Bay & thyme butter roast turkey

Remove the string from the turkey. Cut away the parson’s nose and any excess skin from the neck end. Put these in a deep roasting tin, along with the giblets (neck, liver and heart).

Mix the salt and sugar together, then use to season the bird, inside and out. Ease your hand between the meat and skin on the top of the turkey, slowly working across the breast and legs to loosen all the skin (take care not to pierce the skin).

Mix 200g butter with 10 bay leaves and the picked thyme leaves; stuff under the skin, pressing to spread out evenly. Spread any excess herb butter over the skin. Put the lemon halves inside the cavity along with the remaining thyme and 10 more bay leaves. You can truss the bird at this stage, if you like. Put the chopped vegetables and garlic into the tin and sit the turkey on top, ideally on a wire rack.

Preheat the oven to 160˚C, gas mark 3; let the turkey sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Pour the wine into the tin and cover it tightly with foil. Roast for 3 hours 30 minutes, until the thickest part of the leg is tender and piping hot (75˚C on a meat thermometer).

Remove from the oven and raise the heat to 220˚C, gas mark 7. In a small pan, heat the remaining 50g butter, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce and the remaining 10 bay leaves, then brush the butter over the bird and lay the bay leaves on top. Roast, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes until the skin is nicely browned. Transfer to a carving board to rest for 1 hour, loosely covered with foil.

Meanwhile, put the roasting tin over a high heat. Add the flour, stir it into the juices and cook, whisking, for 3-4 minutes. Pour in the stock, honey and the remaining 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce. Bubble briskly, scraping the base of the pan as you go, until thickened slightly (8-10 minutes). Strain into a large saucepan (you may need to do this in batches), pressing to extract as much juice as possible (discard the vegetables and giblets). Add any resting juices from the turkey and simmer briskly for 10-15 minutes, until thickened to your liking; season with salt and a little more honey, if liked. Remove the cooked bay leaves from the skin of the bird, then decorate with fresh bay leaves and charred lemon halves, if liked. Carve (see page 135) and serve with the gravy.