Christmas is just around the corner, and Miriam - from the gastronomic blog El Invitado de Invierno - brings us a special recipe for these holidays: the typical American turkey, stuffed and tasty, prepared in a Le Creuset cast iron pan . I encourage you not to miss this fantastic recipe, which Miriam tells you with much love and good advice.
Le Creuset Cast Iron Rectangular Pan
We are all familiar with the stuffed roast turkey that Americans show us in movies and TV shows; that animal as big as a truck that is usually the center of family gatherings on Thanksgiving Day and some Christmases. And I say it is huge because the blogosphere is full of recipes to use up leftover turkey… and can't you raise slightly smaller creatures, you fools? That way you wouldn't have so much leftovers.
But let's get to the point. Making a roast turkey isn't difficult at all, you just have to keep a few things in mind to make it perfect. I followed a recipe from the Cook's Illustrated website, which is on video, but it's worth watching even if you don't understand English, because the process is great.
As for the filling, the most traditional one only has vegetables (celery and onion, for example), herbs and bread in pieces, but as I don't find it very interesting, I have tuned it up with other things, such as dried fruit and sausage. The sauce used is usually the turkey's own fat, once the dish where it has been roasted has been deglazed, but I have also opted to add a little alcohol... ahem. And no dish can be bad with a little dry sherry.
Ingredients
- 1 turkey weighing 4-5 kg (the turkeys are smaller and more tender)
- ½ loaf of bread
- 2 white sausages or criollo chorizos
- 3-4 tbsp. olive oil, 1 handful of dried apricots
- 1 handful of raisins
- 1 glass of meat broth
- 1 egg
- 3 glasses of dry sherry
- salt
Preparation
- To alleviate the dryness of turkey meat, the wise advise brining it for 24 hours before roasting (which is a pain in the ass) or salting it well under the skin. This causes the animal to marinate in its own juices.
- To salt it, we separate the skin of the turkey near the opening in the abdomen, where it was emptied, and we insert the handle of a wooden spoon between the skin and the meat; we separate them from each other, being careful not to tear the skin, all over the breast and also the thighs.
- We put a spoonful of salt on each side, corresponding to the breast and thigh, and putting our hand under the skin we rub and distribute it. We wrap the turkey well in plastic and leave it in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
- Prepare the filling: cut the bread into cubes and toast it in the oven at 150° for about 15 minutes, until it starts to brown. Set aside. Fry the sausage cut into slices in the oil until it browns; add the dried fruit in pieces, stir a few times, and mix with the croutons. Stir a little more and turn off the heat. Set aside.
- Once the turkey is well salted, we remove the plastic. We turn on the oven at 140° so that it starts to heat up. We put the stuffing in a mesh bag for chickpeas (or a large cheesecloth), be careful because it won't all fit, it doesn't matter; and we put it in the turkey's belly. This is a refinement so that we don't have to search for the stuffing inside the animal, it really is very convenient.
- We tie the turkey to keep the thighs in place, place it on a plate with the breast facing down, add the sherry, cover it well with aluminium foil and put it in the oven. We roast it for 2-2.5 hours, depending on the size. In theory, the internal temperature of the thighs should be 54°, measured with a meat thermometer.
- After this time, we take it out, uncover it, loosen the clamp and remove the stuffing from the turkey. We mix it with the leftover stuffing. We turn the turkey over and cover it with the sauce from the dish, adding water if it has dried out too much. We pour some of the sauce inside the turkey.
- We raise the oven temperature to 230° and return the dish to the oven. We roast the turkey until it browns for a maximum of 45 minutes, keeping an eye on how it is doing. Using a meat thermometer, the turkey will be done when the internal temperature of the breast is 70°.
- We take out the turkey and let it rest, covered again with aluminum foil, for at least 20 minutes before serving.
- While the turkey is resting, we finish making the stuffing. We take the stuffing that was inside the turkey out of the mesh and mix it with the leftover stuffing. We beat the egg, mix it with the glass of broth and add it to the stuffing. We stir well and put it in the oven for another 20 minutes at 190°, until it is nicely browned.
- We serve the carved turkey and the stuffing separately so that everyone can help themselves.
