How long to cook 6.4 kg turkey

Before cooking, make sure there aren't any ice crystals in the birds cavity. Cook within 24hr. Remember never to refreeze defrosted meat. We would recommend not stuffing the cavity as this will prevent hot air circulating and you mind end up with uncooked meat. Instead, if you want a stuffed bird, loosely stuff under the skin at the neck end only, using enough stuffing, so as not to break the skin of the neck cavity.

Secure the neck skin with skewers or cocktail sticks. Weigh your stuffed turkey before cooking to calculate timings. Coat it with butter, season and loosely cover in foil. See our chart below to work out timings or follow the instructions for your chosen recipe. Aim for it to be ready at least half an hour before you plan to eat, so it can rest.

During resting, residual heat should remedy any pinkness. For golden skin, remove the foil about 1hr before the end of cooking time, basting regularly. Pull back the neck skin until the wishbone is located. Using a small, sharp knife, cut through the flesh under the contour of the bone on both sides just deep enough to free it.

Ease it out, cutting it free at the tips. For accurate timing, always weigh your turkey after it has been stuffed. The latest advice from the British Turkey information service is that, if the turkey is over 4kg, calculate 20 mins per 1kg, plus 90 mins.

If the bird is under 4kg, calculate 20 mins per 1kg, plus 70 mins. If not, put it back in the oven for another 20 mins, then test again. Turkey is available all year round, but whole birds are at their best in December.

Of those five sources, the last four are perhaps more likely to be able to tell you the most about the turkey, such as where it came from and how it was reared. Traceability like that will give you assurance that the turkey has been humanely treated while alive; the higher the standard of welfare by which a turkey was reared, the better the quality of the meat.

Read more about turkey farming at Red Tractor. As they are allowed to mature slowly, their flesh is firm and flavourful; however, because they have had lots of exercise during their lives, they may be less plump than indoor-reared birds. Free-range turkeys should have had some access to the open air and are usually cheaper than organic.

They are rarely labelled as such, but the low price is a giveaway. Although such turkeys are more affordable, the conditions they endure are extremely grim, as they are packed in at high densities, with little room to move around and no access to sunlight — all of which produces a noticeably inferior meat. Reared slowly in free-range conditions, they all have densely textured meat that is more flavourful and succulent than indoor-reared types.

Whole birds should be roasted. Other portions are also available either skin-on or skinless, bone-in or boneless , including breast joints roast , crown joints the bird without its legs and wings, also good for roasting , breast steaks, escalopes very thin steaks of turkey breast, good for pan-frying and drumsticks roast or braise. Whichever breed or cut you go for, choose a turkey that is plump and well-rounded, with clear, soft and evenly coloured skin. Avoid those that have been unevenly plucked.

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