Roast turkey with pork, sage & onion stuffing
We love how a Kiwi festive season is all about the presents, pohutukawa trees and perfect weather, but also the fabulous food. Our advice? Pour yourself a bubbles, chuck the turkey on and have lots of nana naps. Roast Turkey with Pork, sage and onion stuffing. This is the real deal but with an avocado twist—a turkey recipe with a little healthy decadence. Perfect recipe for Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Ingredients
- 6.5 kg oven ready turkey
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 stick celery
- 1 tbsp standard flour
- 1 L chicken stock
- 4 tbsp verjuice or white wine
- 3-5 avocados
- 5 tbsp avocado Oil
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 shallots finely chopped
- 3 tbsp mixed herbs finely chopped (parsley, thyme, chive)
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 300 g fat streaky bacon
- seasoning
For the stuffing
- 1 kg finely minced pork
- 4 tbsp white breadcrumbs
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup dried sage
- A little boiling water
- 1 beaten egg
- seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C. Combine diced onion, carrot and celery and spread in the bottom of the roasting tin. Sprinkle flour over the top.
- In a large bowl beat together the avocado and avocado oil until buttery in consistency. Mix in the garlic, shallots and herbs (which herbs are really up to you), season to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice and lemon zest. By now you’ve got a lovely, herby butter like consistency, which you can put in a piping bag to make the next stage easier. Gently slide your fingers under the skin of the turkey and get as far down the breast as you can, loosening the skin all the way, don’t forget the top of the legs and thighs. This is where the piping bag is so handy as you can slip it under the skin and just pipe away. Lastly, with your hands on the outside, just smooth the mixture out, again making sure that the legs and thighs get some attention.
- Combine all the ingredients for the stuffing and stuff the bird. Lay bacon over breast, overlapping and season all over. Build a foil tent around the bird and the tray and roast in a pre-heated oven at 220°C for 30 minutes. Lower temperature to 170°C and cook for a further 3 hours. Uncover and cook the bird for a final 30 minutes at 200°C. Check and rest, on a clean warm oven tray covered loosely with foil, for at least 45 minutes before carving. (The core temperature of the bird should be 68°C.)
- Meanwhile, place the cooking tray over a medium heat and add verjuice or white wine to the cooked ‘mire poix’ and deglaze the roasting tin by stirring with a wooden spoon to mix in the dripping and browning from the turkey. Add the stock and bring to a rolling boil then strain mixture through a sieve and serve your gravy with your amazing turkey, some roasties and a selection of fresh summer herbs. ENJOY THE MOMENT.
Notes
New Zealand Chef Peter Blakeway felt inspired to create this unique roast turkey recipe, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but also because avocados are nature’s ‘super fruit’ and we are currently enjoying a good avocado season.
The award-winning professional chef has almost 20 years experience working in Michelin-starred establishments around the world and has now settled in the Bay of Plenty – the heart of New Zealand’s avocado industry.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
