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For stuffing:
50 g (2 oz) butter
2 onions, chopped
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only, chopped
100 g (4 oz) cooked wild and long grain rice
50 g (2 oz) dried cranberries
100 g (4 oz) dried apricots, roughly chopped
175 g (6 oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
6 good quality pork and herb sausages, skinned
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 egg, beaten
For turkey:
50 g (2 oz) butter
½ tsp saffron threads
5.6 kg (12 lb) British turkey, thawed if frozen, giblets removed
1 lemon, halved
1 bay leaf
Preheat oven to 190 C, 375 F or gas mark 5.
For stuffing, heat a little oil and the butter in a pan and fry onion and rosemary for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining stuffing ingredients until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
For turkey, melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in saffron threads and leave to cool slightly. Push some of the stuffing into neck end of bird, packing it right up to the breast meat. Secure neck skin with cocktail sticks. Roll remaining stuffing into balls — these will take just 30 minutes in the oven and can be cooked while the turkey is resting.
Weigh the stuffed turkey and calculate cooking time at 20 minutes per kilo (2 lb 4 oz) plus 90 minutes. Push the lemon and bay leaf into turkey cavity and place in a roasting tin. Brush with saffron butter and season well. Cover with foil and roast.
One hour from end of cooking time, remove foil and baste, then roast uncovered. To check if the turkey is cooked, push a metal skewer into the thickest part of the leg — if juices run clear, the turkey is cooked. Cover with foil and allow to rest for around 30 minutes before carving.
(Serves 12)
For advice on cooking the Christmas turkey, call the British Turkey Hotline on 0800 783 9994 or
www.britishturkey.co.uk
© recipe by Phil Vickery
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