Top Tips For The Perfect Christmas Dinner...

With so much to do, Christmas day can be a stressful occasion. To make cooking Christmas dinner as easy as possible, Bernard Matthews Farms has a delicious range of 100% British turkey options that are ready to pop in the oven with minimal fuss.

To help you prepare and cook the crowning glory of the festive dinner table this year, Bernard Matthews have teamed up with master chef, Marco Pierre White to share with you some of his top tips for cooking and carving this majestic bird on the big day.

Turkey should never be dry or tasteless. By breaking turkey down into individual joints you can retain more moisture in the meat

To make the bird extra succulent try adding a little ghee (an Indian clarified butter available in Indian supermarkets)

Keep cooking with turkey simple - breast cooked on the crown, thighs on the bone – you can keep it moist by taking care of it

When cooking the bird in sections, try stuffing the thighs. I use a sage and onion stuffing - half dried and prepared mix and half sausage meat along with fresh sage onion and parsley

I don't tend to cover the turkey in foil. Keep it simple, place the glazed turkey on the medium shelf of the oven to get it just right

Buy a meat probe to make sure your turkey is cooked properly. The turkey will be ready when the thighs are 72⁰C and the breast is 66⁰C

Let the turkey rest for 15-20 minutes before carving. To make sure it's just the right temperature to carve, hold your hand to the bird, if it's warm without burning it's ready

Make sure you always use the juices of the turkey for gravy

Tips from the kitchen of Bernard Matthews Farms

If you want to cook your turkey whole try placing a peeled onion inside of the body once it is defrosted and you have removed the giblets

You can also try adding whole garlic cloves and handfuls of herbs inside the body as this gives a lovely infusion of flavours and smells during cooking

Before cooking, if it is not pre-basted, spread the turkey skin generously with seasoned butter and then lay rashers of streaky bacon, particularly on the breast area to keep it moist

We recommend cooking your stuffing separately, but if you want to cook it inside the turkey, push the stuffing into the cavity at the neck end of the turkey then tuck the neck flap under the turkey and secure with cocktail sticks

When stuffing your turkey, increase the cooking times by 10 minutes for every 500g of stuffing used

For more useful hints, clever tips, turkey information and all the culinary help you require when cooking with turkey visit : Lean On Turkey

Guest Post Credits - Bernard Matthews Farms