This is my favourite way to cook my Christmas turkey. When roasting a whole bird I find that the breast meat will be perfectly cooked as it naturally cooks quicker while the legs tend to take longer and this could result in overcooked breast meat. A way around this is to take the legs off a whole bird and if you are feeling adventurous you can bone them out (keeping the bones for making gravy) and replace the bones with homemade stuffing and tie back up with string whilst keeping the breast on the bone as a crown. Although it is more work prior to cooking it does make carving on the day so much even easier.
This recipe will make more than you need for 2 legs off a large turkey but any left over can be rolled into balls and cooked separately for the stuffing lovers of the family!
Ingredients
For the stuffing:
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 150g bacon lardons
- 4 sticks of celery, finely chopped
- A handful of herbs, sage, thyme, rosemary, finely chopped
- 8 dried apricots or prunes, chopped
- 150g peeled chestnuts, chopped
- 150g breadcrumbs
- Salt and pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
Method
- Remove the legs from the turkey and bone them out, reserving these bones for your gravy.
- Gently fry the onions and celery in the oil until softened but not brown and add the chopped herbs, apricots and chestnuts, stir well and carry on cooking for a few minutes. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
- Then fry the bacon on a high heat and fry until golden.
- Remove from the heat and add to the vegetables. Then add the breadcrumbs and season. Mix well, adding the egg.
- Lay a core of stuffing in the turkey legs where the bone has been removed, fold the meat around the stuffing and tie with kitchen string. They can be prepared in advance until ready to cook.
- Preheat the oven to 190C (ESSE dial guide low end of HOT), season the legs with salt and pepper and brush with a little oil and cook in the oven for about an hour depending on the size of the legs and they are cooked through. Leave to rest for 20 minutes or so before carving. The juices from the pan will be delicious to add to your gravy pot!
Philippa Vine runs an ESSE cooker demonstration kitchen in East Sussex and designs and cooks recipes using the colours of the season.
