Outdoor Cooking & Charcoal Oven Recipes / Roast

Golden turkey crown beside the slow roast confit legs, cooked in a Charlie charcoal oven

Cooked in the Charlie Charcoal Oven

Turkey Crown with Slow Roast Legs

Cooking the crown and legs separately is how chefs get both right: the breast stays moist and the legs turn soft and tender. The bird is cured in salt and dark sugar for a day, which seasons it right through, then rinsed and dried before it goes in. The legs confit slowly in goose fat beneath the crown, catching its juices as it roasts.

Mark O'BrienChef
Roast
Prep45 minutes, plus 18 to 24 hours curing
CookAbout 4 hours, plus 40 minutes to an hour resting
Serves8, with leftovers
DifficultyMedium
Oven temperature140°C (285°F), then 180°C (355°F) for the last 30 minutes
RackLegs in their dish on the lower middle rack, crown on the rack above
CharcoalAbout three quarters of a football of good quality lumpwood charcoal

Charlie Oven — https://charlieoven.com/blogs/charcoal-recipes/turkey-crown-slow-roast-legs

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Ingredients

Equipment

Everything used in this recipe. Already have Charlie? Add the accessories in one go.

  • Charlie Charcoal Oven£5,950.00Choose your oven
  • Charlie Oven Cooking Rack£280.00
  • Deep Roasting Tray Rack£280.00
  • Oven Detachable Drip Tray£130.00
  • Charlie Oven Tongs 55cm£40.00
  • Stag British Premium Lumpwood Charcoal£96.50
Charlie Oven Cooking Rack, Deep Roasting Tray Rack, Oven Detachable Drip Tray, Charlie Oven Tongs 55cm and Stag British Premium Lumpwood Charcoal £826.50 together

Method

Setting up Charlie

Light a small pyramid of charcoal in the centre of the grates with one or two natural firelighters. Close the door and open both vents fully. When the oven is about 10°C (20°F) short of 140°C (285°F), set both vents to the hold position, about 2.5 cm (1 in) open. For the last 30 minutes, add a few chunks of charcoal if the fire has burned low and open both vents fully. Set them back to the hold position once the oven reaches 180°C (355°F).

  1. Prepare the bird

    Make sure the cavities are empty. Cut off the first two joints of each wing, leaving the drumette.
    Prepare the bird

  2. Remove the legs

    Run a knife between each thigh and the body of the bird. Keep cutting down between the two until you reach the thigh joint, then cut through it. Remove each leg cleanly.
    Remove the legs

  3. Remove the spine

    Turn the bird upside down so the spine faces up. With a heavy knife, cut down each side of the spine, leaving the breast on the bone. The spine should come away in one piece.
    Remove the spine

  4. Cure the turkey

    Mix the salt and sugar, rub it all over the crown and legs and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.
    Cure the turkey

  5. Rinse and dry

    Rinse the cure off the crown and legs under cold water and pat them dry.

  6. Start the legs

    Put the legs snugly in a Deep Roasting Tray Rack with the shallots, thyme, goose fat and rapeseed oil, so they confit. Cook at about 140°C (285°F) for 2 hours.
    Start the legs

  7. Add the fat from the gravy bones

    Pour the fat from the roasted gravy bones over the legs.

  8. Add the crown

    Take the crown out of the fridge an hour or two before it goes in. Push the butter under the skin and sit the crown on a Cooking Rack directly above the legs, so its juices drip into them. Cook for about 1½ hours.
    Add the crown

  9. Turn up the heat

    Bring the Charlie up to 180°C (355°F) for the last 30 minutes to darken the skin.
    Turn up the heat

  10. Check it's done

    The breast should reach 68°C (155°F) and the legs 85 to 90°C (185 to 195°F), with golden skin all over. Lift the legs out and leave them to rest in their hot fat. Rest the crown under foil for 40 minutes to an hour before carving. The breast keeps rising as it rests and should be over 70°C (160°F) when you carve.
    Check it's done

Tips

Mark starts the cure on Christmas Eve morning, ready to cook on Christmas Day.

Leave the wishbone in. On a turkey it sits so far back that cutting it out damages the breast, and it comes out easily when you carve.

Never baste with the pan juices. They're half water, which softens the skin. Baste with fat only.

Keep the spine, wing tips and trim you cut away: they make the base of the turkey gravy.

While the turkey rests, the potatoes, parsnips and sprouts finish in the oven.

Part of Mark O'Brien's Christmas menu. Download the full plan, with the shopping list and the timings for Christmas Eve and the day itself.

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The cook

Mark O'Brien

Chef

Mark O’Brien was a finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals 2026 and the first Irish chef to reach the final. After more than a decade in top London restaurants, he now runs Snake Oil Barbecue in Margate, bringing serious chef skills to his love of American BBQ and cooking over fire.

More recipes by Mark O'Brien

Frequently asked questions

  • Why cook the crown and legs separately?

    Breast meat is done at a lower temperature than leg meat. Cooking them apart lets the legs go long and slow without drying out the breast.

  • Can I buy a crown and legs instead of a whole bird?

    Yes. Cure and cook them in the same way. You will need bones from elsewhere for the gravy.

  • How much charcoal do I need for a long cook?

    About three quarters of a football. It holds the low temperature for the first three and a half hours and leaves enough fuel to bring the oven up for the last 30 minutes.