Recipes

Roast turkey crown, herb butter, stuffed leg

Gavin McDonagh
Sat Dec 5 2015 - 02:00
Serves: 12
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
Ingredients
  • Serves 12
  • 1 large oven-ready turkey about 7/8 kg; ask your butcher to remove the legs and de-bone them
  • Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 large onions peeled and halved
  • 1 head of garlic (unpeeled, halved horizontally)
  • Few bay leaves
  • Few thyme sprigs
  • Olive oil to drizzle
  • HERB BUTTER:
  • Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • Small bunch of tarragon, chopped
  • 1 tbsp of fresh thyme leaves
  • 250g butter, softened to room temperature
  • LEG STUFFING:
  • 450g sausage meat
  • Half a loaf of day old bread
  • 200g dried apricots, diced
  • 100g pancetta (about 12 slices), diced
  • Half an onion, peeled and finely diced
  • Few sprigs of thyme picked and chopped
  • Few sprigs of flat parsley, finely chopped

For the herb butter: Mix the chopped herbs into the softened butter, season well and spoon the mixture into a piping bag.

For the turkey: Remove the legs and de-bone them (or ask your butcher to do this). With the turkey crown, holding the turkey with one hand and starting from the neck flap, use the fingers of your other hand to loosen the skin over the breast, without tearing the skin.

Move your hands towards the lower side of the breast to towards where the thighs would be and separate the skin from the meat. You want to create a large pocket in which to stuff the herb butter.

Pipe the butter into the breast pocket (or you could use your hands) and gently massage some over the skin, to spread the butter evenly.

For the stuffing for the legs, tear the bread roughly and whiz to coarse crumbs in a food processor. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan and fry the pancetta for one minute. Toss in the onion and herbs and cook for three minutes. Add the breadcrumbs, mix well and allow to cool. When it is cold, add the sausage meat and apricots and season and mix well.

Open out the turkey legs, skin side down, and spread with the stuffing. Fold the legs over to re-form in the shape of legs and wrap tightly in tin foil.

Heat the oven to 220 degrees /gas 7. Season and stuff the cavity of the turkey crown with onions, garlic, bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

Place the turkey, breast-side-up, in a large roasting tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season well. Roast for 10-15 minutes, until the skin is crisp and golden, then lower the oven setting to 180 degrees/gas 4 and cook for approximately 30 minutes per kilo, basting occasionally.

Add the legs, still in their foil, to the roasting tray about 30-40 minutes after the turkey (to ensure they don’t overcook and dry out). To test that the turkey crown and legs are cooked, skewer the thickest part and check that the juices are running clear, not at all pink.

When the turkey is ready, cover the breast with tin foil and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes.

When ready to serve, carve the breast and stuffed legs and serve with gravy and other accompaniments.

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