Roast Turkey

Ingredients:

For the turkey:
1) Turkey - 10 lb. (4.5 kg), oven-ready.
2) Butter - 1/2 stick (2 oz./50 g).
3) Onion - 1, quartered.
4) Lemon - 1, quartered.
5) Bay leaves - 2.
6) Dried figs (to serve).


For the Stuffing:
1) Butter - 1/2 stick (2 oz./50 g).
2) Onion - 1, finely chopped.
3) Pork sausage meat - 10 oz (275 g).
4) Canned chestnuts - 7 oz. (200 g), drained and chopped.
5) Cranberries - 1/2 cup (3 oz./75 g), dried.
6) Dried figs - 3 oz.(75 g), ready-to-eat.
7) White bread crumbs - 3/4 cup (2 1/4 oz./60 g), fresh.
8) Thyme and extra sprigs - 2 tbsp., chopped.

How to prepare Roast Turkey

1) Before you start the preparations, make sure that the turkey is totally thawed and has no remaining ice crystals in the body cavity.

2) Now to the stuffing. Drop the butter in a skillet and melt over medium temperature.

3) Add in the onion and cook slowly for 10 mins or until tender.

4) Allow the onion to cook while you break up the sausage meat with a fork. Combine the meat with chestnuts, cranberries, figs, bread crumbs and thyme.

5) Rinse the turkey inside and out. Remove all traces of water using paper towels.

6) Turn up the oven temperature to 375 degree Fahrenheit(190 degree Centigrade/Gas Mark 5).

7) Carefully push your hand under the skin covering the breast. Smear the flesh with butter.

8) Lay the onion, lemon and bay leaves in the body cavity. Using the string, tie the legs together.

9) Shove stuffing into the neck end without overfilling, else the skin will split. Tuck the skin flap under the bird and hold in place with a small skewer.

10) Form the rest of the stuffing into small ball shapes.

11) Place these on an ovenproof dish in a single layer. Cover and keep to a side.

12) Season the turkey and place into a large roasting pan containing a cup of water (225 ml). Cover securely with the thick foil.

13) Roast the turkey for 2 1/2 hours under cover. Then take the foil off. Pour in a handful of fresh thyme sprigs and roast for 45 mins more. In the meantime, place the dish of stuffing balls in the oven below the turkey.

14) Test how much the bird has been cooked by piercing the thickest part of the thigh with a small skewer. If the juices run clear, it has been prepared. If the juices run pink, return to the oven for 15-20 minutes more and check their status.

15) Shift the turkey to a carving platter. Cover with foil and let sit in a warm place for 30 mins. Let the juices flow back into the turkey, making it softer and thus, easier to carve.

16) Serve the turkey with the stuffing, dried figs, gravy and an assortment of  vegetables of your choice.