Waitrose chef shares ‘perfect’ Christmas turkey recipe that doesn’t need an oven

11/23/2020

It's almost Christmas and we all can't wait for the festivities to begin.

Although the period will be slightly different this year, it doesn't mean we can't look forward to December right?

Whether it's opening presents or spending time with your family and friends, there's nothing like a Christmas lunch without turkey.

Of course if you're someone who doesn't go down the traditional route that's still okay on December 25.

But if you do plan to treat the family to a big lunch, there's a certain method you should bear in mind when it comes to the bird.

Martyn Lee, an executive chef for Waitrose, prefers to go down the more classic route of a turkey dinner.

Instead of cooking the bird in the oven for long periods of time, Martyn prefers to take his outside and stick it on the barbecue.

He told Femail : "I cook my turkey on the barbecue every Christmas.

"It never fails to impress and I predict many will join me in doing the same this year.

"It's really easy, quicker than if you were to cook it in the oven and gives a beautifully succulent taste with a crispy skin."

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He added: "And it's not just the turkey, you can cook the full Christmas feast on the barbecue – trimmings, desserts and all."

Martyn also shared his tips for cooking a turkey on the grill.

The culinary mastermind said: "You need to fully immerse the turkey in the brine – with 80g of salt per litre of water.

"And then leave it for around 24 hours to properly marinate."

Martyn claims you need to desalinate the turkey for an hour in fresh water before you take it over to the barbecue.

And to really get the best meat out of the turkey, the chef separates it before cooking.

The thigh and leg meat requires longer, slower cooking than the white breast meat.

He adds that cooking turkey on a grill is different than cooking burgers or hot dogs as it requires a different kind of heat.