A Classic roast turkey Christmas dinner

his year I've gone from a whole bird to a double breast on the bone, with wings and legs removed. In the UK, this is known as a part-boned crown of turkey. In Australia, it's called a turkey 'buffet'. It cooks in less time, gives a lot of meat, and still looks impressive when you bring it to the table.
You'll need it to be around 3 kg to feed 6 to 8 people. Buy from a butcher or poultry specialist and don't go near the big white pre-buttered, rapidly grown birds in the supermarket. It's Christmas - time to pay for quality, and get the best. You still need to protect the breast meat, however, by pushing the stuffing up between skin and meat, and by coating the skin with bacon when cooking.
To calculate roasting time, weigh the turkey stuffed, and count on 35 minutes per kilogram, eg if it weighs 3.5 kg it will take 2 hours, plus 15 minutes resting time at the end, before carving.

Feeds 8 Takes 2 hours 30 mins

• 1 turkey crown or buffet, around 3 kg
• prune and chestnut stuffing (see recipe)
• sea salt and pepper
• 500 g streaky bacon rashers, rindless
• 4 clementines or small oranges

1. Heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Wipe the turkey crown inside and out with paper towel. Remove the wishbone to make carving easier.
   
   
2. To stuff under the skin from the neck: work the skin free of the breast by putting your hand between the two, gently inching your fingers forward until the skin is loose, to halfway along the length of the bird. Push some stuffing in, spreading it over the breast area. Don't pack it in too tightly, as the stuffing will expand. Secure with needle and string, or a skewer. Prick the breast skin a few times, or the skin may split as the stuffing expands.
   
   
3. Rub the breast skin with sea salt and pepper. Cover the base of the pan with a couple of rashers of bacon, and lay the turkey on top, breast-side up. Arrange more bacon rashers over the breast.
   
   
4. Bake for one hour, then turn the pan around 180 degrees, remove the bacon and brush the turkey with the cooking juices.
   
   
5. Now is a good time to put the remaining stuffing into the oven, either in the same pan, or a separate one. Baste the stuffing with the turkey juices and cook until golden.
   
   
6. Bake the turkey for the remaining time you have calculated, brushing with the juices every 15 minutes.
   
   
7. Cut the clementines or oranges in half and add to the pan, cut-side down, for the last 10 minutes of cooking time, until they are soft.
   
   
8. Test the turkey for doneness with a skewer. Any juices should run clear. Strain the pan juices and set aside for the gravy. Allow the turkey to rest in a warm place for 15 minutes before carving.
   
   
9. Transfer the turkey to a serving platter, and arrange clementines and herbs around it. Carve from the top to the bottom of each breast, at a slight angle, and you'll get wonderfully big slices with a good inch or so of stuffing under the skin.