The Perfect Christmas Turkey

Coming from a very large extended family our Christmas lunch can cater for up to 60 people. So cooking turkey for that many people requires a military exercise. We thought we would share our top tips to ensure that it is you that gets toasted (congratulatory that is) at the Christmas dinner and not your turkey.

Ingredients and Method

Pour yourself a glass of your favourite Swinging Bridge wine.
Always use the hooded BBQ (it would be un-Australian not to). Pre-heat to 180 degrees and allow 35-40 mins cooking time per kilo.
Disposable foil trays are a must. Trust me - your good baking dish may never recover.
Always use a turkey trivet in your roasting pan.
Keep a good couple of centimetres of water in the bottom of your tray at all times (moisture is your friend).
Foil, foil, foil. Cover the turkey completely in foil until the last 30 mins. Tuck the foil around the edges of your pan to make a steaming tent to keep your bird moist. Make sure you individually wrap the drumsticks and wings so that they don't burn.
Put an orange in the microwave for 30 seconds. Once hot take it out and put it in the turkey cavity. This helps keep it moist and cook evenly inside and out.
Baste regularly with orange juice.
Take the foil off for the last 45 mins for browning.
To make sure your turkey is cooked use a meat thermometer and ensure internal temperature of the turkey reaches 82ºC. Another good indicator is that the juices run clear when pierced with a knife or skewer.
Cook your stuffing separately.
Let you turkey rest while you have another glass of your favourite Swinging Bridge wine.
When carving your turkey - slice the thigh parallel to the bone and the breast sliced downwards from the breastbone.