The temperature a Christmas turkey should be when it is cooked

After weeks of planning and filling up the fridge, making Christmas dinner can be pretty stressful.

After unwrapping presents and tidying up, the thought of cooking an entire roast dinner for the family can be offputting. In addition to peeling and preparing the vegetables, the turkey will also need cooking if you are a meat eater.

And if you are only used to roasting chicken, it is important to remember that a turkey will need longer in the oven as it tends to be bigger.

You also need to ensure that the turkey has been stored correctly and is fully defrosted before Christmas Day. According to the Food Standards Agency, the meat must be kept in a fridge set at 5C or below.

You also need to make sure raw turkey meat has been kept covered on the bottom shelf to avoid spillages or cross-contamination.

The best advice for defrosting the bird will be found on the packaging. However, it can take three to five days for a turkey to be fully thawed.

This should be done in a fridge, not at room temperature, and the FSA recommends allowing 10-12 hours per kg to defrost.

To cook turkey, preheat the oven to 180C and allow 45 minutes per kg plus 20 minutes for a bird that weighs under 4.5kg. For turkeys weighing between 4.5kg and 6.5kg, you should allow 40 minutes per kg, and for those 6.5kg and above, you should allow 35 minutes per kg.

To check if it is fully cooked, you need to check the temperature of the meat. If you have a thermometer, the FSA recommends checking the thickest part of the meat and making sure it reaches one of the following combinations.

If you do not have a meat thermometer, the best way to do this is to cut into the thickest part of the meat, the area between the leg and the breast, and check that none of