Roast turkey with traditional stuffing and cranberry sauce recipe
Roast turkey is popular festive or party fare as it’s such a suitable dish for feeding a crowd. Ask your butcher for a free-range turkey and choose a smaller rather than a larger bird, which can dry out over long cooking. The breadcrumb stuffing can also be used to stuff a chicken (use half the quantity).
Ingredients
- 5 kg whole turkey
- 8 large thyme sprigs
- 40 g butter, melted
- 750 ml chicken stock
- 11 lbs whole turkey
- 8 large thyme sprigs
- 1.4 oz butter, melted
- 26.4 fl oz chicken stock
- 11 lbs whole turkey
- 8 large thyme sprigs
- 1.4 oz butter, melted
- 3.2 cups chicken stock
- 50 g butter, chopped
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, trimmed, chopped
- 300 g bacon, chopped
- 0.3 cups chopped sage
- 0.5 cups chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped thyme
- 480 g breadcrumbs made from day-old bread
- 2 lemons, finely grated zest only
- 1.8 oz butter, chopped
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, trimmed, chopped
- 10.6 oz bacon, chopped
- 0.3 cups chopped sage
- 0.5 cups chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped thyme
- 16.9 oz breadcrumbs made from day-old bread
- 2 lemons, finely grated zest only
- 1.8 oz butter, chopped
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, trimmed, chopped
- 10.6 oz bacon, chopped
- 0.3 cups chopped sage
- 0.5 cups chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped thyme
- 16.9 oz breadcrumbs made from day-old bread
- 2 lemons, finely grated zest only
- 100 g dried sweetened cranberries
- 1 orange, zest finely grated, juiced
- 100 g redcurrant jelly
- 125 ml port
- 3.5 oz dried sweetened cranberries
- 1 orange, zest finely grated, juiced
- 3.5 oz redcurrant jelly
- 4.4 fl oz port
- 3.5 oz dried sweetened cranberries
- 1 orange, zest finely grated, juiced
- 3.5 oz redcurrant jelly
- 0.5 cup port
Details
- Cuisine: English
- Recipe Type: Main
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 40 mins
- Cooking Time: 200 mins
- Serves: 10
Step-by-step
- To make the traditional breadcrumb stuffing, heat the butter in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the onions, celery and bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft. Transfer to a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Season well with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Remove the neck and giblets of the turkey and trim any pockets of fat. Remove the wishbone. Spoon a quarter of the stuffing into the neck cavity, cover with the skin and tuck the skin under the wings. Spoon the remaining stuffing into the body cavity, then truss the turkey.
- Place the thyme sprigs in a large roasting pan and put the turkey on top. Brush all over with melted butter and cover the legs loosely with greased foil. Pour the stock around the turkey and roast for 1 hour. Reduce the heat to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Baste the turkey, remove the foil and roast for a further 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes and covering loosely with greased foil if it is browning too much, or until the juices run clear when pierced through the thickest part. Remove from the pan, cover loosely with foil and set aside in a warm place for 15 minutes to rest.
- Meanwhile, to make the cranberry sauce, place the cranberries in a bowl, cover with hot water and set aside for 30 minutes. Drain the cranberries, put in a saucepan with the remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- While the turkey is resting, use a metal spoon to remove the excess fat from the pan juices. Season, if necessary.
- Carve the turkey and serve with the stuffing, pan juices and cranberry sauce.
Recipes and images taken from Mastering the Art of Poultry, Meat and Game by Anneka Manning (£25), published by Murdoch Books.
You might also like
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature