Oven Roasted Turkey with Apple, Mixed Herb Stuffing

Sun, 20 December 2015

You just can't beat a traditional Christmas turkey

INGREDIENTS  
10lb/4.5kg Turkey
6 smoked rashers of bacon

Stuffing:
1 medium onion-diced
3oz/75g butter
½ medium sized onion
1 cooking apple-grated or finely chopped
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
1 glass white wine (for the turkey-not yourself!!!)

METHOD:
Heat the butter in a medium sized saucepan and gently fry off the diced onion and cooking apple for 4-5 minutes until it has softened but yet 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 breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper

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 cooked 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 a long piece of tin foil in the roasting tray facing north to south, with another long piece going from east to west. Place the turkey in the middle of this, pour the wine on top and tent the tin foil around the turkey to cover it. This will allow the turkey to partially steam during the cooking process, thus resulting in a wonderfully moist bird.
Put the turkey into the oven at this stage to begin cooking.
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 3½-4 hours. 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. I normally peel back the tin foil for the last hour of the cooking process to allow it to brown up.

Allow the meat to rest when it comes out of the oven and carve as required.