Mary Berry Christmas Roast Turkey

Mary Berry’s Christmas roast turkey is a 5kg bird roasted under a loose foil tent with butter and streaky bacon, stuffed at the neck with chestnut stuffing. It serves 12, and roasts for about 3 hours 20 minutes, plus 30 minutes resting.

The recipe comes from Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook (2024), where she calls it Christmas Roast Turkey. Her advice starts before Christmas Eve: “be sure to order a fresh turkey well in advance from your butcher.” She works out the cooking time from the weight of the bird, at 20 minutes per 500g.

The foil is what keeps the breast moist. Berry folds two sheets loosely over the bird, “leaving a large air gap between the foil and the turkey.” The turkey roasts in trapped steam at 160°C, then the foil comes off for the last 30 minutes so the skin browns.

Mary Berry Christmas Roast Turkey

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Dinner, Lunch, MainCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

40

minutes

Cooking time

3

hours 

20

minutes

Calories

675

kcal

Total time

4

hours 

30

minutes

This is a full Christmas centrepiece from Berry’s Complete Cookbook (2024), with chestnut stuffing and pan gravy made in the roasting tin. The bird does most of the work while it roasts, so it frees up time for the trimmings.

Ingredients

• For the turkey:

• pared zest of 1 lemon

• a few parsley stalks

• a few thyme sprigs

• 2 celery stalks, roughly sliced

• 5kg (10lb) oven-ready turkey, with giblets

• 75g (3oz) butter, softened

• salt and black pepper

• 250g (8oz) streaky bacon rashers (optional)

• For the chestnut stuffing:

• 30g (1oz) butter

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 90g (3oz) streaky bacon, finely chopped

• 375g (12oz) frozen chestnuts, thawed, or 175g (6oz) dried chestnuts, soaked, finely chopped

• 175g (6oz) pork sausagemeat

• 3 tbsp chopped parsley

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

• salt and black pepper

• 1 small egg, beaten

• For the gravy:

• 30g (1oz) plain flour

• 600ml (1 pint) giblet stock or chicken stock

• about 2 tbsp port, Madeira or sherry

• redcurrant jelly, to taste (optional)

• To serve: bread sauce, cranberry sauce, bacon rolls and chipolatas

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Directions

• Make the stuffing: Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the onion and bacon, and cook until the onion is soft and both are golden. Transfer to a large bowl, mix in the remaining stuffing ingredients, and leave until cold.
• Fill the bird: Put the lemon zest, parsley stalks, thyme and celery into the cavity. Fill the neck end with stuffing. Put the leftover stuffing into an ovenproof dish and set aside.
• Shape: Shape the stuffed end into a neat round and secure the loose skin with fine skewers. Tie the legs with string to give a neat shape.
• Weigh and butter: Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time at 20 minutes per 500g (1lb). Arrange two large sheets of foil across a large roasting tin, place the turkey on top and spread the butter over the bird, concentrating on the breast.
• Season: Season with a little salt and plenty of pepper. If you’re using the bacon, overlap the rashers across the turkey, again concentrating on the breast.
• Start hot: Fold the foil loosely over the turkey, leaving a large air gap between the foil and the bird. Cook in a preheated oven at 220°C (200°C fan/Gas 7) for 30 minutes.
• Roast low: Reduce the oven to 160°C (140°C fan/Gas 3) and cook for the rest of the calculated time.
• Brown and check: Thirty minutes before the end, fold back the foil and remove the bacon, if using, so the breast browns, then baste with the juices. To check it’s cooked, pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a fine skewer: the juices should run clear, not pink or red.
• Rest: Lift the turkey on to a warmed platter, cover with fresh foil and leave to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes before carving.
• Stuffing and gravy: Meanwhile, cook the dish of stuffing for 25 to 30 minutes. Spoon all but 2 tbsp of fat from the tin, leaving the juices. Set the tin over a low heat, add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the stock and port, Madeira or sherry to taste, and cook, stirring, until thickened. Season, adding redcurrant jelly if the gravy tastes too sharp.
• Serve: Carve the turkey and serve with the extra stuffing, gravy, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, bacon rolls and chipolatas.

Notes

• Resting time: 30 minutes

FAQs

Should I buy a fresh or frozen turkey?

Berry prefers fresh, ordered early from your butcher, which you can collect on Christmas Eve or keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. If you buy frozen, she says it must be “thoroughly thawed before cooking.” Check the thawing chart that comes with your bird, because a partly frozen centre throws every timing in this recipe off.

How do I know the turkey is cooked without guessing?

Berry’s skewer test in step 8 works, but in her Christmas Collection (2013) she prefers a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. She cooks to 75 to 80°C, “rather than the 90°C suggested on the thermometer gauge.” The lower figure keeps the breast from drying out while the legs finish.

Why does the stuffing go in the neck and not the cavity?

Because a meat stuffing in the cavity isn’t safe. In her Christmas Collection tip, she says to “put in only flavouring vegetables and herbs,” which is exactly what the lemon, celery and herbs in step 2 are doing. The neck end cooks through properly, and the extra stuffing bakes separately in its own dish.

What’s different about her Christmas Collection turkey?

That 6.3kg version spreads butter under the breast skin, with lemon slices and thyme slipped in underneath. It starts at 220°C for 40 minutes, drops to 160°C for 3½ hours, and then gets a final 30 minutes back at 220°C to crisp the skin. It’s more hands-on than the 2024 recipe, though both share the same foil tent and 30-minute rest.

How much can I prepare ahead?

In her Christmas Collection, Berry prepares the turkey up to the end of the foil and tin stage up to 12 hours before roasting, covered and chilled. She also says stuffings “can of course be made up to a month in advance and frozen.” That leaves Christmas morning for the oven and the gravy.

What else should I serve with it?

Berry’s list in step 11 is the traditional spread, and her Complete Cookbook gives a bread sauce made with clove-studded onion and infused milk. Crisp potatoes are the one thing she doesn’t list, and I’d never leave them out: her roast potatoes can go in the oven while the turkey rests. Finish with a slice of her Christmas cake later in the day.