• RECIPES

Recipe Directions

For the stuffing 

Grease the bread cubes with some olive oil and bake them for 6΄-7΄ at 200ºC, until golden brown. 

Cut the membranes from the giblets. Wash them and chop finely. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the minced meat, the bacon and the giblets for 6΄-7΄. Add the onion and continue sautéing for 4΄-5΄. Add the brandy. 

Add the orange juice and let the filling glaze.

Add all the other ingredients, plums, chestnuts, bread, apples, walnuts, pine nuts, zest and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and remove from the heat.

For the turkey

If the turkey is frozen, it must be left for 48 hours in the fridge to thaw properly. 

We ask the butcher to remove the neck and the tips from the wings (for the broth). Leave the poultry at room temperature (from the refrigerator) for 45΄. Manually remove as much fat as possible from the abdomen.

Mix the butter, thyme and zest and lift the skin slightly from the meat. Spread between the skin and the meat. This will help it to cook without drying out. The fat will moist the meat during baking.

Pull the skin of the neck and fasten it, after turning it upwards, with a toothpick or sew it to close from above. Season the belly with salt and pepper and fill with the stuffing by hand or spoon. Do not overfill it, allowing the heat to penetrate properly and cook. Wrap the excess filling in backing paper and aluminum foil and bake it on the side. 

Sew or tie the turkey so that the legs and wings are fixed to the body. On the one hand this helps to keep a nice shape with the baking and on the other hand to keep the juices and moisture inside. Put some olive oil (2 tbsp.) on your hands and spread outside. Season with salt and pepper. Place the turkey it in roaster with the breast facing up, ideally on a grill to drip the fat. 

We have preheated the oven at 220ºC and we place it on the last grill. Bake for 40΄, until golden brown. (When we bake in high temperature, the skin and the meat are cooked forming a protective layer and so the meat juices transfer the heat inside to complete the cooking properly.) After 45΄, lower the temperature to 160ºC. Cover the turkey with the roaster’s lid or with backing paper and aluminum foil, not to burn. Continue baking for about 3 hours.

Towards the end of cooking, uncover the turkey and let the surface turn brown and the skin crisp. In general, as many kilos as raw turkey is, it needs so many hours of cooking. Also the roaster is very important. Take it out of the oven and cover it with aluminum foil for 20΄, to recover its juices, which when baked come out in the form of bubbles on the surface.

Extra Tips

- In order the meat not to dry and the skin to burn, regularly spread the liquids of the roaster with a brush during cooking, every 20΄. If the chest starts to burn, cover with backing paper and aluminum foil.

- To make sure it is ready, prick the leg. If the running liquid is pink, it means that it needs extra baking. If it comes out clear, it is ready. If there are too many clear juices, then we have to cook a little longer.

- If we want the skin to shine, spread it with a glaze of honey, butter and orange. 

- In order not to wet the skin, we tear the foil on two or three sides so that the steam is evacuated.

For the sauce 

Remove as much fat as possible from the roaster with a spoon. The leftovers are very tasty.

Put the roaster on the eye of the kitchen on medium to high heat and sprinkle with flour. Let the flour cook for 3΄-4΄, stirring with a whisk. Add the wine and continue stirring to avoid clogging the sauce. Finally add the broth -always hot- stirring with a whisk. Boil the sauce, add any liquids from the plate where we keep the turkey to strengthen the sauce. Flavor with rosemary or thyme and season with salt and pepper. Boil in low heat  8΄-10΄, until thickened. Strain the sauce and keep it warm. Serve the whole turkey with the sauce on a deep plate.