Whole turkey with bacon, onion and sage stuffing
Dec 21, 2020 1:00pm- 4 hrs preparation
- Serves 12
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Ingredients
Bacon, onion and sage stuffing
- 50 gram butter
- 4 bacon rashers, chopped
- 1 medium (150g) brown onion, chopped
- 2 trimmed (150g) celery sticks, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 4 cup (280g) stale breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, beaten lightly
Whole turkey
- 5 kilogram turkey
- 50 square muslin
- 125 gram butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Port gravy
- 40 gram butter
- 1 medium (150g) brown onion, chopped
- 1 trimmed (75g) celery stick, chopped
- 2 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/4 cup (35g) plain flour
- 1/4 cup (60ml) port
- 2 1/4 cup (560ml) chicken stock, approximately
Method
Whole turkey with bacon, onion and sage stuffing
- 1Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
- 2To make bacon, onion and sage stuffing, heat butter in large frying pan; cook the bacon, stirring, until browned. Add the onion and celery, cook, stirring, until soft. Cool 10 minutes. Combine onion mixture, herbs, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and ground black pepper in a large bowl; mix well.
- 3Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold water; pat dry with absorbent paper. Fill the large cavity with seasoning. Tie the legs together with string. Fill the neck cavity with stuffing and secure the skin over the opening with toothpicks.
- 4Tuck the wing tips under the turkey.
- 5Place the turkey on an oiled wire rack in a flameproof baking dish. Dip the muslin in the melted butter, place the muslin over the turkey, cover dish tightly with foil. Bake for 2 hours.
- 6Remove the foil and muslin from the turkey, brush with the combined pan juices and olive oil. Bake the turkey, uncovered, for a further hour or until browned and cooked through. To test, insert a skewer sideways into the thickest part of the thigh. Remove the skewer and press the flesh to release the juices - if the juices are clear the turkey is cooked. Or, insert a thermometer into thickest part of turkey thigh, without touching the bone; it should read 90°C. Test the stuffing as well; it should read at least 75°C. Remove turkey from dish, sprinkle with the salt and thyme and stand, covered with foil, for 20 minutes.
- 7Meanwhile, drain the pan juices from the dish into a large jug, skim the fat from the top of the juices, reserve juices, discard fat.
- 8To make port gravy, place the same baking dish over a medium heat, melt the butter in the dish and cook the onion, celery and garlic, stirring, until soft. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until the flour is well browned. Remove from the heat, stir in the port; return to the heat. Gradually stir in the combined reserved pan juices and stock. Cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Strain gravy into a large jug.
- 9Serve turkey with port gravy, if desired.