Ingredients
1 lemon
1 lime
85g softened butter
12lb/5.6kg oven ready turkey
1 onion
225g streaky bacon
bay leaves and thyme sprigs, to garnish
Method
Grate the rind from the citrus fruits, reserving the flesh. In a bowl, mix together the butter, lemon and lime rinds and season to taste. Spread the butter over a sheet of foil big enough to cover the area of the turkey breast. Cover with another sheet of foil and press down to make an even layer of butter. Chill until firm.
Preheat the oven to 160C fan/Gas 4. Remove the giblest from the turkey (reserve for the stock and gravy) and wash the bird inside and out. Dry well with kitchen paper. Quarter the lemon and lime, and peel and halve the onion. Put these in the cavity of the bird.
Loosen the skin of the breast by sliding your hands between the flesh and skin. Don't tear the skin. Peel the foil from the chilled butter then slide it between the breast and skin. Smooth the skin back over the butter then season the turkey generously inside and out. Tie the legs together at the top of the drumsticks to give the turkey a neat shape.
Weigh the bird to calculate the cooking time - allow 20 mins per 450g/1lb, plus 20 mins extra. Put the turkey in a roasting tin and loosely cover the breast with a sheet of the buttered foil. Do not enclose the whole turkey in foil.
Roast the turkey for the calculated cooking time, basting with the pan juices every 30-40 mins. Remove the foil for the last 30 mins to crisp the skin, then baste with the pan juices and lay the bacon in a lattice over the breast.
To test if the turkey is cooked, pierce the thigh with a skewer at the thickest part. If the juices run clear it is done. If a little pink, tife it 15 mins more and test again. Transfer to a serving platter and cover tightly with foil, rest for 15 mins to make carving easier. Spoon off as much fat as possible from the tin, then measure out 175ml of the remaining pan juices to make the gravy. Garnish with bay and thyme.