Masterchef star's 'controversial' rule

He says your feast will be 'brilliant' (and probably cheaper) if you opt for a different meat altogether.

For the other 364 days of the year, most of us don’t really think about turkey – Sunday roasts usually consist of the perfect whole chicken, crunchy pork crackling or a tender leg of lamb. 

However, when it comes to the most festive day of the year, we all suddenly decide that lunch isn’t complete without turkey. 

Controversial opinion coming… 

Matt Preston reckons you shouldn’t even bother with a turkey for Christmas. 

Why Matt Preston doesn’t make a turkey for Christmas

“Turkeys are hard to cook right, so why would you set yourself up?” says Matt. Christmas turkeys are much larger than chickens, meaning they take longer to cook… and since turkey is a leaner meat, the best practice is to brine your turkey days before eating it to ensure the meat stays juicy. Yes – that’s right. You have to soak it, prep it, roast it for HOURS.

TL;DR a lot of effort… and Christmas is already enough effort. 

Matt thinks you should stick to chicken on Christmas Day

While we love doing something special for Christmas – hence the turkey desire – Matt doesn’t get the turkey hype and thinks it’s best to stick to what you know.

And what he knows is… a roast chicken. 

Matt explained: “At the end of the day, you need white meat. You don’t really need a turkey.

So honestly, buy a chicken. It’s going to cost you far less and it’s going to do the job. Plus, you’ll cook it brilliantly because you’ve cooked roast chicken a million times – you’ve only cooked turkey maybe once a year.” 

A chicken may not feel as festive as a turkey but trust us, there are so many amazing ways to make roast chicken jolly good for Christmas. 

Curtis Stone's roast chickens with lemon and herbs

Still adamant about having turkey this Christmas?

If you are going to ‘turkey-it’ this Christmas, Matt suggests buying a turkey buffet which is essentially the breast portion with the legs and wings removed. It’s smaller, easier to cook and doesn’t require the prep work of a whole turkey. 

There are plenty of ways to make turkey delicious. We suggest starting off with brining and then picking a turkey recipe that works for you. Will it be this ultimate roast turkey recipe, this maple roast turkey with a deliciously festive gingerbread stuffing recipe or will you keep it classic with our cranberry and pecan stuffed turkey recipe?

The turkey choice is yours.

Originally published as Masterchef star's 'controversial' rule