Christmas turkey

Dish from the United States

Ingredients for 10 people
1 turkey (approx. 3.5 kg)

Stuffing:
200 g sausage meat
2 sticks celery
1 large onion
1 bunch of parsley
Thyme (3-4 sprigs)
Sage (3-4 sprigs)
Cornbread (or wheat bread)
200 ml chicken stock
75 g butter
3 tablespoons clarified butter
Salt
Black pepper

Gravy:
400 ml chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
Cream (optional)

Preparation
To make the stuffing, peel and chop the onion, wash and chop the celery and fry both gently in butter for 5 minutes. Add the sausage meat and continue frying for a further 5 minutes. Chop the parsley, sage and thyme and stir into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the bread into cubes and stir into the stock in a mixing bowl, then add the vegetable/meat mixture. The stuffing should be smooth and neither too dry nor too moist.

Wash the turkey, pat dry and sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff with the bread and vegetable/meat mixture and tie or sew the cavities with trussing string. Tie the legs together and tuck the tips of the wings under the back so that the bird can cook more evenly.

Preheat the oven to 175 °C (350 °F), or 160 °C (325 °F) if using a convection oven. Melt the clarified butter in a roasting pan and brown the stuffed turkey well on all sides. Place breast-side down in the roasting pan and put the pan on the bottom shelf of the oven.

Roast for approx. 2 to 2½ hours, basting from time to time with the juices from the bird and turning if one side starts to get too brown. To test if the turkey is cooked, pierce with a skewer. If the juices run clear, it is ready to serve. Switch off the oven, transfer the turkey to a carving dish and leave it in the oven to keep warm.

To make the gravy, skim off the excess fat from the roasting pan using a spoon and kitchen paper. Pour the stock into the pan and stir to loosen any sediment, then transfer to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Blend together the butter and flour and stir into the gravy bit by bit, boil up quickly and season to taste, adding cream if a creamy sauce is preferred.

It looks most impressive if the turkey is carved at the table, but it may also be carved in the kitchen and arranged on plates.

The classical accompaniments to stuffed turkey, which is the traditional Thanksgiving dish in the United States, are cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, apples, nuts, pumpkin and apple casserole, various vegetables and sweet corn. Roast turkey is also very popular at Christmas.

Enjoy your meal.