Love it or hate it, turkey is the go to main event for most of our Christmas dinners on the big day. While it might be known as being a rather bland and boring meat, you can really make a difference to how your turkey will turn out by following a good Christmas turkey recipe.
Whether you're taking on the hosting responsibilities for the first time this year or if you're looking for a new recipes or how to cook a Christmas turkey with cooking times and recipes, then you've come to the right place. We've put together some of the best Christmas turkey recipes
The best Christmas turkey recipes
Turkey is notoriously tricky to cook, so don't worry if last year didn't exactly go to plan, this year will be one to remember.
Roast turkey with pork, sage and onion stuffing
Total cooking time: 3-4 hours | Serves 10–12
Turkey and a traditional stuffing go hand in hand together, and there's nothing that works better than sage and onion if you're going for traditional flavours. This recipe by the brilliant Delia Smith has some very strict cooking instructions, so you'll want to make sure your timing is on point.
Clementine, thyme and honey-glazed turkey recipe
Total cooking time: 2 hours 30 mins plus defrost time | Serves 6
Clementine is another flavour synonymous with the season. This recipe from Tesco Real Food uses a small turkey crown, making it ideal for smaller parties. The crown is also the notoriously most moist part of the turkey, and as well as the clementine, it's full of other rich flavours including thyme and honey.
Roast turkey with chestnut-apple stuffing
Total cooking time: 5 hours 30 mins | Serves 10–12
Turkey tastes beautiful when paired with more nutty flavours and is completed by the zing of the fruity tastes of the seasonal apples. This turkey recipe from foodandwine.com takes a long time to cook, but you'll have enough to feed the whole family and may even have some leftover turkey after dinner for your recipes.
Pancetta and roasted shallot-stuffed turkey
Total cooking time: 4 hours | Serves 8
Did you know that stuffing sliced pancetta under the skin helps the white meat of the turkey stay nice and moist when cooking. This recipe from BBC Good Food also uses shallots and thyme for added flavour and should only take 30 minutes to prepare for the oven cooking.
Maple butter glazed turkey
Cooking time: Around 2 hours 30 mins depending on your turkey size | Serves 8–10
Many of the home cooks who tried this said their guests thought it was the best turkey they've ever tried. This recipe from Bon Appétitputs a lot of emphasis on the prep, so be sure to put plenty of love and care into this part. The glaze is full of bold flavours including soy sauce, maple syrup and Worcestershire sauce.
Orange-ginger glazed turkey
Total cooking time: 3 hours 15 mins | Serves 15
If you want your turkey full of different strong flavours this year then why not try this orange-ginger glazed turkey? You might be surprised to learn this recipe from The Roasted Root uses orange juice as well as ground ginger and honey for the spiced Christmas flavours.
Herb, lemon and garlic turkey
Total cooking time: 11 hours 30 mins | Serves 16
If you're looking for something a little lighter in flavour, then this herby lemon and garlic turkey might be best. All the focus is on the herbs with this one, making it a great recipe if you have your own herb garden, as you'll need fresh sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley and chives.
Why do we eat turkey at Christmas?
When looking into the history of the turkey, you can learn why the turkey is so popular on Christmas day. Once upon a time, we would tuck into a goose on Christmas day until Henry VIII made the decision to eat turkey. At first, it was a bird that was enjoyed mostly by royalty and the wealthiest in society, and it took around 400 years for it to become a staple on everyone's dinner table.