From where to buy a small turkey. Whether to buy fresh or frozen, and how to safely defrost a frozen whole turkey.
To what to stuff with, how to remove a wishbone and string the poultry. And finally, of course, the temperature and cooking times for how long to roast?
Looking for a Christmas Dessert? We have the perfect British Christmas Pudding recipe that you must try!
HOW DO YOU PREPARE AND COOK A SMALL WHOLE TURKEY?
Check out the slideshow below for step-by-step images for preparing and cooking a small whole turkey.
There is a wealth of information to read through on this blog page. If you don’t want all the ‘ins and outs of the turkey’s a***’, feel free to jump straight to the recipe card.
Jump to Recipe
However, you may want to come back and check the images for removing the wishbone, trussing the turkey and carving.
WHAT SIZE TURKEY DO I NEED FOR A SMALL FAMILY?
The pictures you see in this blog post are of a 3.6kg Whole Turkey. There was plenty to serve us, a family of 4 (2 Adults and 2 Children) with enough leftovers!
Check the table below for how many people a small turkey will serve.
Whole Turkey Weight Number of Servings
2kg / 4.5lb 4 People
2.6kg / 6lb 5 People
3kg/ 6.5lb 6 People
3.6kg / 8lb 7 People
4kg / 9lb 8 People
WHAT IS THE SMALLEST SIZE OF A WHOLE TURKEY?
2kg is the smallest whole turkey you will be able to buy. Of course, if you need smaller than that, you can opt for a Turkey Crown instead!
We also have a simpler slow cooker turkey crown recipe you may like to try for a complete hands-off turkey cooking experience.
WHERE CAN I BUY A SMALL TURKEY?
Small turkeys are easier to get hold of than big turkeys. They are also available all year round, which is a bonus. Whoever said a Turkey is just for Christmas!
WHICH IS BEST, FROZEN OR FRESH TURKEY?
Fresh is usually best. However, it is not a massive difference. There is some argument that frozen turkey is not as tender.
This is not true if you buy a pre-frozen Turkey from a supermarket because it will have been ready-basted and flash-frozen to protect the meat quality.
I happily buy frozen, knowing I can cross one more thing off my Christmas list before they all sell out!
SMALL WHOLE TURKEY – HOW TO PREPARE AND COOK
Published: Nov 3, 2020 · Modified: Nov 17, 2023 by Luke and Kay · This post may contain affiliate links · 15 Comments
Recipe Card Jump to Video Print Recipe
So, it is nearly that magical time of year again, Christmas! We have noticed a shortage of advice on cooking a simple Small Whole Turkey.
This recipe makes a Perfectly tender whole Turkey between 2kg to 4kg (5lb – 9lb). We take you through every step of making the best Roast Turkey Xmas Dinner!
From where to buy a small turkey. Whether to buy fresh or frozen, and how to safely defrost a frozen whole turkey.
To what to stuff with, how to remove a wishbone and string the poultry. And finally, of course, the temperature and cooking times for how long to roast?
Looking for a Christmas Dessert? We have the perfect British Christmas Pudding recipe that you must try!
HOW DO YOU PREPARE AND COOK A SMALL WHOLE TURKEY?
Check out the slideshow below for step-by-step images for preparing and cooking a small whole turkey.
There is a wealth of information to read through on this blog page. If you don’t want all the ‘ins and outs of the turkey’s a***’, feel free to jump straight to the recipe card.Jump to Recipe
However, you may want to come back and check the images for removing the wishbone, trussing the turkey and carving.
WHAT SIZE TURKEY DO I NEED FOR A SMALL FAMILY?
The pictures you see in this blog post are of a 3.6kg Whole Turkey. There was plenty to serve us, a family of 4 (2 Adults and 2 Children) with enough leftovers!
Check the table below for how many people a small turkey will serve.
| Whole Turkey Weight | Number of Servings |
| 2kg / 4.5lb | 4 People |
| 2.6kg / 6lb | 5 People |
| 3kg/ 6.5lb | 6 People |
| 3.6kg / 8lb | 7 People |
| 4kg / 9lb | 8 People |
WHAT IS THE SMALLEST SIZE OF A WHOLE TURKEY?
2kg is the smallest whole turkey you will be able to buy. Of course, if you need smaller than that, you can opt for a Turkey Crown instead!
We also have a simpler slow cooker turkey crown recipe you may like to try for a complete hands-off turkey cooking experience.
WHERE CAN I BUY A SMALL TURKEY?
Small turkeys are easier to get hold of than big turkeys. They are also available all year round, which is a bonus. Whoever said a Turkey is just for Christmas!
WHICH IS BEST, FROZEN OR FRESH TURKEY?
Fresh is usually best. However, it is not a massive difference. There is some argument that frozen turkey is not as tender.
This is not true if you buy a pre-frozen Turkey from a supermarket because it will have been ready-basted and flash-frozen to protect the meat quality.
I happily buy frozen, knowing I can cross one more thing off my Christmas list before they all sell out!
Conversely, you can find mini or small whole turkeys all year round in the freezer aisle of most supermarkets.
ARE SMALL WHOLE TURKEYS MORE TENDER?
Smaller turkeys are usually small as they are younger. This leads to a juicer, more tender meat when roasted.
HOW TO DEFROST A FROZEN SMALL WHOLE TURKEY?
The guidance from The Food Standards Agency is to defrost your turkey in a container big enough to catch any juices to avoid cross-contamination.
This should be placed in a fridge for about two days before cooking. You are allowing your turkey enough time to thaw thoroughly.
THAWING TIME FOR TURKEY
The defrosting time for your turkey should be on the packaging. However, if you want to double-check, see the below table.
| Whole Turkey Frozen Weight | Defrost Time – covered in fridge |
| 2kg / 4.5lb | 20 hrs |
| 2.6kg / 6lb | 25 hrs |
| 3kg / 6.5 | 30 hrs |
| 3.6kg / 8lb | 35 hrs |
| 4kg / 9lb | 40 hrs |
CAN I COOK A SMALL TURKEY FROM FROZEN?
It is not advised to cook a whole Turkey from frozen unless it is expressly stated on the manufacturer’s label of the turkey.
HOW TO PREPARE A SMALL WHOLE TURKEY FOR ROASTING?
We will go through every step of turkey preparation with you, from removing the wishbone, adding flavour and keeping the meat moist.
How to string up, prevent burning, what temperature and how long to cook for?
WHAT TO PREPARE ON?
We like to use a large cut of foil on the worktop whilst preparing our Turkey. This is to prevent cross-contamination on worktops. It can be thrown away once your prep has finished.
Remove your turkey from the packaging, throwing away excess fluids.
DO I NEED TO KEEP GIBLETS?
First, locate the giblets and neck inside the cavities of the turkey and throw these away or use how you wish.
