Margot Henderson’s stuffed roast turkey with lemon potatoes and braised Brussels sprouts with chestnuts

Serves 10-12 (Start 1 day before serving) Starters and mains

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Method

The day before, make the brine. Put the salt and sugar in a pan large enough to hold 5 litres water. Add the water and stir over a gentle heat to dissolve the salt and sugar. Pour into a large clean bucket or other suitable vessel, then pour in another 5 litres water and the remaining ingredients and leave to go completely cold.

Untruss the turkey and remove the giblets, reserving them for the gravy stock. Gently lower the turkey into the brine and leave in the fridge, or outside with a firm lid to protect it from animals, overnight.

The next day, prepare the turkey (this can be done several hours before it goes into the oven). Remove it from the brine, rinse under cold running water and pat dry. Wash down any surfaces touching the turkey to avoid spreading bacteria.

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C F/Gas 4. Gently slide your hands in between the skin and flesh of the bird, separating the two. Make a thick blanket of the butter between the flesh and skin.

Generously fill the cavity and neck end with stuffing (see recipe below) – it should bulge out. Cover the whole bird in a layer of bacon strips, like a blanket – you can hold them down with a few toothpicks if need be. Tie the legs together with cook’s string.

Calculate the cooking time (make sure you allow for the stuffing). Set a trivet in a very large roasting tin with a good edge to collect the juices. Lift the turkey on to the trivet, then pour in a little water (or stock) so the liquids that drip from the turkey don’t burn. Top up with liquid if it looks a little dry.

Cook for 1 hour, then turn the oven down to 160C/140C F/Gas 3. Continue to roast, basting once every hour or so until cooked through. Bring it back up to the higher temperature towards the end.

A 6kg bird with 1kg stuffing should take around 4½ hours to cook at these temperatures, but it will depend on your oven. Check it’s cooked by piercing deep into its thigh with a skewer - the juices should run clear. A meat thermometer, should read 80C internal temperature when you stick it in the thigh.

Transfer the bird to a platter (don’t be nervous, just lift and move). Wrap it in foil and leave it to rest – a full hour is good.

Meanwhile, make the gravy. Carefully tip the juices from the roasting tray into a jug and leave them to settle. Once the fat has risen to the top, skim it off and discard so you are left with only the juices. Heat the roasting tray over a medium heat, add a little stock and loosen any bits that are baked on to the bottom. Whisk in the flour, then pour in the juices, turn the heat up a little, add a few splashes of white wine or Madeira and simmer. Add the remaining stock and simmer, whisking, until you have smooth gravy. Season before serving. Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy, lemon potatoes and braised Brussels sprouts with chestnuts.

To make the stuffing

Heat the butter and goose fat in a medium-sized pan. Add the shallots and garlic and cook gently until softened, then add the leek and chopped herbs and cook for a few minutes longer. Add the port or Madeira and let it bubble away for a few moments until smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Blanch the vacuum-packed chestnuts for a moment, still in their plastic, then take them out and chop them up roughly, along with the apples. The chestnuts need to be the same sort of size as the apples to give your stuffing texture.

Put all the ingredients into a large bowl with salt and freshly ground pepper, adding the breadcrumbs last. Be careful, add slowly and mix as you go. The stuffing should be sticky and moist, not too dry. Store in the fridge until ready to stuff the turkey.

Cook’s note
Shape any stuffing mixture left over into smallish blobs, put them on a greased baking tray and bake for 20 minutes at 220C/200C F/Gas 7 until firmish, brown and crisp. Keep warm until needed, or flash in the oven just before serving.

This recipe was taken from the Christmas 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.