Stuffed turkey ingredients
Stuffed turkey ingredients
You need a 4 or 5 kg turkey, 250 g of minced beef, 250 g of minced pork, 250 g of dried apricots, 6 apples, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 onions, 2 slices of the previous day's bread , 100 ml of milk, 1 pinch of nutmeg, 300 ml of white wine, 1 glass of Jerez, olive oil, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1 clove of garlic, 1 sprig of rosemary, pepper and salt.
Clean turkey
Clean turkey
To make stuffed turkey, first of all, you have to empty it (you can ask to have the viscera removed in the poultry house where you go). Then, remove any possible feathers from the turkey, wash it, and dry it. Arrange it on your work surface, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and fold the wings back. Do not forget to also dry the inside of the bird with absorbent kitchen paper, and salt and pepper it.
Stuff the turkey
Stuff the turkey
Fillers there are infinite. For ours, you have to soak the bread with the milk. Peel 3 apples, cut them in half, remove the core and cut the pulp into small cubes. Peel the onions, chop them and fry them over medium heat for about 5 min. Add the apple cubes, increase the heat and sauté for 4 min. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool. Add the meat, the drained bread and half of the chopped dried apricots. Season with salt and pepper, flavor with nutmeg and stir. Introduce the stuffing through the bottom of the turkey.
Sew the filler opening
Sew the filler opening
Once the turkey is stuffed with the mixture of minced meat, vegetables, bread and milk, join the edges of the opening and sew them with kitchen thread. In this way, it will be perfectly closed and the filling will not come out during cooking.
Sew the top
Sew the top
It is also recommended to sew the top of the turkey, so that it is closed and preserves all the juices.
Tie the legs
Tie the legs
Before putting it in the oven, remember to tie the legs as well. In this way, the turkey will keep its compact shape and will not open as it roasts.
Prepare the dressing
Prepare the dressing
If you want to give it more flavor and prevent it from drying out excessively, you can brush it with some type of dressing. In this case, we have crushed a clove of garlic in a mortar and added a teaspoon of cinnamon, a clove, along with a glass of Jerez, four tablespoons of water and two of olive oil.
Brush the turkey
Brush the turkey
Once the dressing is prepared, brush the turkey with this mixture with the help of a brush and place it in a deep dish to add the accompaniment and collect the juices.
Bake the turkey
Bake the turkey
Pour the wine into the refractory dish and place it in the oven previously preheated to 180 degrees. Bake for 2 hours and 35 minutes, watering the meat from time to time with its own cooking juice. Once this time has elapsed, add the remaining apples cut into wedges, the cinnamon stick and the rest of the dried apricots to the source, bake for 25 more minutes, remove and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Plate and serve
Plate and serve
In most traditional stuffed turkey recipes, it is usually served whole, placed on a tray with the garnish around it, and carved directly at the table. In this case, for example, it is a Thanksgiving turkey, with its typical accompaniment of grapes, apples and other winter products.
Christmas roast turkey
Christmas roast turkey
The stuffed turkey is also a very typical recipe for the Christmas holidays. In that case, we have served it over the roasted apples and dried apricots, and we have added other nuts (peeled pistachios, raisins …) along with a sprig or sprig of aromatic herbs to give it a more festive touch.
There are countless stuffed turkey recipes, but almost all have in common that they are baked, and that they are usually cooked for large family celebrations such as Christmas or Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and in which this dish is the undisputed star.
Turkey ingredients stuffed with minced meat, apples and dried apricots
- 1 turkey of 4-5 kg
- 250 g of minced beef
- 250 g of minced pork
- 250 g apricot dried apricots
- 6 apples
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 onions
- 2 slices of bread from the day before
- 100 ml milk
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 300 ml of white wine
- 1 glass of Jerez
- Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- Salt pepper
Step by step reminder to make stuffed turkey
1. Prepare the turkey
- Remove any feathers from the turkey, wash it and dry it. Arrange it on your work surface, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and fold the wings back.
- Dry the inside of the bird very well with absorbent kitchen paper, season it inside as well and it is ready to fill.
2. Make the filling
- Soak the bread in the milk.
- Peel 3 apples, cut them in half and remove the core. Cut the pulp into small cubes.
- Peel the onions and chop them finely.
- In a frying pan with a thread of oil, sauté the chopped onion for 5 min on medium heat.
- Add the apple cubes, increase the intensity of the flame and sauté them for 4 minutes, until they are golden brown.
- Remove the mixture, transfer it to a large bowl, let it cool, and add the two types of meat, the drained bread and half of the sliced dried apricots.
- Season with salt and pepper, flavor with the nutmeg and stir.
3. Fill and season
- Preheat oven to 180 or .
- With the help of a wooden spoon, fill the turkey with the previous mixture, sew the bottom opening, the top one, and tie the legs with kitchen string.
- Brush it with a dressing based on crushed garlic, sherry, ground cinnamon and cloves, water and oil.
4. Bake the turkey
- Grease a baking dish with oil and place the turkey in it. Pour in the wine and bake for 2 hours and 35 minutes; sprinkle the meat from time to time with the cooking juice.
- Peel the remaining apples, remove the core and cut them into wedges. Add them to the turkey dish, with the cinnamon stick and the rest of the dried apricots. Bake 25 minutes, remove and let rest 5 minutes.
- Remove the string from the turkey and transfer it to a source with the apples, dried apricots and cinnamon. Sprinkle it with its cooking juice and decorate it with a sprig of washed rosemary or the chopped leaves.
A meat that spreads a lot
One of the reasons why it fits perfectly as a plate for celebrations that gather many people around a table is because of its popularity. Keep in mind that a turkey weighing about 10 pounds will feed about 10 people, depending on the filling and the garnish.
And although it is true that it requires several hours of cooking (about 3 hours more or less), it has other advantages. It can be done with time. During baking, you do not have to do anything other than watch and go wetting it with its own juice. And it is usually carved directly on the table, thus saving you the time of individually plating.
Countless fillings for turkey
- The traditional Thanksgiving turkey is usually stuffed with a mixture of corn bread, onion, bacon strips, raisins, and poultry stock. And it is served with roasted apples, grapes, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, blueberry jam and the essential gravy (the juice from roasting the meat).
- The stuffing of the Christmas turkey depends a lot on the tradition of the area where it is cooked, but almost all of them coincide that there are seasonal fruits (such as, for example, apples) and dried fruits (dried apricots, plums and raisins, pine nuts. ..).
- And it is also very typical to fill it with minced meat mixed with other ingredients , as we have done.
