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Our Woodfired Christmas Turkey

For all of you who want to try cooking your Christmas turkey in your wood fired oven, here’s what we did in our Bushman Wood Fired Oven. It takes less time than a conventional oven and as all with all cooking, having a plan makes everything easier!!

wood fired oven turkey project

Our turkey waiting for the oven to heat up.

We started with a 4.5kg/10lb free range, bronze turkey  – we mixed 250g of softened butter with some fresh chopped thyme leaves and salt and pepper and then put it underneath the turkey skin on the breast. The turkey was sat on a sturdy wire rack over one of our good solid roasting tins.

wood fired turkey ready for the oven

The turkey was basted with plenty of thyme flavoured butter and seasoned well

We put a halved lemon in the cavity along with a halved garlic bulb and a bunch of thyme sprigs and then covered it all well with wide and thick foil – just like we’d do with a chicken for roasting.

wood fired turkey in its tent in the cleared oven

The turkey’s in its foil tent and in the cleared oven

Meanwhile the oven had heated up so that it was fully saturated with heat ready for the roast. The air temperature in our oven was 260C and the floor temperature 350C. Once the oven was heated up, the embers were taken out and the oven cleared.

260 air temp and 350 floor temp for wood fired turkey

Oven up to temperature

2 hours in and the temperature in the bird was already up into the 70s – best to use a meat thermometer for this and to probe the thigh. The foil was taken off after about 90 minutes cooking to brown up the skin. Our turkey cooked much more quickly in the woodfired oven than in a conventional one where it would sit for more like three hours so do make sure you keep a close eye on it.

wood fired turkey just out of the oven

Great colour on the turkey skin

Just 2 hours and twenty minutes in the oven and the turkey was done. Our turkey now had a little rest while we reheated the par-cooked roasters, made the gravy (remember to use the juices from the turkey for this) and cooked up a few Brussels. Time for a nice glass of wine – merry Christmas!
carving wood fired turkey on the table

Merry Christmas!