American Style Baked Stuffed Turkey

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 tray . I encourage you not to miss this fantastic recipe, which Miriam tells you with great affection and good advice.

Le Creuset rectangular cast iron tray

We are well acquainted with the stuffed roast turkey that Americans show us in movies and series; that truck-like animal that is often the focus of family gatherings on Thanksgiving and some Christmases. And well I say that it is huge because the blogosphere is full of recipes to use the remains of the turkey... and can't you breed slightly smaller bugs, pitcher souls? That way you wouldn't have so much left over.

But let's go what we're going. Making a turkey in the oven is not difficult at all, you just have to keep a few things in mind to make it perfect. I have followed a recipe from the Cook's Illustrated website, on video, but it is worth watching even if you do not understand English, because the process can be seen wonderfully.

As for the filling, the most traditional one only has vegetables (celery and onion, for example), herbs and sliced ​​bread, but since it doesn't seem very interesting to me, I have pimped it out with other things, such as dried fruit and sausage. The sauce that is used is usually the turkey's own fat, once the source where it has been roasted has been well deglazed, but I have also chosen to add some alcohol... ahem. And it is that no dish can be bad with a little bit of dry Sherry.

Ingredients

• 1 turkey of 4-5 kg ​​(the turkeys are smaller and more tender)
• ½ sliced ​​bread
• 2 white sausages or Creole chorizos
• 3-4 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 handful of apricots
• 1 handful of raisins
• 1 glass of meat broth
• 1 egg
• 3 glasses of dry sherry
• salt

Preparation

1. To alleviate the dryness of the turkey meat, the wise advise putting it in brine for 24 hours prior to roasting (which is a nuisance here, I hope) or salting it well under the skin. This causes the bug to marinate in its own juice in a way.
2. To salt it, we separate the skin of the turkey next to the opening that it will have in the abdomen, through which it has been emptied, and we insert the handle of a wooden spoon between the skin and the meat; We are taking them off each other, being careful not to tear the skin, all over the breast and also the thighs.
3. We put a tablespoon of salt on each side, breast and corresponding thigh, and putting our hand under the skin we rub and distribute. We wrap the turkey well in plastic and leave it for at least 24 hours in the fridge.
4. Prepare the filling: cut the bread into cubes and toast it in the oven at 150° for about 15 minutes, until it begins to brown. We booked. Fry the sliced ​​sausage in the oil until golden brown; Add the dried fruits in pieces, give them a few turns, and mix with the croutons. Stir a little more and turn off the heat. We booked.
5. Once the turkey is well salted, we remove the plastic. We turn on the oven at 140° to warm up. We put the filling in a mesh for chickpeas (or a large gauze), be careful because we will not fit everything, it does not matter; and we put it in the gut of the turkey. This is a refinement so as not to have to search for the padding inside the bug, it really is very comfortable.
6. Flange the turkey so that the thighs stay in place, place it breast side down on a platter , add the Jerez, cover it well with aluminum foil and put it in the oven. We roast it for 2-2.5 hours, depending on the size. In theory, you should reach an internal thigh temperature of 54°, measured with a meat thermometer.
7. After that time we take it out, uncover it, loosen the flange and remove the stuffing from the bug. We put it together with the filling that was left over. We turn the turkey over and cover it with the sauce from the fountain, adding water if it has dried out too much. Pour some sauce inside the turkey.
8. We raise the oven temperature to 230° and return the source to its interior. We roast the turkey so that it browns for a maximum of 45 minutes, keeping an eye on how it goes. With a meat thermometer, the turkey will be done when the internal temperature of the breast is 70°.
9. Remove the turkey and let it rest, again covered with aluminum foil, for at least 20 minutes before serving.
10. While the turkey rests we finish making the filling. Remove the stuffing that was inside the turkey from the mesh and mix it with the excess. We beat the egg, mix it with the glass of broth and add it to the filling. Stir well and put it in the oven for another 20 minutes at 190°, until it is well toasted.
11. We serve the carved turkey and the filling separately so that each one can be served.