Stuffed turkey crown & crispy legs

GET AHEAD

1. You can do all this prep on Christmas Eve, ready for the big day. Check the main cavity of the turkey crown for the bag of giblets, and if they’re in there, remove them and tip into a large roasting tray. The flavour they will add to your gravy will be incredible – trust me.
2. Peel and quarter the onions, halve the carrots down the middle (there’s no need to peel them) and roughly chop the celery, adding everything to the tray as you go. Halve and add the clementine, then throw in most of the woody herbs along with the bay leaves and wishbone (if you’ve got it).
3. Fill the neck cavity with the stuffing (don’t stuff it in too tightly), then pull the skin back over, and tuck it under the bird.
4. Scrunch and warm the butter in your hands so it’s soft enough, then spread all over the bird, getting into all the nooks and crannies. The butter layer serves two purposes – natural basting, plus keeping the seasoning away from the meat until it hits the oven, so the bird stays nice and juicy. The butter will melt off as it cooks, adding to the flavour of the gravy, and you’ll also be able to skim off that tasty fat and save it in a jar in the fridge for delicious cooking another day.
5. Drape the rashers of bacon over the smallest end of your bird, stretching them to cover. Pick over the remaining herb leaves and pat them onto the butter, then place the turkey on top of the vegetable trivet. Cover the tray with tin foil and store in the fridge overnight.
6. For the turkey legs, preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
7. Place the turkey legs in a large roasting tray and dust with the 5-spice. Add the unpeeled onions and garlic cloves to the tray, bash and add the ginger, then halve and add the clementines, along with the cinnamon, star anise and bay leaves. Season the legs with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and drizzle everything with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, rubbing it into the meat. Roast for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender and pulls easily away from the bone, and the skin is crispy.
8. Remove the tray from the oven, pick out and discard the aromatics, then transfer the turkey legs to a board. Use forks to shred the meat from the bones, discarding any bones or wobbly bits, and pull off the skin, tearing it up into bite-sized pieces. Squeeze the onions, garlic and clementines out of their skins into the tray, mashing the garlic with a fork, then add a swig of vinegar to clean the bottom of the tray.
9. Toss the turkey meat back through the tasty tray juices and onions, then scatter over the crispy skin (I like to pick over a few woody herbs rubbed with oil). Depending on your fridge space, you can transfer it all to a smaller ovenproof dish at this point, or keep it in the tray, ready to reheat on Christmas Day. Leave to cool, cover and store in the fridge overnight.

ON THE DAY

1. Take the turkey crown out of the fridge 2 hours before it's due to go in the oven.
2. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 and season the crown with sea salt and black pepper.
3. If you have a 3kg crown like I have here, roast it for 2 hours, or until golden, basting several times with the lovely juices in the tray and removing the bacon to the tray halfway through.
4. To check the meat is cooked, the simplest way is to stick a knife into the breast – if the juices run clear, it’s done. If you’re worried, you could also use a meat thermometer. You need to reach an internal temperature of 65ºC for 10 minutes for a top-quality bird, or 70ºC for a supermarket higher-welfare or standard bird.
5. Use heavy-duty tongs to lift up your bird so all the juices run from the cavity into the tray, then transfer the turkey to a platter. Baste with the juices once more, cover with a double layer of tin foil and a clean tea towel, then leave to rest for up to 2 hours while you crack on with everything else. To see how to finish off your gravy, check out my gravy recipe.
6. During this time, reheat the shredded leg meat in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the meat is hot through and the skin is crispy.

CARVE

1. To carve the crown, cut along the backbone with the length of your knife all the way down it until you hit the carcass. You can then lift the whole breast off the bone. Remove to a board and slice.