turkey. <br /> While I usually cook the turkey breast side down, I didn't this time so as not to risk tearing the stuffing stuffed skin and it came out moister and juicier than it ever did when i cooked it breast side down. I'm sure it was the moistness from the dressing protecting it from drying out and staying moist. This absolutely melted in your mouth! <br /> Then to make it extra special I chopped fresh cranberries, orange peel and walnuts (or pecans) and Stevia natural sweetener (or sugar). Chop up to the consistency of relish so it is chunky and crisp. Squeeze the juice from the orange as well making sure the cranberry 'relish' would hold together if plated with an ice cream scoop. <br /> Gravy is just packaged chicken gravy with cayenne added for a little 'zip'. Spooning frozen peas over the buttered (or substitute sprayed olive oil for the butter) potatoes (baked or roasted) that has been followed with the chicken gravy baked/roasted potatoes with gravy spinkled with cayenne that have been buttered (or sprayed with olive oil) and gravy laddled on followed by topping with the peas makes this a complete meal. Just complete with pumpkin pie with whipped cream.<br /> You really will not miss all the extra herbs and spices! And you will be grateful for the time it saves you.

where is the recipe for the turkey gravy

Hi: I'm having Christmas this year, and Jamie's turkey sounds wonderful. Some of my family are Jewish and don't eat pork. Is there a good substitute I can use for the stuffing? I would so appreciate hearing from you. Many thanks.

One of the biggest problems people have with roasting turkeys is cooking them breast up. This makes for pretty skin on the dry breast meat, and a juicy back. If you roast it breast down in the pan, the skin will not be that pretty on the breast, but the meat will be incredibly juicy and moist, thanks to gravity. An added benefit is that the legs will be higher in the oven, where the heat is higher, so you have a chance of hitting that elusive 185F in the legs and 170F in the breast at the same time.

This is the only way to cook it if you are going to carve the turkey away from the table and just serve a platter of the cut meat.

Brining is also an incredible addition to a turkey like this.

I made "The Best Roast Turkey" for Thanksgiving exactly according to the recipe except I used dried herbs and a bit of celery salt. It was the Best turkey I ever made! It was nice not to have to baste constantly. The skin was crispy, the meat tender, moist, and flavourful and the stuffing was AWESOME! Make this and impress your guests! xoxo