Roast Turkey with Orange Macadamia Nut Stuffing

Roast turkey Photo: Andrew Crowley

The turkey

Ingredients

• 1 free-range turkey (thawed)
• salt
• olive oil
• 1 C red wine or cranberry juice
• 1 C chicken stock or water
• A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
• baking paper and foil

Method

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
2.    Remove the giblets (heart and liver) and the neck from inside the turkey. Set these aside for use in making stuffing or stock for gravy.
3.    Pat turkey dry with a paper towel.
4.    Season inside and out with salt.
5.    If cooking with the stuffing inside the bird, lightly pack the stuffing into the main cavity and the neck end. Secure the openings with skewers or sew closed with cotton string (not plastic - it melts). If cooking without stuffing, then place some aromatics inside the turkey to provide additional flavour, e.g. sprigs of fresh herbs, half an onion, an orange or lemon.
6.    Place the turkey breast-up on a rack in a roasting pan and brush it with oil.
7.    Pour the red wine with the chicken stock into the roasting pan with the rosemary. This will provide a flavourful steam during roasting to keep the turkey moist. Top up with stock or water as needed during cooking. Place a square of baking paper over the breast and then cover the bird with a layer of foil. The foil will trap moisture while the baking paper will prevent the foil from sticking to the bird.
8.    Roast the turkey for about half of the estimated cooking time*. Remove the foil and baking paper. Spoon or brush cooking juices over the bird and continue cooking for another 1 ½ to 2 hours, basting regularly until the turkey is golden brown and cooked through.
9.    When the turkey is ready, remove it from the oven. Carefully transfer it to a warm dish and loosely cover it with foil to keep it warm. Allow it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes while the gravy is prepared.

To stuff or not to stuff?

Turkeys that are stuffed take longer to cook than turkeys that aren't. This is because the stuffing forms a dense mass in the centre of the bird and heat takes much longer to penetrate to the centre.
If you are cooking the turkey with stuffing inside the cavity, make sure that the stuffing has been prepared and chilled beforehand. Turkeys can be stuffed in two places: the main cavity and the neck-end cavity. Some cooks like to use a different stuffing for each part; others use the same. During cooking, most types of stuffing expand a little so don't overstuff and do leave a little space. Place the stuffing in lightly and compactly but not too forcefully. The alternative is to cook the stuffing in a separate greased baking dish covered with foil and then serve as a side accompaniment. This is easier for dishing up as well.
How far ahead to stuff?
It's best to stuff the turkey just before you want to start cooking. You could stuff an hour or two ahead as long as you then store the turkey in the refrigerator until cooking begins.

Orange Macadamia Nut Stuffing

Makes approx 5 cups

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced lengthwise and chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
• 1 turkey liver (from giblets supplied inside the turkey), diced (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 3 C of 1-cm cubed day-old crusty bread (e.g. French stick)
• 1 C toasted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
• ⅓ C chopped parsley
• 2 oranges, zest and juice
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Method

1.    Heat the oil in a frying pan.
2.    Add the onion, celery and rosemary and cook gently until softened.
3.    Add the (optional liver), garlic and cook for a minute or two without browning.
4.    Turn mixture into a large bowl.
5.    Mix in the remaining ingredients.
6.    May be prepared 3 days before and kept covered in the refrigerator.

Roast turkey gravy

Makes approx 2 cups

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp fat from pan (or butter)
• 4 tbsp flour
• ½ C red wine
• 2 C liquid made up of pan juices and giblet stock* (or chicken stock)

Method

1.    After the turkey has been removed from the roasting pan, pour any remaining juices into a jug and allow them to settle before skimming off any excess fat.
2.    Add the 4 tbsp of fat to the roasting pan and heat on the stove-top to melt. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon, allowing it to brown a little.
3.    Add the red wine along with 2 C of liquid (stock and any reserved pan juices).
4.    Keep stirring over heat to lift all the sediment and to thicken the liquid. Thin as desired by adding more stock and bringing back to boiling point.
5.    Check the flavour and add seasoning if desired.

*Giblet stock

Makes approx. 3 cups giblets from inside the turkey neck from inside the turkey

Ingredients

1 onion, quartered
1 celery stick, quartered
1 bay leaf
4 C cold water

Method

1.    Rinse the giblets and neck in cold water. Place them in a saucepan with the onion, celery and bay leaf.
2.    Add the cold water and bring to the boil.
3.    When boiling point is reached, reduce the heat to a low simmer, remove surface scum with a large spoon and continue to simmer gently for approximately 1 hour.
4.    Remove from the heat and strain the stock into a clean jug or saucepan.