There’s no mystique about cooking the perfect Christmas turkey, but you need to take a bit of care and know what you’re doing.

Here is UAEasy.com’s guide to preparing everyone’s favourite festive bird.

Firstly, defrost your turkey thoroughly if using a frozen bird, according to the printed instructions or using our table below.

Remove the giblets, and save them for making stock for your gravy.

Rinse the turkey inside and out with water and pat dry. Clean the sink immediately - remember, this is raw poultry!

Season the turkey inside and out.

Butter mixed with seasoning can be put under the skin of the breast to keep it moist and give it flavour (check the ingredients of frozen birds - they often have added butter so no need to add extra).

Fill the neck cavity with your stuffing. (There are many stuffing recipes, but a simple one is to mix chopped sage, chopped onion and sausagemeat with salt and pepper for extra seasoning). Once the stuffing is in place, tuck the skin under to make a firm seal.

Fill the main cavity with herbs such as bayleaf, a couple of halved onions and carrots and perhaps a lemon.

Place two large sheets of foil inside and overlapping the roasting pan with enough foil to wrap then bird. One piece goes down the length of the pan and one goes across to seal in the turkey from both sides. Put the turkey in breast side up. Fold the foil around the turkey and crimp to seal.

Place in a pre-heated oven set at 170*C/325*F. See cooking times below.

an alternative method is…

Pre-heat oven to 180*C/350*F/Gas 4, then use this guide:

2.7-4.5kg (6-10lb) 20 minutes per pound (450g) plus 20 minutes.