Summary

Ingredients

• 1 piece (s) turkey, weight 5 kg (calculate 500 g per person)

For the filling: (calculate about 2 cups of filling per kg of turkey)

• 10 cup white bread, stale, cut into cubes (1 cm edge length)
• 2 cup (s) onion (s), finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, cut into cubes with the greens
• 2 apples, as bitter as possible, diced (alternatively: quince)
• 1 cup butter
• 4 tablespoon sage, rubbed
• Salt and pepper, black
• 2 tablespoon parsley, leaves plucked from the stem
• possibly milk or poultry stock

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Instructions

1. Sweat the chopped onion, finely chopped celery and diced apples in butter, do not cook until brown.
2. Combine the spices and bread cubes and fold in the fruit and vegetables mixture. You can of course vary the spices, because thyme and bay leaves, for example, are also good. If you prefer a slightly moist filling, pour a little milk or poultry stock over the whole thing and let it soak in. You can also fold in 2 eggs.
3. Prepare the turkey, i.e. clean it if necessary. I always remove the wishbone, then the bird can later be dismantled more easily. To do this, scrape the bone free with the back of a knife and gently dissect it out with your fingers (and knife). If you believe in the wishbone myth: nomen est omen.
4. Salt and pepper the inside of the turkey and then stuff it loosely with the filling. I stuff part of it into the “wishbone cavity”. This sits in front under the goiter, and one should make sure that the skin is not cut off there so that it can be sewn or tucked towards the back. The main part of the fullness comes of course in the chest and abdomen. Put in loosely, do not stuff it tight, because the filling expands while baking. Close with meat forks and / or rope here too.
5. Place the stuffed turkey breast-side up on a rack that is on an oven tray. Brush well with cooking oil and cover the bird with a kitchen cotton cloth, also oiled, so that its sides are also protected. Bake in the oven at a constant medium temperature (160 ° C). The skin gradually turns golden brown and crispy. Do not turn over, do not add water and only brush 2-3 times with fat or the drained juice from the tray (relaxing!). Remove the cotton cloth 30 minutes before the end of baking to tan the skin. If necessary, increase the heat a little.
6. Baking times:
7. 3-4 hours for 2-4 kg turkey
8. 4-4 ½ hours for 4-6 kg turkey
9. 4 ½ - 5 hours for 6-8 kg turkey
10. You can also roast at 130 ° C, which increases the baking time by 1½ times.
11. The turkey is cooked through when the leg joints bend up and down very easily. Inside, a temperature of 75 ° C should be reached.
12. Take the gem out of the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, scrape the gravy out of the baking tray and lightly toast it together with the flour, then add water and prepare a delicious sauce from it (a dash of sherry, for example, won`t do any harm).
13. Carve the turkey, remove the filling and serve!
14. In addition: cranberry chutney, roasted sweet potatoes, orange carrots, cranberry and orange relish in sweet potato baskets, corn bread oh yes, don`t forget the abundance!