Turkey crown with cider gravy
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- + resting
- Easy
- Serves 8
- 2½ kg turkey crown
- olive oil
- 8 slices streaky bacon
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 lemonhalved
- 1 onioncut into thick slices
- 4 small appleshalved through the centre
- 8 sprigs thyme
- 750ml dry cider
- 750ml turkey or chicken stock
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- kcal552
- fat19g
- carbs7.3g
- fibre0.5g
- protein82.4g
- salt1.3g
Method
step 1
Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. If your turkey is larger or smaller than 2.5kg then, calculate the cooking time of the crown at 20 minutes per kg plus 1 hour. Rub the turkey with olive oil and lay over the strips of bacon, tuck in the bay leaves. Season with pepper. Stick the lemon into the turkey. Put the onion slices into the base of a roasting tin and sit the turkey on top, add the apples to the tin, putting each on top of a sprig of thyme. Cover the whole lot with a tent of foil and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.
step 2
Take off the foil, turn the oven up to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Pour the cider around the turkey and cook for 30 minutes. Check the turkey is cooked by piercing the thickest part of the crown, the juices should run clear. If not, then continue cooking and checking every 10 minutes. Rest the turkey for at least 30 minutes before carving.
step 3
Pour the cider, onions and apples and thyme into a jug. Put the tin on the haet and stir in the flour and cook for a minute, add back the cider etc and add the stock. Bring the whole lot to a boil and then simmer until the flavour concentrates to how you like it. Sieve the gravy into a jug to serve with the turkey.