Fruity Roast Turkey with Cider Gravy and Spiced Cranberry Stuffing
This fruity roast turkey with cider gravy will be the star of your Christmas meal, especially with the cranberry, bacon & walnut turkey stuffing.
Ingredients
For the stuffing
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 6 bacon rashers sliced into small strips
- 3 shallots peeled and finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery trimmed and finely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary leaves picked and chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries (large handful)
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- sea salt
- ground black pepper freshly ground
- 30 g chopped walnuts (or a handful)
- 1½ tbsp orange zest (or zest of one orange)
- 300 g pork sausage meat (high quality)
- 400 ml dry cider
- 1 egg (free range)
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs (or 2 big handfuls)
For the Turkey Roast
- 4 kg turkey about 4kg
- 100 g butter softened to rub the bird
For the Gravy
- 400 ml dry cider
- 300 ml fresh organic chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon cornflour
Instructions
Prepare the Stuffing
- Melt the unsalted butter in a saucepan and add the bacon, shallots, celery, and rosemary. Cook gently with the lid on for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft but not colored.
- Add the cranberries and half the cider, and turn up the heat a little. When the liquid has reduced to a third of its volume, set it aside to cool.
- Mix in the nutmeg, allspice, some salt and pepper, the walnuts, orange zest, sausage meat, and egg, then fold in the breadcrumbs.
- Cook half of the stuffing or leave to make sausage rolls on Boxing Day. The other half will be used to stuff the turkey.
Prepare the Turkey
- Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/gas 9. Pat the turkey’s skin dry with kitchen paper, then stuff the neck end with half the stuffing.
- Rub the bird with the softened butter and season well. Place in a roasting tin, cover with foil, and pop it in the preheated oven.
- After 15 minutes, turn down the heat to 150°C/300°F/gas 2. Baste, then roast for another 2 to 2¾ hours.
- Remove the foil 1 hour before the end of cooking time. To check the bird is cooked, stick a fork into the thickest part of the thigh – the juices should run clear.
Rest the Turkey
- Remove the turkey from the oven, lift it out of the tin, cover with foil, then leave to rest for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours for bigger birds.
Make the Gravy
- Increase the oven temperature to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Skim off the fat in the tin and use it to roast your potatoes.
- Add the rest of the cider to the meat juices in the tin, along with the meat off the turkey wings and enough stock to cover the bottom of the tin.
- Stir in the cornflour, dissolved in a little water, and simmer on the hob until thickened. Sieve into a jug and serve with your turkey, stuffing, and some roast potatoes.