Wild Thyme – Turkey Crown & Pigs in Blankets

Ingredients:

• 1 x Andreas Meats turkey crown
• 100g Manx butter
• 1 x Andreas Meats streaky bacon rashers
• Handful fresh rosemary
• 1 x garlic bulb
• 1 x Andreas Meats chipolatas
• 2-3 x satsumas, halved
• 1 x stick celery
• 1 x onion, quartered 
• Splash red wine
• Splash vinegar (cider, malt or wine are best)

For the gravy:

• Few tbsp cornflour
• Worcester sauce

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/Gas 5.

2. Place turkey in a large baking tray.

3. Splash vinegar on the turkey (it helps to bring out the flavour), and sprinkle generously with salt & pepper.

4. Rub the turkey crown all over with butter, stuffing some carefully under the skin. Lay the bacon rashers on top in a lattice, and poke the rosemary in between. Lay any spare rosemary around the turkey.

5. Cut the garlic bulb in half and put into the roasting tray around the turkey along with the onions and stick of celery. Add around 1/2 cup water and a generous splash of red wine to the base of the baking tray.

6. Cover the turkey with a loose foil tent and roast for:

• Under 4kg: 20 mins per kg plus 70 mins 
• Over 4kg: 20 mins per kg plus 90 mins 

Checking every now and then that the turkey hasn’t dried out. If it has, add another good splash of water. 

7. Meanwhile, carefully wrap chipolatas with leftover streaky bacon (one bacon rasher per chipolata), and lay on a baking tray lined with parchment

8. With 20 mins left, remove the foil from the turkey, add the satsuma halves to the tin and continue to roast. Place chipolatas in the oven for around 30 mins, until deliciously golden and crispy.

9. To make sure the turkey is cooked, pierce the fattest part and the juices should run clear

10. When cooked remove turkey from the oven. Carefully lift the turkey out of the baking tray and onto a carving board along with the satsumas.

11. To make the gravy, squish the garlic in the pan, and pour the liquid with the onions, celery, garlic, rosemary etc into a saucepan. Heat gently. Add a good dash of Worcester sauce and a good pinch of salt & pepper. Have a taste, and of needed add a splash more wine or water. 

12. When tasting delicious sieve the gravy into a measuring jug (or something similar). Discard the bits left in the sieve. Spoon as much fat off the top as you can manage (a baster can be an easier way to get the fat off the top) and discard it. Pour gravy back into the saucepan, reserving some liquid in the measuring jug. 

13. Add a few tbsp cornflour to the liquid in the measuring jug and give it a good mix. Pour back into the saucepan and heat to bubbling, then turn down to a simmer. If the gravy isn’t thick enough repeat with the cornflour. 

14. Remove chipolatas from the oven.

15. Serve turkey on a platter with the satsuma halves & chipolatas. For a proper Christmas feast add roasties, homemade Yorkshire puds and some local roasted veg.