Grand Bird, The Turkey with a difference

In our family we only eat Roast Turkey at Christmas. It is our family tradtion.

My way of roasting the turkey is a little different to the tradtional Irish way. I have found that most of the time the turkey meat was too dry. I had to find a way to change that.
I do not stuff my bird with the tradtional stuffing. If you roast the turkey until the stuffing is cooked, the breast will be dry and overcooked. If you do like stuffing, bake it seperately.
I line the the inside of the turkey with  majoram  and fill it with oranges.  But before I put the turkey in the oven, I layer the whole bird with streaky bacon, that does not only add moisture and fat, but also enhances the taste of the turkey gravy.
I do have problems finding dried Majoram in the shops here, so I grow my own. If you cannot get Majoram you can also substitute it with Oregano and or Thyme

Ingredients

1 free range turkey (weight depends on your size of family)
salt and pepper
1/2 dried Majoram
3 to 4 oranges
1 large pack of streaky bacon
water

The finished result

Method

Remove the giblets. ( use the liver to make Pâté, if you like,  and the rest to make stock for the gravy, if you wish)

Season the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper and Majoram or Oregano and/or Thyme

Cut the oranges into halves or quarters and fill the turkey with it. Depending of the size of the turkey you might need one more or less. Fill the front of the turkey, where the neck is, with half an orange.

Cover the whole turkey with the slices of streaky bacon.

Put the turkey into the roasting tin with the breast up.

Pour approx 1/2 l water into the roasting tin.

Start roasting at 175C for approx 11/2 hr. Once the bacon if browned take them off and with the help of somebody turn the turkey upside down, aka breast down.

After another hour turn the turkey around again and finish roasting. Use the water, which you replenish every so often, to baste the turkey, regularly

Cover the legs with tin foil to stop them from drying out too much.

The usual time for roasting are 20 minutes per pound at a medium temperature. I prefer to up the heat a bit and shorten the roasting time. 

You can use a meat thermometer to check if the bird is cooked.

In the end you know your oven and can adjust the time to suit your needs.

When the turkey is cooked. Set aside, cover with tin foil to keep warm.

For the gravy

Scrape all the bits from the roasting tin with the water. Pour through a sieve. Thicken the gravy with flour, make a paste from flour and water. (1 Tablespoon flour to 4-5 Tablespoons of water)

Pour the flour mixture into the gravy and cook for 2 min. Adjust the seasoning.

The end result should be a succulent roast turkey. Enjoy!