In short
A turkey crown is the breast of the bird, still on the bone, with the legs and wings removed. It cooks in a fraction of the time of a whole turkey, carves in neat slices, and fits in an Aga roasting oven with room to spare. The catch is that breast meat has no fat to protect it, so a crown treated like a whole bird comes out dry. The method below keeps it moist: butter under the skin, foil for most of the cooking, a thermometer instead of a guess, and a long rest. Our turkey roasting times guide covers whole birds; this one is for the crown.
Buying a crown
Allow about 400 g per person on the bone. A 2 kg crown feeds four or five; 2.5 to 3 kg feeds six to eight. A crown with the skin intact roasts better than a skinless one, and a free-range or bronze crown has more flavour and a little more fat. Take it out of the fridge an hour before cooking.
Prepare it
- Dry the skin with kitchen paper.
- Loosen the skin over the breast with your fingers and push softened butter underneath, mixed with chopped thyme or sage, salt and pepper. About 75 g for a 2 kg crown.
- Season the skin. Lay a few rashers of streaky bacon over the breast if you like; they baste the meat and come off before carving.
- Put halved onions, a carrot and a few sprigs of thyme in the roasting tin, and the crown on top. Add a glass of white wine or 200 ml of stock to the tin.
- Tent the crown loosely with foil.
The roasting oven method
The roasting oven runs at 200°C to 240°C, hotter at the top than the bottom, so the crown goes on the lowest set of runners with the grid shelf, or on the floor with a trivet, so the breast sits in the middle of the oven. Our Aga oven temperature guide explains the layout.
| Crown weight | Roasting oven, foil on | Foil off to brown | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 kg | 1 hour 10 minutes | 30 minutes | 1 hour 40 minutes |
| 2 kg | 1 hour 20 minutes | 30 minutes | 1 hour 50 minutes |
| 2.5 kg | 1 hour 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 2 hours |
| 3 kg | 1 hour 40 minutes | 30 minutes | 2 hours 10 minutes |
That is 20 minutes per kg plus 70 minutes. Baste once when the foil comes off. A stuffed crown needs an extra 20 to 30 minutes; weigh it stuffed and use that weight.
The temperature that matters
Push a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, away from the bone. It should read 70°C before the crown comes out, and the juices should run clear. If it is reading 65°C, give it another 10 minutes and test again. The thermometer is more reliable than any table, because crowns vary in shape as much as in weight.
The simmering oven method
For a Christmas morning when the roasting oven is wanted for everything else, cook the crown slowly:
- Brown the crown uncovered on the lowest runners of the roasting oven for 30 minutes.
- Cover it with foil and move the tin to the simmering oven at 110°C to 120°C.
- Leave it for 2 to 3 hours for a 2 to 3 kg crown. Test with the thermometer from 2 hours; it is done at 70°C.
- For a deeper colour, return it to the roasting oven uncovered for 15 minutes.
The breast cooks more evenly this way and the roasting oven is free for the potatoes. Our guide to the simmering oven explains why nothing dries out in there.
Resting and carving
Lift the crown onto a warm board, cover loosely with foil and rest it for 20 to 30 minutes. Keep the tin for gravy. To carve, run the knife down one side of the breastbone, cut the whole breast away from the bone in one piece, then slice it across in thick slices; repeat on the other side. Carved slices hold in the simmering oven, or the warming oven on a 4-oven Aga, under a little of the gravy.
Serve the slices on a warm platter with the bacon from the top, if you used it, and the roasting vegetables from the tin. A crown carves into even slices with no dark meat, so there is no arguing over legs; if your family wants them, buy a couple of turkey thighs and roast them alongside on the floor of the roasting oven for the last hour.
Gravy from the tin
Pour off the fat, keep the onions and juices, and put the tin on the simmering plate. Stir in a tablespoon of flour, cook for a minute, add the resting juices and a splash of wine, then top up with stock and let it bubble. Strain it into a warm jug. The crown bones make a stock for Boxing Day soup if left overnight in the simmering oven.
Christmas timing plan, 2.5 kg crown, roasting oven method, on the table at 2 pm
- 11.15 Crown out of the fridge. Potatoes peeled and parboiled.
- 11.45 Crown into the roasting oven, lowest runners, foil on.
- 13.15 Foil off, baste, potatoes in on the floor of the roasting oven.
- 13.40 Probe the crown. Out at 70°C, onto the board to rest. Yorkshire puddings or pigs in blankets in at the top of the roasting oven.
- 13.45 Gravy on the simmering plate.
- 14.00 Carve and serve.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a turkey crown take in an Aga?
In the roasting oven, allow 20 minutes per kg plus 70 minutes: about 1 hour 50 minutes for a 2 kg crown and 2 hours 10 minutes for a 3 kg crown, covered with foil for all but the last 30 minutes. A thermometer settles it: the thickest part of the breast should read 70°C before it comes out.
Which Aga oven do you cook a turkey crown in?
The roasting oven, at 200°C to 240°C, on the lowest set of runners so the top of the crown sits in the middle of the oven. For a slower, more forgiving finish, brown it in the roasting oven for 30 minutes and then move it to the simmering oven.
Can I cook a turkey crown in the Aga simmering oven?
Yes. Brown it uncovered in the roasting oven for 30 minutes, cover with foil and move it to the simmering oven at 110°C to 120°C for 2 to 3 hours for a 2 to 3 kg crown, until the thickest part reads 70°C. Return it to the roasting oven uncovered for 15 minutes if you want more colour.
How do I keep a turkey crown moist?
Butter under the skin, a foil tent for most of the cooking, a stock or wine in the tin, and above all a thermometer so you take it out at 70°C rather than guessing. Resting for 20 to 30 minutes under foil lets the juices settle back into the meat.
How big a turkey crown do I need?
About 400 g per person on the bone. A 2 kg crown feeds four or five, a 2.5 to 3 kg crown feeds six to eight. A crown has no legs or wings, so there is less waste than a whole bird.
How long should a turkey crown rest?
At least 20 minutes, and 30 minutes for a crown over 2.5 kg, loosely covered with foil on a warm board. The simmering oven or the warming oven holds carved slices without drying them.
Ready for Christmas?
If the roasting oven is not as hot as it was, or you would like each oven under its own control for the big day, we can help across Yorkshire, Cumbria and the North East, from a service to an electric conversion. Call 01748 811030 or request a callback below.