Christmas Turkey

Mix up the butter and dried herbs in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Lift the skin of the turkey around the cavity and gently ease it off the bird just enough so that you can fit your hand and the mixture between the skin and the meat of the breast. Push half of the mixture into each side and gently massage it around. Any remaining mixture that won’t fit just rub it all over the outside of the bird.

Cut up the lemons, fresh thyme, rosemary stalks, parsley and bayleaves and place in the cavity of the bird – make sure to remove the giblets if there are any especially if they are in a plastic bag inside the bird.

Add the half bottle of wine and 200ml of water to the base of the turkey pan before putting it in the oven. It will keep it nice and moist and add a lovely flavour to both the meat and the gravy afterwards.

Cover the turkey with foil until about 45 minutes from the end of cooking so that the skin will crisp up nicely.

Click for Goodall's approximate cooking times for turkeys.