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Roast turkey crown with herb butter
Serves: 8 with leftovers
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Roast turkey crown with herb butter
With its bacon lattice topping, this juicy roast turkey crown makes an impressive Christmas dinner centrepiece
Serves: 8 with leftovers
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time:
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
767Kcal
Fat
47gr
Saturates
18gr
Carbs
25gr
Sugars
11gr
Fibre
5gr
Protein
54gr
Salt
2.3gr
Lucas Hollweg
Lucas Hollweg is a self-taught cook and food writer respected for his laid-back, homely food. He was named Evelyn Rose 2012 Cookery Journalist of The Year and is author of Good Things To Eat.
Lucas Hollweg
Lucas Hollweg is a self-taught cook and food writer respected for his laid-back, homely food. He was named Evelyn Rose 2012 Cookery Journalist of The Year and is author of Good Things To Eat.
Ingredients
- 125g salted butter, softened
- 1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
- 1 tbsp chopped thyme
- 1 tbsp chopped sage
- ½ x 28g pack flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 lemon
- 1 x 2kg (approximately) free-range bronze turkey crown
- 14 rashers unsmoked streaky bacon
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 2 sticks celery, cut into thirds
- 1 carrot, quartered lengthways
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 150ml dry white wine
Step by step
Get ahead
Prepare to the end of step 4 the day before.
- Put the butter in a bowl with the chopped herbs and garlic. Finely grate in the lemon zest; season and mix until well combined.
- Starting from the narrow end of the turkey crown, work your fingers under the skin of the breast to open up a pocket on each side of the breast bone, being careful not to tear the skin. Divide the flavoured butter between the 2 pockets, spreading it out so it forms an even layer under the skin.
-
Use 400g stuffing to fill the neck cavity of the crown, pulling the skin over the stuffing to hold it in place. Secure under the crown with a skewer or toothpicks; season all over. Shape the rest of the stuffing into balls.TipIf your turkey crown is a different weight, cook for 25 mins initially at the higher temperature, plus 15 mins per 500g (don't forget to add the weight of the stuffing).
- Run the flat side of a kitchen knife over each rasher of bacon so it spreads and thins a little. Lay the rashers across the breast to create a lattice, so they cover the whole crown. Put the onion, celery and carrot in the middle of a large roasting tin; put the crown on top. Cut the zested lemon into quarters and put around the turkey, with the bay leaves.
- Leave the turkey joint to come to room temperature for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7. Pour the white wine into the roasting tin, around the outside.
- Roast for 25 minutes then push the bacon from the crown into the tin; baste the crown with the pan juices, then arrange the stuffing balls around it. Reduce the temperature to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4, and cook for 45 minutes, basting once or twice. Remove the bacon and stuffing balls after and keep warm. Continue to cook the turkey for another 30 minutes or until the juices in the thickest part of the breast run clear when you poke a skewer into the centre. If you have a digital temperature probe, the temperature in the thickest part of the breast should register 70°C.
- Remove the turkey crown (keep the tin for the gravy see linked recipe) and put on a plate. Cover loosely with a double layer of foil and a clean tea towel; leave to rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. It will stay warm for about 1½ hours if needed.
- Carve and serve with prune and walnut stuffing and bacon.