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Traditional roast turkey
If you're going traditional this Christmas, a roast turkey is essential. This one, with all the trimmings, forms the centrepiece of a Christmas lunch.
ingredients
6.5kg turkey
200g butter, softened
12 slices streaky bacon
Salt
pepper
Pork forcemeat stuffing for the carcass
Celery, apple and walnut stuffing for the breast
Pork forcemeat stuffing
500g pork mince
50g butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped sage
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten
Celery, apple and walnut stuffing
50g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped celery
200g cooking apples, cored and chopped
60g apricots, chopped
100g walnuts, chopped
1½ cups croutons
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped sage
1 lemon, rind grated, and juiced
method
Wash the turkey inside and out then dry with a clean cloth. Remove neck and giblets, and set aside for use in Giblet stock.
First, stuff the turkey. Put the forcemeat into the body cavity and cover the stuffing with a piece of bread. Loosen the neck skin and push the celery and apple stuffing well into the breast cavity. Pull the skin gently over the stuffing and secure with skewers. Tie the legs together with string.
Arrange two large sheets of foil across the roasting tin, one widthways and the other lengthways. Spray the foil with cooking oil.
Lay the turkey on its back and rub generously with butter, making sure the bones are well covered. Next, season the turkey all over with salt and pepper and lay the bacon strips over the breast, with the rashers overlapping. Now, wrap the turkey in loose foil and place in a 220°C preheated oven for 40 minutes. Decrease the temperature to 170°C and cook for 3 ½ hours. Increase the temperature to 200°C and remove the turkey. Take off the foil from top and sides of the bird, then remove the bacon slices.
Baste the turkey thoroughly and return to the oven for a further 30-45 minutes for a golden finish. Give the turkey as much basting as possible during this final stage. The bacon rashers can now be returned to the oven to finish cooking and served with the turkey.
Pork forcemeat stuffing: Place the meat in a bowl. Melt the butter in a pan, then add the onion and celery and cook until soft. Allow to cool. Add the cooked onion and celery to the mince. Add the parsley, sage, breadcrumbs, lemon, egg, salt and pepper. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Celery, apple and walnut stuffing: Melt butter in a pan, then add the onions and celery and cook until soft. Add the apples, apricots and walnuts.
Cook for about four minutes over brisk heat, stirring continuously, then put the mix into a bowl. When cool, add the croutons, parsley, sage and lemon. Season to taste.
Serves 8
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