How to roast and carve a turkey cooked in an Aga
How do I cook a roast turkey in an Aga this Christmas?
So many Aga’s, so many ways to cook your roasts in an Aga. But which recipe is best for you? We are focussing on two recipes which give the best information for your turkeys this Christmas. Scroll to ‘‘Mary Berry’ or ‘Blake & Bull’ below for the recipes.
A lot depends on what oven you are cooking in, what you are actually planning on roasting such as beef, pork, leg of lamb, a Christmas turkey, nut roast and of course what your own skill levels are. For a beginners guide to Aga cooking click on the link for more information.
So although you probably want an easy answer there are a number of variables so we have complied a couple of recipes and tips so hopefully you will find a way to cook your turkey that suits your circumstances!
Chefs tip - no matter what roast meat you are cooking take it out of the fridge for at least 15 minutes to bring to room temperature just before starting to cook it
Christmas roast aga cooking times
Everyone loves a Christmas roast straight from the Aga, perhaps with the exception of those actually cooking it! And if you are new to using an Aga then it can be a bit daunting. But don’t worry, you will be fine! So here are a few recipes and some top tips so you can cook that perfect Christmas roast and of course those super important accompaniments.
Chefs tip - Food safety is super important with slow methods of cooking to help retain those lovely juices. So it is recommended that you start off the roast in the hot roasting oven in order to raise the internal temperature to at least 80°C (180°F) within four hours at the start of the cooking process. We have a couple of thermometers for you to use to check on the internal temperatures of your roast.
A small selection of the pots and pans including a Blake & Bull roasting tray for a Christmas roast at Swale View - note the shallow rail fitted baking tray for roast potatoes. We have a huge number of pots, pans, crockery and cutlery to make sure Christmas is fully catered for! Just add food!
Have a look at the great Christmas, and other, recipes page on the Blake & Bull website here. New recipes include Sausage and Chestnut Stuffing, Yorkshire Puddings, Roasted Sprouts With Bacon And Chestnuts, Mincemeat Palmiers and Roast Beef. All benefit from a full recipe and a run through on video.
recipes - aga Christmas roasts
As we said before, take you pick from he following options and find the one that best suits your needs. Above all relax, its a roast and they are pretty forgiving. As long as you get the clear juices to show its is properly cooked you will be fine. Just cover everything in gravy if its a wee bit dry!
Below are a few items from Amazon you may find useful this Christmas.
defrosting your christmas turkey
Many people will have bought a frozen turkey as there were shortages of turkeys forecast. So do ensure that you have properly defrosted your turkey well in advance of cooking it.
Top advice from the NHS here but basic points are:
Thaw your turkey in a fridge at 4C (39F) for 10 to 12 hours per kilogram
It can take a couple of days, so you need to prepare and you need the space in your fridge!
Place the turkey on the bottom shelf in a pan to catch liquid
Remove giblets as soon as possible
Check there are no ice crystals before you cook
Do not have anything below the turkey in the fridge
Always wash your hands after handing the bird in any way
Right, onto the recipes!
Mary Berry - queen of all things Aga
We have used this recipe from her website so full credit to her for such a comprehensive coverage of how to cook a Christmas Roast.
TRADITIONAL ROAST TURKEY
INTRODUCTION
I use a meat thermometer when cooking this as it helps to judge when the turkey is done. Cook it to an internal temperature of 75C-80C rather than the 90C suggested on the thermometer gauge, though. When working out when to put the turkey in the oven, allow at least 30 minutes’ resting time. If you have chosen to cook a turkey of a different size to below, see Turkey timings below (there is no need to include the weight of the stuffing).
Note: For Aga oven use follow steps 1 to 3 below and then choose whether to use fast or slow cook options for your Aga
INSTRUCTIONS
SERVES 12-15 PORTIONS
Preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7.
Loosen the skin over the breast of the turkey by slipping your fingers between the breast and the skin at the neck end, leaving the skin attached at the cavity end. Holding the skin up, spread softened butter over the top of the breast under the skin. Slip the lemon slices and thyme sprigs in under the skin. The latter is a nice addition but if time is short you can leave it out.
Stuff the neck end of the turkey up to the breast with the stuffing. Secure the loose skin with fine skewers, or just tuck the skin underneath. Fill the body cavity with any lemon trimmings, the herbs and the onion. Tie the legs with string to give a neat shape. Lightly butter the skin of the bird.
Arrange two sheets of foil across a large roasting tin: they must be large enough to go generously up and over the turkey breast. Place the turkey on top and, if using a meat thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the thigh. (When cooked it will register 75C-80C). Fold the sheets of foil loosely over the turkey, leaving a large air gap between the turkey and the foil.
Cook the turkey in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3.Continue to roast for 3½ hours, basting from time to time. Increase the oven temperature to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 again.
Take the turkey out of the oven, turn back the foil and drain off any surplus juices from the tin into a jug or bowl. Baste the bird, and return it to the hot oven for about 30 minutes for the skin to brown and become crisp. Meanwhile, leave the fat to rise to the top of the jug or bowl in a cold place. When the liquid is cold, take off the fat with a spoon and save the juices for the gravy.
Take the turkey out of the oven and check if cooked. If not using a thermometer, pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a small sharp knife. If the juices are clear, then the turkey is done; if they are still tinged with pink, then roast for a little longer. If the turkey is already brown enough, though, cover again with the foil. Once cooked, cover the turkey and leave to stand for 30 minutes before carving.
Carve the turkey and serve with your choice of trimmings.
REMINDER - Do not put a meat stuffing into the cavity of a bird as this is not safe. In the cavity use only flavouring vegetables and herbs.
PREPARING AHEAD - Prepare up to the end of stage 3 up to 12 hours in advance. Cover and chill until ready to cook. The stuffing can of course be made up to a month in advance and frozen.
TURKEY ROASTING TIMES - If cooking a turkey weighing more or less than the master recipe, follow the times given here. The table below shows times for gas and electric ovens. Ovens do vary considerably, so if you know that yours is on the hot side or the cool side, adjust the times accordingly. Aga cooking times are shown underneath.
GAS AND ELECTRIC
Oven-ready turkey
3.5kg-5kg (8lb-11lb)
Starting temp (foil on), 220C/fan 200C, gas 7: 30mins
Roasting temp (foil on), 160C/fan 140C, gas 3: 2½-3 hrs
Browning temp (foil off), 220C/fan 200C, gas 7: about 30 mins
5.4kg-6.3kg (12lb-14lb)
Starting temp (foil on), 220C/fan 200C, gas 7: 40mins
Roasting temp (foil on), 160C/fan 140C, gas 3: 3-3½ hrs
Browning temp (foil off), 220C/fan 200C, gas 7: about 30 mins
6.75kg-9kg (15lb-20lb)
Starting temp (foil on), 220C/fan 200C, gas 7: 45mins
Roasting temp (foil on), 160C/fan 140C, gas 3: 3½-4½ hrs
Browning temp (foil off), 220C/fan 200C, gas 7: about 30 mins
IN THE AGA - Note that a 3.5kg-5kg (8lb-11lb) turkey is best fast-roasted, see below.
AGA SLOW ROASTING - After stage 3 of the master recipe, place the roasting tin on the floor of the simmering oven. For a 5.4kg-6.3kg (12lb-14lb) turkey allow 10-13 hours (overnight). For a 6.75kg-9kg (15lb-20lb) turkey allow 12-14 hours (overnight). To brown, when the bird is done, uncover the foil and transfer to the roasting oven for about 15 minutes until golden. If the turkey is over 8.1kg (18lb), or if the simmering oven is on the cool side, start off in the roasting oven uncovered for 30 minutes, then cover with foil and transfer to the simmering oven as above.
AGA FAST ROASTING - After stage 3 of the master recipe, cook in the roasting tin lightly covered with foil on the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven for the following times. Baste the bird from time to time and remove the foil 30 minutes before the end of cooking time to crisp the skin. For a 3.5kg-5kg (8lb-11lb) turkey allow 1¾-2¼ hours total. For a 5.4kg-6.3kg (12lb-14lb) turkey allow about 2½ hours. For a 6.75kg-9kg (15lb-20lb) turkey allow about 3 hours.
Chefs tip - don’t forget to cover and rest your roast after it has been cooked through, check for those clear juices though!
Chefs Tip - when cooking in an Aga it cooks much more efficiently, quicker, than other ovens. So use the thermometer and when you get the right temperature take out or use your judgement and dont rely on the food levels which are geared for use in ‘regular’ ovens
Blake & Bull - purveyor of Aga essentials
Again taken from their website so credit to them as well. I like that they have butter as their first ingredient. I can relate to that!
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook time: 8 - 14 Hours
Servings: Depends on the size of your bird!
Turkey roasting times are always a matter of hot debate around Christmas: here is our guide to Turkey roasting times in Aga range cookers. There are lots of turkey recipes around, we're focusing solely on timings here!:
Ingredients:
Butter
Turkey
Stuffing
Method:
Line a full oven size roasting tin that fits on the runners with a non-stick sheet and place the turkey in the tin.
Stuff the neck cavity only – it's easy to forget that the stuffing is in the bird until too late! If not putting stuffing into the bird, peel and cut up an onion and push that into the cavities, with a little butter. Weigh the turkey after it has been stuffed to calculate the cooking time.
Smear the bird with some butter, cover it with more non-stick (you'll likely need another large tin liner for this) and wrap tightly with foil.
Slow roasting turkey times in a traditional (solid fuel, gas or oil) Aga range cooker
If your turkey weighs more than 16 lb (7kg), put it into the roasting oven for an hour, then transfer to the simmering oven overnight. Time it according to the guide below.
For turkeys under 16 lb (7kg), just put into the simmering oven and let the oven do the rest!
All cookers cook at slightly different speeds, an older oven will take slightly longer then a new one, but as a guide:
8 – 10 lb (3 – 4½kg) turkeys will take about 8 – 10 hours
10 – 16 lb (4½ - 7kg) turkeys will take about 9 – 12 hours
16 – 22 lb (7 – 10kg) turkeys will take about 10 – 14 hours
Next day, check the turkey mid-morning, it should be almost cooked. Pierce the thigh with a skewer and if the juices run clear from the hole, it is cooked. It will not be browned at this stage, so don’t worry if it is very pale looking.
If it is completely cooked at 11am and you plan to eat at 3pm, DON’T PANIC! Re-cover with the foil then lay a large bath towel, folded into quarters, or a cot duvet or your fleece jacket, or all three, over it and place it beside the cooker (on a 4 oven Aga range cooker, put it onto the warming plate) and just leave it. It has taken about 12 hours to get really hot and cooked through; it won’t cool down in any sort of hurry!
If it is not cooked through, re-cover and return it to the simmering oven. Check it again in an hour. For finishing and browning the turkey see below.
Fast roasting Christmas turkey in an Aga range cooker
Put the prepared turkey into the roasting oven and cook it.
8 – 10 lb (3 – 4½kg) turkeys will take about 2 hours
10 – 16 lb (4½ - 7kg) turkeys will take about 2 ½ to 3 hours
16 – 22 lb (7 – 10kg) turkeys will take about 3 to 3 ½ hours
Finishing & browning Christmas turkey in an Aga range cooker
When you and the turkey are ready, pour off the juices - this is easiest if you have a second, clean roasting tin and just transfer the bird from one tin to the other, leaving the juices in the first. Put the turkey into the roasting oven, uncovered, for half an hour to brown the skin, while you make the gravy. Once the breast is browned, transfer to a serving plate and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Chefs tip - roast your potatoes on a shallow baking tray, that way the heat gets in and around each lovely individual spud!
Aga, 3 Oven, all cleaned and ready for a Christmas Roast!
How to Carve a Turkey
For some reason I always get asked to carve the turkey whenever I am visiting people for Christmas, no idea why! But for a lot of people a bit like the cooking it can be a bit of trial to do it, so again, and I can’t stress this enough, relax, it doesn’t need to be perfect. As long as everyone gets a helping then they will be happy. This is how I do it and there will almost certainly be better ways but it works for me.
So once the turkey has been fully rested start by cutting the skin which runs between the breast and legs
Next, pull the leg apart from the breast (it should move easily) and cut the skin and joints to detach the leg
Bend the legs to find the joint between the thigh and drumstick and pull apart to separate
Next up is the crown. and run your knife long the back of the remaining breast slightly to one side as you aim to remove one breast ready for carving
This the slightly fiddly bit but just let your sharp knife cut down through the breast and parallel to the spine
Eventually your knife will cut through all of the breast and carcass and then you are able to carve off the white meat into thin slices, or thick ones!
Ham cooking times in an Aga
Just saw this information on the British Aga Group that you can cook your Ham at one hour per pound (approx 450g) in the simmering oven in a pot with a lid and finish off the rind in the roasting oven. Hope that helps!
And that’s it, it does require a bit of perseverance but bear in mind the end game of trying to remove the breast from the crown and you will be ok.
Don’t forget to cover your remaining turkey to keep it warm, ready for seconds, thirds and eventually cold turkey sandwiches!
Credits to recipes from Mary Berry here and Blake and Bull here. These were the best recipes I could find that covered a lot of the information you may need no matter your skill level or type of Aga or range you are cooking on.
I will update this page as I get more tips from various sources.
Chefs Tip - Christmas cakes are best cooked in the simmering oven. May be a bit late for this year but bear in mind for Christmas 2022!
Good luck and dont worry, it really will be fine. Unless as happened to me one year my dog stole the leg of lamb we were having as I was getting it ready to carve. We all had a very nice nut roast from the ‘Enchanted Broccoli Forest’ that was also being prepared that year!
All of this information is just our thoughts on how we approach Christmas cooking, if in any doubt check with the NHS sites on how to prepare and cook food safely.