roast kelley bronze turkey
rating:If you're thinking of buying a free-range Kelly Bronze turkey , then you should know they require a shorter cooking time than the usual 20 minutes per pound. There are three reasons for this. First, it has become fashionable to cook the stuffing separately from the bird or in the neck cavity only, as suggested below. This allows hot air to circulate in the main cavity, which reduces the cooking time and consequently produces more succulent meat. Second, as Paul Kelly suggests, the 'old' formula probably reflected the then common practice of buying the Christmas turkey frozen. Finally, the KellyBronze is mature when it is sold, and consequently has a better marbling of fat than the average turkey. Fat heats more quickly than protein, so the bird cooks more quickly.
roasting times at oven-ready weight at 180C/gas 4
4kg 2 hours
5kg 2 hours 15 minutes
6Kg 2 hours 30 minutes
7kg 2 hours 45 minutes
8Kg 2 hours 55 minutes
9kg 3 hours 10 minutes
10kg 3 hours 25 minutes
11kg 3 hours 40 minutes
remove the bird from the fridge and wash it, then let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours before cooking. Before you put the turkey in the oven, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and insert a large peeled onion in the body cavity for extra flavour. Place the bird in a roasting tin with its breast down. This will allow the fat deposits in its back to percolate the breast meat during cooking.
roast the turkey at 180C for the time indicated in the table. We recommend that you refrain from covering the bird with tin foil, as this tends to steam the meat rather than roast it. You will also get crispier skin in the absence of a foil barrier.
thirty minutes before the end of its cooking time, turn the turkey over (beware of hot fat) to brown the breast. The bird is cooked when the juices run clear when you pierce the inside of the thigh with a skewer. If they run pink, return the turkey to the oven and repeat the skewer test every 15 minutes until the desired result is achieved.
leave the bird to rest for 30 minutes before carving.
