Roast turkey with two stuffings recipe

By Debbie Major

Serves 4-6, with some left for cold cuts
Takes 4 hours to make, plus resting
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Rating

You won't go wrong at Thanksgiving or Christmas or at Sunday lunch with this excellent roast turkey recipe.

Ingredients

3.5kg oven-ready turkey
Parsley stalks
3 large sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 small lemon
50g butter, at room temperature

For the potato stuffing

750g floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper
75g butter
100g rindless streaky bacon (about 6 rashers), finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked

For the crunchy lemon, parsley and chestnut stuffing

50g butter, plus extra to dot on top
1 large onion, finely chopped
100g celery, finely chopped
175g fresh white breadcrumbs
200g peeled and cooked chestnuts, coarsely chopped
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves (reserve the stalks for the turkey)
1 small egg, beaten

Method

1. Make the potato stuffing. Cut the potatoes into chunks and put into a pan of salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain and leave until the steam has died down, then transfer to a bowl and roughly mash them.
2. Melt 15g of the butter in a pan, add the bacon and fry for 3-4 minutes until lightly golden. Add the rest of the butter, the onion and thyme leaves and cook for 5 minutes or so, until the onion is soft but not browned. Stir the mixture into the potatoes, with plenty of seasoning and mix well. Leave to cool.
3. Make the crunchy lemon, parsley and chestnut stuffing. Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion and celery and fry gently for 5 minutes. Tip into a bowl, cool, then stir in the breadcrumbs, chestnuts, lemon zest, parsley and egg. Season. Spoon into a buttered shallow ovenproof dish, dot with a little extra butter and set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan200°C/gas 7. Remove the giblets and start making the gravy stock (see recipe for The gravy). Rinse the turkey inside and out and dry well. Spoon some potato stuffing into the neck cavity to round the end, tuck the flap of skin back under the bird and secure with a fine skewer. Spoon the remaining stuffing into a lightly greased, shallow, ovenproof dish and set aside. Season the body cavity, then push in half of the herbs. Stab the lemon all over with a fine skewer and push inside the bird, plus the rest of the herbs. Truss the turkey, weigh and calculate the cooking time (18 minutes per 450g, plus 18 minutes).
5. Pour 600ml water into the bottom of a large roasting tin and place a rack in or over the tin. Rest the turkey on the rack and spread the softened butter over the whole bird, making sure to cover the legs. Season well. Cover the turkey loosely with a large sheet of foil, sealing it well under the rim of the tin. Place it in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 190°C/fan170°C/gas 5 and cook for the remaining calculated cooking time. For the last 30 minutes of cooking you need to uncover the turkey and increase the oven temperature to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6 – this will brown the skin. Baste it regularly with the cooking juices. Put the stuffings into the oven, too. They will take about 40 minutes.
6. At the end of this time, check the turkey is cooked by pushing a fine skewer into the thickest part of the thigh. If the juice runs clear, it’s cooked; if there are still traces of pink, return to the oven for 15 minutes or so. Remove the turkey from the oven, lift it onto a board and leave it to rest somewhere warm for 20 minutes – you will end up with a very moist, tender turkey, and you can use the time to get the rest of the meal ready. (Lower the oven temperature when the stuffings are golden to keep warm.)
7. Strain the cooking juices into a jug, allow to settle, then spoon off the excess fat before making The gravy (see recipe). Carve the turkey and serve with the other trimmings and squash wedges, roasted alongside the bird for 40 minutes, if you like.