For those of us that are counting, there are just 17 little days left until Christmas Day. 17! Are you organised and calm, or are you running around like a headless chicken?

Or should that be turkey? Because over the festive period the UK will be chomping their way through 10 million turkeys, with 76% of the population serving up a turkey at the Christmas dinner table.

But having a Christmas turkey is something of a modern tradition – it wasn’t commonplace until the 1950s when they became more readily available. Up until then, goose, capon or even beef were served. The Christmas turkey first appeared in Britain in the 16th century, but for many years it was only the very rich who could afford this luxury meat at Christmas, and it took many hundreds of years before the turkey became a commonplace Christmas dinner ingredient – helped in part by influences from America, where turkeys are traditionally served up for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

If you’re still yet to organise your Christmas turkey, or if you’re still debating whether you should even bother cooking one, then here’s our handy guide to choosing, cooking and serving up the nation’s favourite Christmas feast…..

• Where to buy – you can opt for the local butcher, or the supermarket. These days there are lots of choices, and every good butcher and leading supermarket will sell a range of turkeys running up to Christmas.
• Whole or Crown – a whole turkey contains a lot of meat so is great for large families. There will be lots of leftovers, and lots of flavour and variety. A crown however is just the breast meat on the ribcage so it’s perfect for small families or those that don’t like the brown meat.
• Free range or farmed – free range turkeys can roam all or part of the day outside, whereas the average farmed turkey is kept enclosed for most of the time. Free range turkeys are usually tastier, but they are a lot more expensive. Farmed turkeys are cheaper and more readily available.
• Type of turkey – there are lots of different turkeys to choose from, a turkey is not simply a turkey! Bronze Turkeys are popular because they have a gamey flavour and moist meat. Most commercial turkeys are White turkeys. There are also Black, Slate Blue and Bourbon Red turkeys, which are all smaller, richer and much harder to get hold of.
• Defrost – if you’ve bought a frozen turkey then don’t forget to defrost it. A large size turkey will take about 2-3 days in a fridge.
• Cooking the prefect turkey – before you cook it pat it dry with kitchen paper, and leave it to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Weigh it so you know how long to cook it for. You need to allow 45 minutes per kilo, plus 20 minutes.
• To stuff or not to stuff – a tasty stuffing is certainly delicious, but by adding stuffing you add weight, and therefore cooking time, which can risk drying out the meat. Some people turn the turkey upside down for the last part of cooking to counteract this (the juices flow from the bottom of the meat to the top so more of it is juicier) but then you miss out on crispy skin…. Many people opt to cook and serve the stuffing separately.
• Rest – once it’s cooked, cover it with foil and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
• Carve – there are many ways to carve a turkey, much of it is a fine art and comes with a lot of practice. If you’re stuck, check out YouTube for some video guidance….  but you will certainly need a sharp knife and carving fork.
• Serve – Christmas dinner wouldn’t be Christmas dinner without all the trimmings! Serve yours with delicious veggies, sprouts, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, parsnips and stuffing. Oh and don’t forget the bread sauce and the cranberry sauce!
• Enjoy – enjoy your fabulous christmas turkey…. and come up with some recipe ideas for all that leftover meat. Turkey curry anyone???

Why not check out the Oakeley Arms Christmas menu this year? We’ve got a huge range of delicious and local dishes on offer. Drop us an e-mail or give us a call to book your festive place ( [email protected] or 01766 590277)