Sunday Roast: Giant Turkey Leg

Since I have begun blogging, it has been no secret to anyone that I am a fan of Gordon Ramsay’s. I am not the crazy type of fan who would follow every move of his nor watch all of his TV shows. I try and select what to watch or read about what he does, and most of all I love learning about British food culture, techniques and cuisine through what Gordon does and posts about. As simple as that. And what Gordon Ramsay does – and promotes as a happy and healthy food culture habit – is a good Sunday Roast. 

Traditionally, his Sunday Roast is either roast beef or roast lamb. I went for the cheaper option and bought a giant Roast Turkey Leg. And because I wanted to make the most out of my special purchase, after I roasted the turkey leg then I cut the bones and soaked them into boiling water in order to make a nice turkey broth that I intend to use within the next few days – for cooking various other dishes that could use a little flavor enhancement. i think that from now on I will take advantage of today’s new learnings of both preparing the broth and the roast, and use these techniques for all of my next Thanksgiving dinners. 

I usually suck at roasting large pieces of meat, probably because of a wrong use of my appliance, but I recently decided that I would learn how to make a better use of my oven and try all of its possible options by the menu (given I lost the instructions manual, it is another challenge I have added to my ever-growing list of things to try within this year). I think today was certainly D-day because the result of roasting this turkey leg has been amazing in terms of aromas, flavors and looks. Just see for yourself, and take note of the easy recipe, it’s a basics and it can’t go wrong if you stick to the weight vs cooking time ratio (25 minutes per 500 grams at 200 degrees Celsius). My turkey leg weighed 1.832 kg, so I roasted it for 85 minutes, regularly basted it with its juices so to prevent if from getting dry, and decided to leave it in the oven for 30 minutes after I totally turned it out, to finish off cooking the meat on the inside.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.800 kg Turkey Leg
• 2 tbsp of Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp of regular oil
• Sea salt
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• About 1 cup of water

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius of the “Roast” or “Meat” position, depending on the brand of your oven.
2. Spray or spread 1 tbsp of oil on the baking tray, or in a large oven baking dish.
3. Directly coat the turkey leg with the rest of oil over the baking tray or dish (on all sides).
4. Salt the meat all over, and repeat with thyme and rosemary.
5. Set the turkey leg upside down (skin side down), and put inside the oven.
6. Before shutting the oven door, pour some of the water onto the tray or dish, and a bit more over the turkey.
7. Start roasting.
8. Remember, roast 25 minutes for 500 grams. My total roasting time will be about 85 minutes. Add water to the tray or dish whenever needed, to keep forming the juices and have something to baste the turkey with.
9. After 35 to 40 minutes, open the oven, generously baste the turkey leg with its juices, and turn it back up (skin side up).
10. Baste this side too, and close back the oven door.
11. Roast for 45 more minutes, and baste the meat once or twice during that time.
12. After a total of 85 minutes, turn off the oven, baste the turkey one last time, and leave it to rest in the warm oven for 30 minutes.
13. You can now slice the turkey leg and serve it immediately with the juices while it’s still nice tender and moist, or shred it into pieces to keep for later.
14. Use the bones to make a nice turkey broth on the side – and use it later for other dishes.

 

Created and Written by Sophie Rebibo-Halimi. © 2017 All Rights Reserved.