How to cook Turkey for christmas dinner

 I like turkey for dinner, but I never cooked it before. What can I do?

Well, you're in luck! This article will teach you how to cook a turkey for Christmas dinner so that everyone likes it!

Before you start cooking your turkey...

First of all, are you ready to spend the next three hours cooking the turkey? Think about this very carefully because there is no way back once it's done. You can't eat something else instead because only one turkey has been prepared! Maybe bring some snacks with you in case you get hungry while waiting…

Cooking guide A-Z

1) Decide what size of Turkey to buy. 

 For every guest that is coming over for dinner, buy 100 grams of turkey meat plus 5 extra grams. If there are 10 people coming over to eat, for example, buy 500 grams of turkey meat. But if you have some greedy guests coming over, like my Aunt Sally who eats the whole turkey on her own without saving any for anyone else (seriously!), then buy an extra kilo just in case!

2)  Cooking the vegetables.

Now that your turkey is chosen and ready to be cooked, let's start cooking it together with some delicious vegetables! Remember that every guest needs one carrot and two pieces of broccoli or they won't be happy at dinner time. Here is how to cook them:

-   Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.      Quarter carrots lengthways before placing them on baking tray.    Add salt and stir to taste.    Cook for 40 minutes until tender.

-   Preheat oven to 175 degrees celsius.      Remove florets from broccoli and place on baking tray (and don't forget the grease proof paper!).    Add salt and pepper to taste.    Cook for 20 minutes or until tender.

3) Cooking the turkey.

Now comes the fun part: cooking the turkey! First, you must thaw your turkey if it hasn't already been thawed out by your friendly neighborhood butcher (the one who also sells you carrots and broccoli). This should only take a few hours but just in case it's taking longer, you can put it in cold water, then hot water and then back in cold water again other wise known as "hot pot warm pot" method.

Once the turkey has been thawed, you must place it into a big oven tray and remove all innards from inside the bird using a sharp knife or similar object. Then, spray it with oil because you don't want your turkey to burn from being dry. Next put the turkey in your oven at 200 degrees celsius for 10 minutes, then take it out and baste with its own juices before putting it back in for another 10 minutes. Finally, let your turkey cook for a further hour until golden brown but make sure you keep checking on it every now and then so that it doesn't burn!

4) How to serve dinner afterwards.

After you take your turkey out of the oven, put it on a plate and let it rest for 10 minutes (otherwise you'll burn your hands when trying to carve it!) And please make sure you bring all your guests some gravy to go with their meal!

And there you have it! How easy was that? I hope this article helped you. Have fun cooking your turkey for Christmas dinner!