Free range, herb-fed turkey.

Resting matters almost as much as roasting. Once cooked, cover the bird loosely with foil and leave it somewhere warm for at least an hour before carving. This gives the juices time to settle back through the meat and makes carving much easier.

For full timings, temperatures and step-by-step guidance, see Jorge’s How to Cook a Whole Turkey guide.

For more Christmas cooking ideas, see our detailed How to Cook a Whole Turkey guide, alongside Valentine Warner’s Easy Bread Sauce and Roasted Christmas Apples.

Why We Choose Bronze Turkey
Bronze turkey is a slower-growing bird, typically reared to around 22 weeks. Compared with a fast-grown commercial turkey, it has a firmer texture and carries more natural fat, which is important when roasting a whole bird.

That fat helps protect the breast from drying out, whilst the darker leg meat has more depth and character. There’s a proper difference between the white and dark meat, and for us that balance is one of the reasons Bronze turkey works so well for Christmas.

How Our Bronze Turkeys Are Reared
Our Bronze turkeys are kept in small flocks and live free range, with time to grow slowly and mature naturally. Their diet includes fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, chervil and tarragon alongside their regular feed.

The slower growth and outdoor life give the birds time to develop proper muscle and fat rather than simply being pushed quickly to weight. It’s a more traditional way of rearing turkey and you can see the difference in the texture and structure of the bird once it reaches the butcher’s block.