Ingredients:
- For the turkey:
- 1 turkey (about 4 kg)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 100 g butter
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- The zest from half an orange
- 2 tbsp chives
- For the filling:
- 50 g butter
- 200 g mixed minced meat
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 30 ml cognac
- 5 plums, cut in half
- 5 chestnuts, boiled, cut in half
- 5 apricots, cut in half
- 1 apple, cut in cubes
- 2 tbsp walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp pine nuts, coarsely chopped
- The juice and zest of half an orange
- 1 cup crumbled bread
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions:
Preparing the filling:
- Brush the bread squares with a little olive oil and bake for 6 to 7 minutes at 200°C until they brown.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil and brown the minced meat for 6 to 7 minutes.
- Add the onion and continue sautéing for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Extinguish with cognac.
- Add the orange juice and let it glaze.
- Add all the remaining ingredients: apricots, plums, chestnuts, bread, apples, walnuts, pine nuts, orange zest, and season with salt and pepper.
- Mix well and remove from heat.
Preparing the turkey:
- Ask the butcher to remove the neck and tips from the wings if you want to make homemade broth for the turkey sauce.
- If it’s frozen, thaw it properly in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- After thawing leave the turkey at room temperature for 45 minutes.
- In a bowl, mix soft butter with salt, pepper, finely chopped thyme, orange zest, and chives.
- Dry the turkey inside and out with absorbent paper.
- Remove as much fat as possible from the belly (from the opening) by hand.
- Carefully separate the skin from the chest with fingers to create a pocket.
- Place the butter mixture under the skin.
- Massage gently to spread it evenly.
- Pull the neck skin and secure it, turning it upwards, using toothpicks or sewing it to close it from the top.
- Add salt and pepper to the belly and fill it with the stuffing using a spoon. Seal it with half an orange.
- Sew and tie it so that the legs and wings are attached to the body, both to maintain a nice shape during baking and to retain its juices and moisture inside.
- Rub some olive oil on the palms and coat the turkey externally.
- Add salt and pepper.
Baking the turkey:
- Place it in a tray with the chest facing up, ideally resting on a rack.
- Bake in a well-preheated oven at 220°C on resistors on the top shelf for 40 minutes until it browns.
- After 45 minutes, reduce the temperature to 160°C.
- Continue for about 2.5 hours.
- To prevent the turkey from drying out and the skin from tearing, brush regularly with the tray’s liquids every 20 minutes.
- If it starts to brown too much, cover it with non-stick paper and aluminum foil.
- To ensure it’s ready, insert a skewer into the thigh. If the running liquid is faint pink, it needs additional baking. If it comes out transparent, it’s ready.
- If using you’re using meat thermometer, insert it into the thigh (away from the bone, as it develops higher temperatures than the flesh) and if it shows 74°C, it’s ready.
- Remove it from the oven, cover it with aluminum foil for 20 minutes to recover its juices.
- Tilt the tray and remove as much fat as possible with a spoon.
- The residues are delicious and make the best sauce.
- Serve it whole with gravy sauce in a sauceboat.
- Enjoy!
Source: Argiro Barbarigou
