The ultimate roast turkey with stuffing and bacon

Name: The ultimate roast turkey with stuffing and bacon
Cook time: 5 h 15 min
Total time: 5 h 15 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 125 g unsalted butter, softened; 1 tbsp heaped chopped fresh thyme leaves; 20 g fresh sage, finely chopped with extra whole leaves to garnish; 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped; 5 kg free-range turkey; 220 g smoked streaky bacon rashers; For the stuffing balls:; 500 g pork sausagemeat; 45 g fresh white breadcrumbs; 140 g ready-cooked peeled chestnuts, chopped; 20 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped; 1 onion, finely chopped; ½ unwaxed lemon, zested; ¼ tsp ground clove; 1 medium British free-range egg, beaten

5 steps

Cook:5h 15min

Get perfectly succulent roast Christmas turkey with a crispy bacon lattice and moist chestnut and lemon stuffing balls

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 07:36:35 GMT

Ingredients

10 servings

125gunsalted butter

softened

1 Tbspfresh thyme leaves

heaped, chopped

20gfresh sage

finely chopped with extra whole leaves to garnish

2 clovesgarlic

peeled and finely chopped

5kgturkey

free-range

220gsmoked streaky bacon rashers

500gpork sausagemeat

45gfresh white breadcrumbs

140gchestnuts

ready-cooked, peeled, chopped

20gfresh flat-leaf parsley

¼ tspground clove

1egg

medium, British, free-range, beaten

Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. In a bowl, mix together the butter, thyme, sage and garlic, and season with freshly ground black pepper.

Step 2

Use your fingertips to separate the turkey skin from the breast meat, being careful not to tear it. Push in the herb butter and spread evenly over the breast. Lay the bacon over the turkey, overlapping as you do so.

Step 3

Tie the turkey legs together with string and place the bird on a rack inside a large roasting tin. Roast for 30 minutes, uncovered, then remove from the oven and loosely cover with buttered foil. Reduce the temperature to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Continue roasting for 3-3½ hours, basting every 45 minutes with the juices, until cooked through. Remove the foil a few minutes before the end of cooking if the skin still needs to crisp up.

Step 4

Mix all the stuffing ingredients together and season. Shape into 20 balls and place in the oven in a roasting tin, 25 minutes before the turkey has finished cooking.

Step 5

To test whether the turkey is cooked, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the leg – the juices should run clear. Transfer to a warmed serving plate, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes before carving. Garnish with the sage leaves and serve with the stuffing balls.