BEST STUFFING FOR TURKEY RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to maximum. Heat a saucepan until medium hot and add a splash of olive oil. Pick the sage leaves and add to the pan with 6 of the pancetta or bacon strips.
  2. Peel and chop 2 garlic cloves and 1 onion. Trim and chop the celery and add to the pan with the garlic and onion. Fry everything gently until soft and golden brown. Take the pan off the heat, add the breadcrumbs and, while the mix is cooling down, roughly chop the apricots and stir them in.
  3. When the stuffing has cooled down, add the pork, lemon zest, nutmeg, egg and lots of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix everything together well. Slice the remaining strips of pancetta or bacon in half and peel and slice 1 peeled garlic clove into thin slivers. Place a rosemary sprig and a garlic sliver on one end of a halved strip of pancetta and roll it up tightly. Repeat with the other pieces of pancetta until you have 12 little rolls.
  4. Stab the thighs and drumsticks of the turkey in 6 places on each side. Push a little pancetta roll into each hole until it just peeps out. This will give your turkey thighs a fantastic flavour and will keep them moist while they cook.
  5. Peel the remaining onions and chop in half, and peel and thickly slice the carrots.
  6. Give your turkey a good wipe, inside and out, with kitchen paper, and place it on a board, with the neck end towards you. Find the edge of the skin that's covering the turkey's breasts and gently peel it back. Work your fingers and then your hand under the skin, freeing it from the meat. If you're careful you should be able to pull all the skin away from the meat, keeping it attached at the sides. Go slowly and try not to make any holes!
  7. Lift the loose skin at the neck end and spoon the stuffing between the skin and the breast, tucking the flap of skin underneath to stop anything leaking out. Pop the orange in the microwave for 30 seconds to warm it up and stuff it into the cavity.
  8. Weigh the stuffed turkey and calculate the cooking time (about 20 minutes per 500g/1lb 2oz).
  9. Place the bird on a large roasting tray, rub it all over with olive oil and season well. Surround with the chopped carrots, onions and remaining cloves of garlic, cover with tin foil and place in the preheated oven. Turn the heat down right away to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 and roast for the calculated time, or until the juices run clear from the thigh if you pierce it with a knife or a skewer. Remove the tin foil for the last 45 minutes to brown the bird.
  10. Carefully lift the turkey out of the tray and rest on a board covered loosely with foil for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours for bigger birds.
  11. When the resting time's nearly up, skim off the surface fat from the roasting tray and add the flour and stock. Place the tray on the hob and bring to the boil on a high heat. When the gravy starts to thicken, strain it into a bowl.
  12. Carve your turkey, serve with the gravy and dig in!

Steps:

• Prepare bread first. You need it to be extremely dried out. Slice it into large cubes and place in a 300 degree oven F and cook for as long as it takes. Ours took about 30 minutes. Do not cook on a higher temperature because you just want to dry them out, not cook like croutons.
• Change oven temperature to 350 degrees F while you prepare the rest of the stuffing.
• Add turkey sausage to a non-stick pan, breaking it up into big-ish crumbles. Cook until done, about 4-6 minutes but be sure to use a meat thermometer to make sure it is cooked to 165 degrees F. Remove the cooked turkey sausage and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
• With the pan still on the stove over medium heat, add the butter and melt for a minute. Then, add the chopped onion and fennel. Cook until softened and fragrant, about 4-7 minutes.
• Add the cooked onion and fennel to the turkey sausage. Then, add the cooked bread cubes, fennel tops, carrot tops or fresh parsley and mix together. Then, add the apple cider and mix until well combined but be careful not to smoosh it too much. If you like a little softer stuffing, you can add more apple cider, 1 Tablespoon at a time.
• Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 glass baking pan. Place into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until browned on top and hot in the center. You can use a thermometer to ensure it's fully cooked in the middle.
• Serve immediately or leave in a slightly warm oven until ready to enjoy!