The Batch Lady’s pro tips: ‘Prep your turkey ready for the oven on Christmas Eve or the day before. You can stuff it, lay over the bacon and cover with cling film and put it in the fridge. This means you can just pop it straight into the oven on Christmas morning!’
Roast turkey with sage, cheddar and chestnut stuffing
Enjoy succulent turkey wrapped in bacon and stuffed with flavourful sausage meat, cheddar and chestnut stuffing this Christmas. Recipe and image from The Batch Lady Saves Christmas by Suzanne Mulholland (£25, Ebury Press). Photography by Andrew Hayes-Watkins.
Prep: 15 mins
20 minutes per kg, plus 70 minutes for a turkey under 4kg; 20 minutes per kg, plus 90 minutes for a turkey over 4kg
4kg turkey serves 8-10
Ingredients
- 1 x 170g Packet of dried sage and onion stuffing
- 2 tbsp Orange juice
- 400g Pork sausage meat
- 70g Grated Cheddar
- 90g Cooked chestnuts (finely diced)
- 1 x Oven-ready turkey (bag of giblets removed if there is one)
- 100g Soft butter
- 1 x 300g Pack smoked streaky bacon rashers
- Salt and pepper
Method
Step 1
For the stuffing, add the packet stuffing to a mixing bowl and pour over the amount of boiling water stated on the packet along with the orange juice. Leave to stand according to the packet instructions. Add the sausage meat, cheese and chestnuts and mix with your hands until they all come together. If making the stuffing in advance you can now freeze this – add to a large labelled freezer bag and freeze flat – or continue with the recipe below.
Step 2
Place your turkey in a roasting tin, breast-side up.
Step 3
Gently ease your fingers between the skin and the breast meat to lift the skin away from the breast, starting from the end nearest the cavity. Using your fingers, push the soft butter up under the skin, smoothing it from the outside to cover the breast. This will help the breast stay moist. Season all over with salt and pepper.
Step 4
Take the stuffing and stuff it into the neck of the turkey at the opposite end to the cavity.
Step 5
Lay the rashers of bacon diagonally across the breasts and legs. Cover with cling film and this will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Step 6
Remove the turkey from the fridge 1 hour before you’re planning to cook to allow it to come up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4. Place the turkey in the oven and cook for 20 minutes per kilogram, plus 90 minutes (for a turkey over 4kg), or 20 minutes per kilogram, plus 70 minutes (for a turkey under 4kg). Cover loosely with foil if the bacon starts to catch. Use a meat thermometer to ensure your turkey is cooked through – the internal temperature of the breast meat should be 75°C. Cook's tip: To cook the stuffing separately, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4 and line a 900g loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Press the stuffing mixture into the tin and cook for 25-30 minutes until cooked through.
