Stuffed turkey

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 3.8 kg turkey, ready to cook, gutted
• n. B. Salt
• 1 bunch of soup vegetables
• 1 tsp honey
• 400 ml water or chicken stock
• 1 medium-sized lemon(s)
• 50 g walnuts
• 50 g pine nuts
• 1 sprig(s) rosemary
• 150 g prunes
• 75 g dried apricots
• 75 g raisins
• 100 g diced ham
• 400 g minced meat, half and half
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 250 ml sherry
• 2 small apples

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours 20 minutes; Total time approx. 15 hours 5 minutes

sensational Christmas roast with a somewhat elaborate but extremely delicious filling

Prepare the turkey stuffing the day before. Squeeze the lemon and reserve the juice. Finely chop the nuts, pine nuts, and rosemary sprig, or puree them with a hand blender. Then, knead the chopped prunes, apricots, raisins, diced ham, minced meat, pine nuts, walnuts, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves into a smooth paste. Stir in the lemon juice and sherry to flavor the stuffing, and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. On the day of the feast, cut off the turkey’s neck and remove the wing tips. Boil the neck, wings, and giblets in a suitable-sized pot in 400 ml of water for about 30 minutes. Set the turkey stock aside; you will need it later to baste the roast. The giblets can be discarded. Alternatively, you can use ready-made stock. Wash the turkey thoroughly and pat dry, then season with salt inside and out as desired. Clean and coarsely chop the vegetables. Now stuff the turkey with the prepared stuffing mixture. If any stuffing mixture remains, the rest can be incorporated into the gravy at the end. Core both apples and seal the turkey’s neck and the other opening to prevent the stuffing from falling apart and to keep it in the roast. Secure the turkey legs and wings with kitchen twine or roulade pins. Now place the turkey in the unheated oven, breast-side up, on a rack, and place it fairly low to prevent the broiler from burning the roast. Place a baking tray underneath as a drip tray. The tray should be able to collect at least 1 liter of liquid. Set the oven to 170°C (340°F) fan/convection oven and turn on the broiler. The cooking time is 140 minutes; baste the bird with the prepared turkey stock every 30 minutes. Turn the roast halfway through cooking. Place the chopped vegetables in the drip tray and finish roasting the turkey. Ten minutes before the end of the cooking time, brush the 1/2 teaspoon of honey over the turkey. Then carve the bird and keep warm. Transfer the liquid from the drip pan to a suitable-sized pot, adding turkey stock and water if desired. If desired, add some of the stuffing. Blend everything with a hand blender, bring to a boil briefly, and reduce to the desired consistency. Serve with dumplings, red and Brussels sprouts.