This Christmas centrepiece is brined in a brown sugar and orange zest rub overnight before being packed with a chestnut and pancetta stuffing. Then it’s brushed with a glaze made from Tesco Finest maple syrup. These few tweaks really take this slow-grown, free range bird to the next level. Raised on a naturally varied diet and with plenty of room to roam on farms in East Anglia, this Tesco Finest turkey has a superior depth of flavour.
Prep 1 hr, plus overnight
Cook 3 1⁄2–4 hr
Serves 10
1 x 4.8kg Tesco Finest East Anglian gold free range whole turkey
50g flaky sea salt
30g brown sugar
1 orange, zest
100g unsalted butter, softened
1 Tesco Finest extra large brown onion, chopped
110g Tesco Finest dry cured pancetta, chopped
Handful sage, finely chopped
2 Tesco Finest free range chestnut maran eggs
200g cooked chestnuts, chopped
140g Tesco Finest white sourdough, blitzed to crumbs
A bunch of tied herbs – rosemary, bay and thyme
For the glaze
50g light muscovado sugar
50g unsalted butter
50g Tesco Finest grade A amber maple syrup
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
The night before you cook your turkey, set it in a large roasting tray and pat it dry with kitchen roll. Mix together the salt, sugar and orange zest and rub all over the skin. Cover and chill overnight in your fridge.
The next day, melt 50g of the butter in a frying pan. Add the onion and a good pinch of salt and fry over a low heat for 12-15 minutes. Add the pancetta and fry for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Tip the onion and pancetta mix into a bowl. Add the sage, eggs, chestnuts and breadcrumbs and mix together until well combined. Stuff most of the stuffing under the skin of the turkey breast and any remaining into the neck cavity. Spread the rest of the butter over the outside of the bird and push the bunch of herbs into the main cavity.
For the glaze, mix together the sugar, butter, maple syrup and vinegar until well combined. Have a brush ready to spread it over the turkey while it’s cooking.
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Loosely cover the turkey with a large layer of foil. The bird should take 40 minutes to cook per kilo plus 35-40 minutes resting. A bird of this size will take roughly 31⁄2 hours, plus resting time.
Halfway through the cooking time, uncover the turkey and baste with half the glaze, using the pastry brush to evenly distribute it. Glaze the turkey again 45 minutes before the end of the cooking time, and continue to cook uncovered, glazing twice more before it’s done.
For a really tender meat, allow the bird to rest for the specified time before carving. Best served at the table on a large, warmed platter with all the Christmas trimmings.
Shop the ingredients for this recipe on Tesco.com
