Cover your Christmas turkey in bread to stop it drying out, reveal top chefs

You’ve been cooking it wrong this entire time

(Getty)

Top chefs have revealed the secret to achieving a perfectly cooked turkey this Christmas.

It's at the heart of the traditional Christmas family dinner - 87 per cent of us maintain that turkey is a festive must - but despite all our best efforts, more often than not it comes out overcooked and dry. So, where are we going wrong?

In what seems like a perpetual quest to stop turkey from drying out home cooks and professional chefs alike have tried all manner of tips and tricks, from cooking it upside down to covering it in packs of ice.

But it turns out we’ve been cooking our turkeys wrong this whole time as top chefs from the Gourmet Meat Club reveal the best way to ensure your bird comes out of the oven juicy and delicious.

“Because turkey leg and breast meat cook at different times and temperatures you risk overcooking certain sections, leaving them dry and tasteless, while other parts of the bird are just cooked,” Miles Ridley, product development manager at Gourmet Meat Club told The Sun. “However, this meat dilemma can be fixed with one simple cooking technique.”

The trick he says is to completely cover the breast area of your turkey with slices of bread, and then cover with tin foil. This way, the legs and wings are left exposed allowing them to cook for longer, while the breast comes to temperature more evenly and is prevented from drying out.

But, there’s another bonus too. Aside from trapping moisture the bread can also be set aside and used to create a tasty batch of stuffing to accompany your Christmas meal.