Great British Food - Christmas 2025

Once it is melted, add the onion and sage with a generous pinch of salt, then fry gently together for 3–5 minutes until the onion becomes soft and translucent. Take off the heat and set aside to cool. 2. Add the breadcrumbs to the cooled, cooked onion and give everything a good stir to combine. Crumble in the chestnuts, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Now, add the egg and use a wooden spoon to bring the stuffing together. Leave to cool completely. 3. Use a long, sharp knife to make a hole through the middle of the rolled turkey breast, if your butcher hasn’t already done this for you. I do this by poking the knife in at one end, as far as I can get it, then repeat the same process from the other side and use my hands to prise the hole open a bit wider. Use your hands to stuff the cold chestnut stuffing into the hole, packing it in as tightly as you can: it might seem like there is too much stuffing for the hole, but keep pressing it down in there – try using the handle of a wooden spoon to help get it into the nooks and crannies, if you’re struggling – and you’ll see it all comes together in the end. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Any leftover stuffing you didn’t manage to get in the bird can be baked separately for about 30 minutes alongside the vegetables. The joint will keep like this happily for up to 24 hours in the fridge. 4. Bring the rolled turkey breast to room temperature: take it out of the fridge at least an hour or so before roasting. Heat the oven to 220˚C/200˚C fan/Gas 7. 5. Set the turkey joint in a roasting tray, skin side up, then drizzle the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the skin and sprinkle very generously with salt flakes. 6. Set in the hot oven and roast for 20 minutes to crisp up the skin, then reduce the oven temperature to 180˚C / 160˚C fan / Gas 4 and roast registers at 70-72˚C and the juices run clear, then it’s done; if not, return it to the oven to roast for a little longer. 7. Cover with foil and let rest for at least 20–30 minutes before slicing to serve. for a further 1 hour 45 minutes (or roughly 35 minutes per kilo, depending on the size of the joint). Check the roast after it has cooked at the reduced oven temperature for 90 minutes: if the internal temperature in the thickest part of the breast Turkeytips I strongly recommend using a meat thermometer to confirm if the meat is cooked. You can of course do it by eye and check the juices run clear, but, most especially at Christmas, I enjoy the reassurance that comes from a number telling me that everything is cooked and good to go. That said, make sure to allocate time for the turkey to rest before carving: given its size and mass, it will go on cooking as it does so and it allows time for the juices to permeate the meat with more flavour. RECI PES | SKYE MCALP INE greatbr i t ishfoodawards.com 58