Ingredients

Step by step

1. The night before cooking, brine the turkey by placing it in a large tub and covering with a salt solution made from 800g salt dissolved in 10 litres of water. Cover and keep in the fridge, or in a safe cold spot away from pets and wildlife.
2. In the morning, drain the liquid from the tub and refill with fresh water. Leave the turkey for another hour, replacing the water every 15 minutes, to ensure you’ve removed excess salt. Pat dry and leave to come to room temperature.
3. Set your (lidded) barbecue up for indirect cooking, placing the coals around the edges and sitting a disposable foil tray in the middle of the coals grid, to catch the juices. Light the coals.
4. Halve one of the lemons and stuff it into the turkey cavity with the garlic and half of the herbs. Rub half of the butter generously over the skin of the turkey and season well with salt and pepper. Squeeze over the juice of the remaining lemon.
5. When the coals are ready and just turning ashen, place the turkey in the middle of the rack, sitting it above the drip tray, and close the barbecue lid. Cook for 2-3 hours – it’s hard to give a precise time, as temperatures will vary. Keep a careful eye on it, but don’t lift the lid too often
6. Finely chop the remaining herbs. Melt the rest of the butter and mix with the herbs. Use the herby butter to baste the turkey every 45 minutes, and check if you need to top up with extra coals – you want to maintain the barbecue temperature at a fairly consistent temperature around 180-200°C.
7. To check the turkey is cooked, make sure the temperature at the thickest part of the thigh has reached 70°C using a digital probe. Remove to a platter and leave to rest covered in foil for at least 30-45 minutes before carving (although if it’s ready earlier than planned, it will stay hot for at least an hour, with a towel draped over the foil).

Serve with

Creamed Brussels sprouts with chestnuts

Crunchy roast potatoes

Stuffing parcels