
Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas [in July]!
If you’re a fan of giving people the bird, then this killer recipe for stuffed turkey will be right up your ally. This lean, mean, turkey machine is stuffed with mushrooms, cranberries and pecans AND served with all the Christmas trimmings making it perfect to share with a crowd. If you’re not a fan of the big bird, crowds, or you find the task of cooking a whopper like this too daunting then try adapting the recipe for a baked chicken, or even rolled pork loin. YUM!
Serves – 8 people
Prep – 30 minutes
Cooking – 3 ½ hours
Ingredients
- 3kg fresh or thawed whole turkey
- 1 packet of McCain Sliced Mushrooms
- 3 rashes of bacon – rind removed and diced
- ½ cup of pecans – roughly chopped
- ¼ cup of dried cranberries
- 1 medium onion – diced
- 2 celery stick – finely diced
- 3 cloves of garlic – crushed
- 1 tbs of fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tbs of fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tbs of fresh parsley leaves
- 2 ½ cups of sourdough bread – cut into 1cm cubes
- 2 eggs – beaten
- 50g butter
- 1 tbs of olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Heat butter and olive oil in a medium pan over a high heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, bacon, rosemary and thyme and cook for 3-5 minutes or until onion is tender and bacon is golden.
- Add McCain Sliced Mushrooms and cook for 3-5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and mixture is dry.
- Add sourdough, cranberries, pecans and parsley to a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Add McCain Sliced Mushroom mixture to the dry ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add eggs and mix well to combine.
TIP: if you’re making the stuffing the night ahead simply add the eggs to the mixture the following day, prior to stuffing the bird.
- Preheat a fan-forced oven to 160°C. Wash the bird and cavity and pat dry with paper towel. Stuff the bird with the McCain Sliced Mushroom stuffing, ensuring you leave room for the stuffing to expand, and secure the legs with kitchen twine. Cover the breasts, wings and leg tips with oiled al-foil to ensure they don’t burn during cooking.
TIP: if you have leftover stuffing, wrap it in al-foil and place in the oven for the last 30 minutes of the birds cooking.
- Place the bird in the oven and for 55minutes per kg. 30 minutes before the bird is cooked, remove from the oven and remove al-foil and pierce skin with a skewer to allow for self-basting.
- Remove the bird from the oven, check that the bird is cooked by seeing that the juices run clear and the internal temperature of the bird reaches 80°C and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with all the trimmings!
Remember: never thaw a turkey on the bench or in the sink. Always thaw in the refrigerator and allow 13 hours per kg.
Enjoy!