Gordon Ramsay says bacon is his secret ingredient for a moist and flavorful Turkey

According to Gordon Ramsay, thick strips of bacon are one way to keep your Thanksgiving turkey from becoming a dry disaster.

Ramsay shared his insights on YouTube while making roast turkey with lemon, parsley, and garlic as part of his 2020 Thanksgiving Recipe Guide. The celebrity chef told viewers that three things can keep a turkey moist: soft butter, olive oil, and bacon.

Gordon said the soft butter mixture acts as a first coating and is topped with a drizzle of olive oil, which “stops the butter from burning.” In the same video, Ramsay suggested laying eight strips of smoked bacon atop the turkey as another precaution.

“What I want to do is add a little more flavor,” Ramsay said, adding that the bacon “protects” the turkey while it roasts in the oven.

Once the turkey is fully cooked, Ramsay suggested removing the bacon strips and repurposing them into a gravy, which he shares how to make in his Thanksgiving Recipe Guide.

Here’s how to make Ramsay’s turkey recipe.

Gordon’s turkey recipe calls for 12 ingredients, including one free-range turkey and garlic

On his website, Gordon also shared step-by-step instructions for his roast turkey with lemon, parsley, and garlic. To make, you’ll need:

• 1 free-range turkey (ideally Norfolk Black or Bronze), about 11 – 12 pounds
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 onions, peeled and halved
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
• 6 bay leaves
• Olive oil, to drizzle
• 8 rashers of smoked streaky baconLemon, parsley, and garlic butter ingredients:
• 13 oz butter at room temperature
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Finely grated zest and juice of 2 small lemons
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped

The recipe serves eight to 10 people and takes just under four hours. You’ll need a large bowl for mixing and a large roasting tray.

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 428° Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, prepare the herb butter. Put the butter into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and mix well. Add the lemon zest and juice, crushed garlic, and chopped parsley. Mix well to combine.
• Remove the giblets from the turkey cavity. Season the cavity generously with salt and pepper, then stuff with the onions, lemon, garlic halves, and two bay leaves.
• With your hands, loosen the skin on the breast from both ends of the bird so that you can stuff the flavored butter underneath it, ensuring you keep the skin intact. Repeat with the skin on the legs — from the lower side of the breast, feel your way under the skin and out toward the leg, loosening the gap.
  

  

• Stuff half the butter mix into the opened spaces under the skin. Gently massage the butter around the breasts to cover the meat. Finally, insert the rest of the bay leaves under the skin of the breasts.
• Place the bird in a large roasting tray, breast side up. Spread the rest of the butter all over the skin. Season well with salt and pepper, then drizzle with a little olive oil. Cover the turkey with foil and refrigerate at this stage if preparing a day ahead.
  

  

• Roast the turkey in the hot oven for 10 – 15 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven, baste the bird with the pan juices, and lay the bacon rashers over the breast to keep it moist. Baste again. Lower the setting to 356° Fahrenheit and cook for about two and a half hours (calculating at 30 minutes per pound), basting occasionally.
  

  

• To test whether your turkey is cooked, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the leg and check that the juices are running clear rather than pink. As oven temperatures and turkey shapes and sizes vary, checking your turkey about 30 minutes before the calculated roasting time is crucial. If the juices are pink, roast for another 15 minutes and check again. Repeat as necessary until the turkey is cooked.

• Transfer the turkey to a warmed platter and remove the parson’s nose, wings, and tips of the drumsticks; reserve these for the gravy. Leave the turkey to rest in a warm place for at least 45 minutes; make the gravy in the meantime. Remove the bay leaves from under the skin before carving. Serve the turkey with the piping hot gravy, stuffing, and accompaniments.