Mike Van de Elzen: Christmas brined chicken/turkey

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Christmas brined chicken or turkey

Cook time: 35 minutes

Prep time: 24 hours

Serves: 6-8 people

1 sized 18 chicken or small turkey

2 bay leaves

2 lemon, crushed

10 peppercorns

5 star anise pods

5 ltr water 250gm

uniodised salt

1 tbsp flaky salt

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp sunflower oil

Firstly, clear some room in your fridge to fit a large pot or container.

Make up the brine by combining 1/2 the water to the salt into a pot and gently heat until the salt is dissolved. The water doesn't need to boil.

Once the salt has dissolved, add the the rest of the water to the brine followed by the rest of the ingredients, allow to cool.

Take the chicken or turkey, removing any giblets and rinsing off any excess blood. Place into a pot and then cover with the brine. Refrigerate for 12 hours.

After this time, remove the bird and rinse off the excess brine. Pat dry and brush with Dijon mustard, then sprinkle over the salt.

Preheat an oven or wood fired oven to 200*c. Place the chicken into the middle of the oven.

Cook until the internal temperature of the chicken / turkey reaches 75*c in the centre of the bread. Remove and allow to rest breast down for at least 10 minutes before carving.

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