Food scientist Dr Stuart Farrimond is here to help.
I need you to tell me how to cook the perfect Christmas turkey,
a turkey that actually tastes of something.
I'll show you science does have the answer
to making the perfect Christmas turkey.
Why have you got a bucket?
We're going to give it a bath.
We're going give a turkey a bath?
And that's going to make sure that we've got super succulent meat.
One bucket of water.
Six litres of water, 300g of salt.
Feel like we're doing a science class rather than a cooking session.
We also add oranges and syrup to the mix to boost flavour.
We want the salt to pull the moisture in
by a process called osmosis.
The high concentration of salt
forces water into the cells of the meat.
Chefs call it brining.
Nigella was right -
you do have to plump up that bird before it goes in the oven.
You do indeed.
The theory is that, by starting off with more water in the meat,
we will have more moisture in it after cooking, too.
Right, so the turkey's had a bath, a long soak. What now?
Now I want to give it a special winter coat, so that, when it goes
in the oven, it becomes super crispy and super brown.
What's in the winter coat mixture?
In the winter coat we have some goose fat and some baking powder.
Why are you putting baking powder on a turkey?
This is the magic of science.
Baking powder is alkaline
and so that will accelerate the browning reaction.
Known as the Maillard reaction,
it happens faster as the pH level increases.
Now, wait, wait, wait, wait.
OK, so we want to put it in upside down. Why?
Upside down... Why would you do that?
That's cos most of the fat is on the bottom of the turkey
and the fat is where all the flavour is,
and so, if we put it upside down, that fat will dribble down
and will make all of it taste really succulent.
The fat bastes the breast meat from the inside,
stopping it from drying out.
I'm going to reveal to you my other special tip.
You're not going to believe this - it's ice.
We're trying to cook the turkey, not cool it down.
So, if you wanted to dry out a turkey, there'd be no better place
to put it than in an oven
because an oven is incredibly dry in there.
So, we want to actually keep the moisture in the bird
as much as possible, so we want to make the oven humid.
A really easy way to do this is with ice.
It will turn into steam and it turn the whole dry oven
into like a little sauna.
That is absolutely brilliant.
Our five-and-a-half-kilo bird
gets a two-and-a-half-hour steam session
and, halfway through, we flip it over to keep those juices flowing.
Whoa!
And flip that way?
Yep.
Whoa! There we go.
The reason why turkey gets such a bad reputation is that people
often overcook it.
So, about 15 minutes before the end of cooking, we need a thermometer
to check whether the meat is done.
Woohoo! Woo!
So, if you've got it in the coldest part of the turkey and it's over 75,
it's absolutely safe.
My turkey is bronzed and beautiful.
Here we go, check it out. That looks amazing. I'm so hungry!
OK, I'm going to carve. Step away from the turkey.
Why? I'm hungry.
We've got to let it rest.
Oh, the resting thing.
Well, I never bother to rest my meat,
even though I'm told you should,
because I've made it all hot and lovely
and I don't want it to get cold.
You've got to really resist the urge because resting is very important
if you want to have lovely, succulent meat.
What is the science behind resting?
So, we need to let it rest so that the moisture and the heat
can spread evenly throughout the turkey,
and, as you let it cool a little bit,
the liquid inside sort of thickens.
It's almost got like an internal gravy.
30 minutes under foil allows the juices to absorb evenly
into the cooling meat fibres.
# It's the most wonderful time of the year
# With the kids jingle belling
# And everyone telling you be of good cheer... #
Ta-dah! Look at that.
That is a high-maintenance turkey.
I've waited long enough.
Resting also reduces the flakiness of the meat...
..making the turkey easier to carve.
# Marshmallows for toasting
# And carolling out in the snow... #
Wow, it actually tastes of something
and it's not dry.
I've never, ever had a turkey like that.
It's amazing, isn't it?
You'll never cook a turkey a different way again.
So, all those little tips
really do transform a turkey.
Absolutely. That is turk-ally amazing!
That is turk-ally amazing!
# It's the most wonderful time of the year. #