A Historical Roast Turkey Recipe: Gilded Saffron & Butter Basted Turkey with Herb Garland
Historical Roast Turkey Recipe:
Gilded Saffron & Butter Basted Turkey with Herb Garland
Turkey, bacon, butter and special Forman and Field stuffing – Seasonal Box from Knorr
Christmas arrived early last weekend when I received a lovely Seasonal Box from Knorr, with the makings of a wonderful Christmas dinner, including some handy Knorr gravy pots. One of my readers was lucky enough to win the same box, in a Giveaway I was hosting a few weeks ago: Giveaway: Win a Forman and Field Seasonal Turkey Christmas Dinner Box with Knorr, and both of our boxes were filled with fresh seasonal produce of the highest quality as supplied by Forman and Field.
• SELDOM SEEN FARM TURKEY 4.5-5.5kg
• LONGMAN’S FARM BUTTER 250g
• EMMETT’S MILD CURE BACK BACON 250g
• FORMAN & FIELD CHRISTMAS STUFFING 500g
• SELECTION OF FRESH HERBS
• 1 X ORANGE
• 12 x LUXURY MINCE PIES
• CHAPEL DOWN NECTAR DESSERT WINE 50cl
• 2 Knorr Chicken Gravy Pots
Included in my box was a challenge to make Marco Pierre White’s Christmas Roast Turkey with Orange and Smoky Bacon Baste recipe, or a recipe of my own; although Marco Pierre’s recipe looked divine, I decided to share a very old recipe with you, as it is so special and particularly stunning – Gilded Saffron & Butter Basted Turkey with Herb Garland.
Gilded Saffron & Butter Basted Turkey with Herb Garland
Gilding is a 15th Century novelty – originally gold leaf was applied to decorate meat and poultry that was served at Christmas, as well as other feasts and festivals. This is a wonderful way of serving your traditional roast turkey – and with a saffron and butter basted gilded effect, NOT using gold leaf I hasten to add – but still achieving a deep golden gilded finish. If you cannot source any saffron, you could use just a little turmeric instead – but be careful, as it has a pervasive flavour.
Gilded Saffron & Butter Basted Turkey with Herb Garland
Why not bring this 15th century art back to your modern dining table this Christmas – and enjoy a wonderful moist butter basted roast turkey at the same time. If you can get hold of edible gold dusting powder, you can sprinkle some of that on to the turkey before serving, for an extra sparkle! This is what I am making with my delicious Forman and Field turkey this Christmas Day, and I shall be serving it with Knorr gravy (made from one of their gravy pots with added turkey juices, white wine and a splash of orange juice) it’s so simple to make with a gravy pot and it tastes like home-made too.
Gilded Saffron & Butter Basted Turkey with Herb Garland
What I am serving with my turkey this year:
Mini Potato Dauphinoise Muffins
Spiced Red Cabbage with Apples Recipe
The Calendar Girls Curvaceous Cranberry and Kumquat Sauce with Port
Gilded Saffron & Butter Basted Turkey with Herb Garland
Print recipe
| Serves | 8 |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 4 hours |
| Total time | 4 hours, 30 minutes |
| Allergy | Egg |
| Meal type | Lunch, Main Dish |
| Misc | Gourmet, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Christmas, Formal Party, Thanksgiving |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 1 free-range fresh whole turkey (About 2 to 3 kilos)
- salt and pepper
- 1 lemon, quartered
- rosemary sprigs
- fresh thyme sprigs
- softened butter, to rub into the bird
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
GILDED GLAZE ONE
- 25g butter, melted
- 3 egg yolks, beaten
- 2 - 3 pinches saffron
GILDED GLAZE TWO
- 50g butter, melted
- 2 - 3 pinches saffron
HERB GARLAND
- 2 - 3 sprigs fresh bay leaves
- 2 - 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 - 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- cooking string or kitchen twine
Note
Gilding is a 15th Century novelty - originally gold leaf was applied to decorate meat and poultry that was served at Christmas, as well as other feasts and festivals! This is a wonderful way of serving your traditional roast turkey - and with a saffron and butter basted gilded effect, NOT using gold leaf I hasten to add - but still achieving a deep golden gilded finish. If you cannot get any saffron, you could use just a little turmeric instead - but be careful as it has a very pervasive flavour! Bring this 15th century art back to your modern dining table this Christmas - and enjoy a wonderful moist butter basted roast turkey at the same time. Please try to source an organic, free-range or home-reared turkey – such as a Bronze or Heritage turkey; you will be doing your bit to support a traditional and more humanitarian way of rearing these lovely birds, as well as gaining a much better taste and flavour! NB: If you can get hold of edible gold dusting powder, you can sprinkle some of that on to the turkey before serving, for an extra sparkle! Joyeuses Fetes – Merry Christmas!
Directions
| Step 1 | Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/350°F or Gas Mark 4. Wipe the turkey, and remove any giblets from inside the bird if necessary. |
| Step 2 | Smear the butter all over the bird and place the onion, herbs and lemon inside the body cavity. Season the bird with salt and pepper to taste. |
| Step 3 | Place the buttered bird into a foil lined turkey tray. Cut a piece of greaseproof paper or baking parchment and press this over the breast part of the bird - to prevent the breast becoming too dry during cooking. |
| Step 4 | Cover the turkey with 2 large pieces of tinfoil/aluminium foil - making sure the foil DOES NOT touch the bird - you are creating a tent - with lots of air to circulate inside. |
| Step 5 | Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes per 450g, plus 20 minutes. |
| Step 6 | Try to take the turkey out at least twice during cooking time, to baste it with the buttery juices. Replace the foil cover before putting it back to continue cooking in the oven. |
| Step 7 | Whilst the bird is cooking, prepare your gilded glaze - choose which one you prefer, egg glaze or butter glaze. |
| Step 8 | Whisk the egg yolks with the saffron and melted butter. It needs to be the consistency of a coating glaze, or a thick pouring cream or custard. If you are using just the butter glaze - whisk the saffron and melted butter together - this glaze will be thinner than the egg glaze. |
| Step 9 | Twenty minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the turkey from the oven, and drain off all the juices for your gravy. |
| Step 10 | Turn the oven up to 190°C/380°F or Gas Mark 5. |
| Step 11 | Apply your gilded glaze to the turkey with a large pastry brush - brush it ALL over the turkey as evenly as you can and NOT too thickly with the egg glaze. |
| Step 12 | Return the turkey to the oven uncovered for the last 20 minutes - remove from the oven and allow to "rest" for 30 minutes before carving. |
| Step 13 | Remove the herbs, lemon and onion from the cavity before carving and serving. |
| Step 14 | Make the herb garland - twist sprigs of thyme, bay and rosemary together with some cooking string or twine, to form a circlet. |
| Step 15 | Serve the turkey adorned with a twisted garland of herbs, and with traditional accompaniments such as: Roast potatoes, mixed vegetables, red cabbage, gravy, stuffing, bacon rolls and Chipolata sausage rolls. You can also "gild" the turkey by sprinkling edible gold dusting powder over the breast and legs of the turkey - this is available from specialist cake decorating shops. |
A big thanks to Knorr, Forman and Field, Jen and Neil for sending me this lovely and very special seasonal box and Joyeuses Fetes – Merry Christmas!
And, if you would like some inspiration about how to cook your Christmas dinner, look no further than Marco Pierre White’s tips here:
Marco’s Christmas Lunch secrets
Franglais kitchen says
I love this historical recipe Karen. I love the use of saffron and am sure the turkey must taste wonderful.
Karen Booth says
Thanks Nazima, and a very happy Christmas to you too, I hope we meet up in the new year! Karen
Susie @ Fold in the Flour says
Wow, this looks incredibly festive! I love the sound of the saffron and the turkey looks perfectly cooked – bet it tastes divine! Have a lovely Christmas, 🙂 x
Karen Booth says
Thanks Susie, you have a wonderful Christmas too! Karen
Jacqueline @How to be a Gourmand says
Looks like a winning turkey dish to me Karen. I really like the look of the caramelised citrus fruit too.
Hope you have a lovely time over the Christmas period with your family Karen x
Karen Booth says
Thanks so much Jacqueline and you have a wonderful Christmas too, and thanks for your friendship throughout the year! Karen
Dominic says
well it looks damn fine… what an excellent recipe to share with us… thank you… I may try something similar on my bird on Tuesday… wishing you a very merry christmas honey and hope to catch up this week some time xx
Karen Booth says
Thanks Dom! Karen
Janice says
Stunning bird, Karen. Merry Christmas to you and yours, have a lovely holiday.
Karen Booth says
Thanks Janice! Happy New Year! Karen
Galina says
I was going to do a turkey crown with oranges and streaky bacon on top, but I must say I am very, verrrry tempted to go for the saffron butter glaze and cook it following your recipe. You rock, Karen.
Merry Christmas, darling, and thank you for all the inspiration you give with your marvellous blog!
Karen Booth says
Thanks so much Galina, and a VERY Happy New Year to you too…….Karen xxx
Richard Hawes says
The saffron makes all the difference
Maya Russell says
Adding Saffron is really interesting. Thanks for the tip.
Maya Russell says
Didn’t realise saffron was so expensive. But it’s fine to splash out at Christmas.
Lynne OConnor says
What a lovely idea. Not sure my very traditional family would allow me to experiment with the Christmas Turkey but I might go for this at Easter
Elin says
I love the thought of saffron with turkey! Resurrecting old recipes is always fun…
Beverley says
Looks yummy!
Lisa Williams says
so moist looking gorgeous 🙂
Maya Russell says
Shared on Twitter: https://twitter.com/maisietoo/status/352651921988927488
sallyann Johnston says
I would be proud to serve such a yummy looking Turkey
KATHARINE B says
This looks lovely 🙂
iain maciver says
love this turkey dish
Tom Buchanan says
shared on my facebook! 🙂
ursula hunt says
Not long now to that lovely Christmas Dinner
fishmonger delivery says
Looks Delicious.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks! Karen