FESTIVE BUTTERED TURKEY WITH APPLE & CHESTNUT STUFFING RECIPE
This is a very flavoursome way of stuffing the turkey and the interesting process of cooking the turkey with white wine in a tin foil tent’ will result in a wonderfully moist bird for all your family to enjoy this Christmas. The turkey is the centrepiece of the Christmas table so it is essential to make an extra special effort with it. Wishing you many happy hours of cooking, dining and wine tasting this Christmas! * 16lb/7.25kg Turkey
* 6-8 smoked rashers of bacon
Stuffing:
* 1 medium onion-diced * 4oz/110g butter
* 1 cooking apple-grated or finely chopped
* 2oz/50g chestnuts
* 12oz/350g fresh white breadcrumbs
* 4 tablespoons of chopped mixed herbs – parsley, sage, thyme etc
* Seasoning-Salt and Pepper
Additional Ingredients:
* 3oz/75g softened butter
* 1 tablespoon of chopped mixed herbs –parsley, sage, thyme etc * 2 carrots-cut into wedges
* 1 large onion-cut into wedges * Some sprigs of fresh thyme
* 1 glass of white wine
METHOD
* Heat the butter in a medium sized saucepan and gently fry off the diced onion and apple for 4-5 minutes until it has softened, but not coloured. At this stage add in the chopped mixed herbs and immediately turn off the heat. Allow this mixture to cool
* Add this ‘ buttery onion’ mixture to a large mixing bowl and add in the chestnuts & breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper and then allow the stuffing to cool down.
* Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/ Gas Mark 6
* Using some cold damp kitchen paper, wipe out the cavity of the turkey.
* Line the cavity with baking parchment and loosely pack the stuffing into the bird.
* Now weight the turkey again, once it has been stuffed, to get a true estimation of the cooking time.
* Put the Turkey onto a large roasting tray. Mix the remaining butter and the remaining mixed herbs together.
* Gently manoeuvre your hand under the skin of the turkey and spread the flesh with the softened herb butter, trying to get it spread evenly over the breasts.
* Lay the streaky rashers of bacon across the buttered breasts to protect the meat and prevent it from drying out.
* Place your large roasting tray on the kitchen worktop. Lay a very large piece pf tin foil on your tin, facing north to south with a very substantial overhang. Lay another piece of tin foil in the tin, facing east to west, with a similarly substantial overhang. Place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the tray and neatly arrange the carrots, onions and thyme sprigs on top. Place the buttered turkey on top and then carefully pour the glass of wine on top. Encase the turkey in a tin foil tent, of sorts, by pulling all the piece of foil together and wrapping over the turkey.
* Put the turkey into the oven
and begin to bake. After the first hour, reduce the temperature to 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2
* Allocate 20 minutes per pound and then an additional 20-30 minutes in the oven. In total, it should take about 5 1/2 hours. I would normally roast the in the tin foil ‘tent’ for most of the cooking time and then peel if off for the last hour to brown the turkey. The resultant product should be a wonderfully moist turkey.
* When a skewer is inserted into the meat nearest the bone (ie-the Leg) the juices should run completely clear and the leg, when pulled, should feel loose and ready to fall away.
* Allow the meat to rest when it comes out of the oven and carve as required.
Edward’s Top Tips:
· Stuffing is something that is very subjective and recipes for stuffing vary from house to house. Feel free to vary the flavour of your stuffing by substituting the apple and chestnut for any of the following ingredients: walnuts, apricots, cranberries, prunes, mashed potato, bacon lardons, sausage meat or even some cubed chorizo.
· I remind you to ensure that the stuffing is completely cold before you stuff the bird (unless you are cooking the turkey immediately).