British Christmas Roast Turkey with Pigs in Blankets
Britain's Christmas bird, the Delia Smith way: buttered, covered in streaky bacon, roasted inside a loose foil tent, then unwrapped for a hot finish, with chipolata sausages wrapped in more bacon on the side.
The Spanish brought turkeys from Mexico to Europe after 1519 to 1521, and the merchant William Strickland is credited with bringing them to England; a turkey on his family's coat of arms is thought to be the oldest surviving European picture of one (Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading, 2022:). By 1573 the Tudor farmer and poet Thomas Tusser was writing that turkey was becoming part of Christmas dinner, and turkey farming grew in Norfolk, within reach of London's markets (MERL; Wikipedia:).
For most Victorians, though, Christmas meant goose. Pubs ran "goose clubs" where members paid in a little each week for 8 to 10 weeks to win a bird, which is why the Cratchits in Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" (1843) eat a goose, until the reformed Scrooge sends them the prize turkey from the poulterer's window (MERL; the novel's text:). Queen Victoria's Christmas table put turkey at its center in 1851 (MERL). Turkey only became the British Christmas default from the 1950s onward, as railways, cheaper birds, "turkey clubs" and home fridges and ovens put a whole turkey within reach of most families (MERL).
Why it works the kitchen science
An oven inside the oven
The loose foil tent traps steam and fat around the bird so the meat roasts gently in its own juices; Delia stresses the air gap, because foil pressed against the skin steams it instead.
A bacon blanket
The bacon's fat bastes the breast for hours, then comes off so the skin can brown in the hot, uncovered finish, and the bacon itself crisps into a garnish.
Step by step
- Step 1
Put a rack on the lowest shelf and heat the oven to 425°F. Lay two long sheets of extra-wide foil across a large roasting pan, one lengthwise and one crosswise, with enough overhang to wrap the turkey loosely.
- Step 2
Pat the turkey dry. Rub the butter all over it, season with salt and pepper, and lay the bacon over the breast and legs, overlapping slightly. Set the bird on the foil and bring the edges up into a loose tent, leaving a few inches of air above the breast, and crimp them closed.
- Step 3
Roast 40 minutes at 425°F, then lower the oven to 340°F and roast 2 1/2 hours more.
- Step 4
Raise the oven to 400°F. Open the foil and fold it back from the top and sides, lift off the bacon onto a small sheet pan, and baste the turkey with the pan juices. Roast uncovered 30 to 45 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and a thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest part of the breast and the innermost thigh and wing. Put the bacon in the oven for the last 15 to 20 minutes to crisp.
- Step 5
Meanwhile, wrap each chipolata in half a slice of bacon and lay them seam side down on a rimmed sheet pan.
- Step 6
Move the turkey to a warm platter, cover it loosely with a double layer of foil and rest 30 to 45 minutes. Raise the oven to 450°F and roast the pigs in blankets on the lowest shelf 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until browned and the sausages read 160°F.
- Step 7
Carve the turkey and serve with the crisp bacon, the pigs in blankets and gravy (our Turkey Giblet Pan Gravy recipe).
British Christmas Roast Turkey with Pigs in Blankets
Serves 12 · one 14 lb turkey plus 12 pigs in blankets · 5 hr total
Turkey
- 1 turkey (about 14 lb), thawed, neck and giblets removed (save them for gravy, our Turkey Giblet Pan Gravy recipe)
- 5 1/2 tbsp (75 g) butter, softened
- 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 8 oz very fatty streaky bacon (thin-cut American bacon works)
- Extra-wide, heavy-duty foil
Pigs in blankets
- 12 chipolatas (thin pork sausages, about 12 oz)
- 6 slices streaky bacon, halved crosswise
Method
- Put a rack on the lowest shelf and heat the oven to 425°F. Lay two long sheets of extra-wide foil across a large roasting pan, one lengthwise and one crosswise, with enough overhang to wrap the turkey loosely.
- Pat the turkey dry. Rub the butter all over it, season with salt and pepper, and lay the bacon over the breast and legs, overlapping slightly. Set the bird on the foil and bring the edges up into a loose tent, leaving a few inches of air above the breast, and crimp them closed.
- Roast 40 minutes at 425°F, then lower the oven to 340°F and roast 2 1/2 hours more.
- Raise the oven to 400°F. Open the foil and fold it back from the top and sides, lift off the bacon onto a small sheet pan, and baste the turkey with the pan juices. Roast uncovered 30 to 45 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and a thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest part of the breast and the innermost thigh and wing. Put the bacon in the oven for the last 15 to 20 minutes to crisp.
- Meanwhile, wrap each chipolata in half a slice of bacon and lay them seam side down on a rimmed sheet pan.
- Move the turkey to a warm platter, cover it loosely with a double layer of foil and rest 30 to 45 minutes. Raise the oven to 450°F and roast the pigs in blankets on the lowest shelf 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until browned and the sausages read 160°F.
- Carve the turkey and serve with the crisp bacon, the pigs in blankets and gravy (our Turkey Giblet Pan Gravy recipe).
Adapted from "Delia's Traditional Roast Turkey," from Delia Smith's "Delia's Happy Christmas," as reprinted by The Happy Foodie. Delia's 6.5 kg (about 14 lb) bird is stuffed and roasted 40 minutes at 220°C, then at 170°C from 8:55 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., then 30 to 45 minutes uncovered at 200°C, and she checks doneness by piercing the leg until the juices run clear. We do not stuff the bird (USDA FSIS recommends cooking stuffing separately), so our 170°C stage is shorter, and we use a thermometer (165°F in breast, thigh and wing) instead of the juices. Conversions: 220°C = 425°F, 170°C = 340°F, 200°C = 400°F, 230°C = 450°F; 75 g butter = 5 1/2 tbsp; 225 g bacon = 8 oz. Delia serves "chipolatas and bacon rolls" from the oven's bottom shelf at the end; our pigs in blankets amounts and timing are ours. The Happy Foodie. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Delia's timeline for a 2 p.m. lunch starts at 7:45 a.m. Count back from when you want to eat: about 3 3/4 hours of roasting, then a 30 to 45 minute rest, which frees the hot oven for potatoes and pigs in blankets.
- Start checking the temperature after about 3 hours in total; ovens and birds vary.
- Bake your stuffing in a buttered dish alongside instead of inside the bird.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Henry VIII was the first Englishman to eat turkey at Christmas. Folklore: a popular claim we could not trace to a document; MERL's history does not mention him.
- William Strickland brought the turkey to England. Documented as the generally credited version (Wikipedia; MERL), but we could not confirm the year often quoted, so do not date it.
- Dickens made turkey the Christmas bird. Disputed: "A Christmas Carol" (1843) glamorized the prize turkey and Queen Victoria served one in 1851 (MERL), but Tusser was already writing about Christmas turkey in 1573, and MERL says turkey only took over from goose for most families from the 1950s.
- Norfolk turkeys walked to London in little leather boots. Folklore as far as we could check: MERL documents Norfolk's turkey farming near London, but the walking flocks and boots reached us only through excerpts of popular histories.
- When the juices run clear, the turkey is done. Disputed: Delia uses the clear-juice test; UGA Extension, following USDA, says a food thermometer is the only reliable test.
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