Exquisite Stuffed turkey with black pudding and pear

Prep

In a medium to a large pot, combine salt, sugar, black peppercorns, lemon slices, crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves, dried thyme, and 1 liter (34 oz) of water.  Stir together and bring to a boil over high heat.  Let boil for 5-10 minutes to make sure all the flavors marry together then turn off the heat and let cool.

Add the remaining 1.5 liters (51 oz) of water and stir together.  The mixture should taste like salty soup.  If you find it to be too salty, add a mug or two of water but not much more as you don’t want to dilute the brine too much.

Add turkey to the brine, cover pot, and place in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

When ready to cook, remove the turkey from the brine, pat dry and remove any herbs that might remain on the meat.

Discard brine once used, do not reuse.

Stuffing and Roasting 

Preheat oven to 190 C (375) or 170 C (340 F) with a fan

While the turkey is warming up to room temperature, start work on the stuffing.

Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add diced pear and cook until it starts to brown and caramelize.  Once picking up color, add 1/4 cup of water and turn heat to high.  Continue cooking on high until most of the water has evaporated and the diced pear has turned golden brown.  Make sure you stir it often and keep an eye on it to prevent burning.  Remove from the heat and let cool.

When cool to the touch, crumble up the black pudding mixture (or sausage mix if you are using that) and mix together until everything has incorporated into each other.  Set aside.

When ready to stuff, roll out the turkey breast onto a cutting board.  You want to try and make an even layer of meat, so using a sharp knife make slight cuts into the meat and then gently fold the meat up and away (the same technique as if you were butterflying a chicken breast).  Continue doing so around the turkey until you feel like you have an even layer of meat.

Take the black pudding and pear mixture and evenly spread it over the turkey meat.  Try not to coat everything with the stuffing mixture and make sure you have some empty room on the sides for the stuffing to flow to when you roll it up.

Carefully lift and roll up. Once rolled up, tie it together with kitchen twine or plain floss if you are in a pinch.  I do one tie lengthwise and 3-4 ties around the middle and ends.

Now comes the fun part-cover the rolled-up turkey with strips of streaky bacon.  Use as much or as little as you like.

Place in a roasting tray and cover it with foil.

Roast in the oven for the allotted amount of time.  This will depend on the weight of the turkey breast.  The rule of thumb is 40 minutes per kilo (20 mins per pound).   So, 1 kg = 40 min, 1.5 kg = 1 hour, 2 kg = 1 hour 20 min and so on.  It can be challenging to get a roast turkey right, so my suggestion to you is to invest in a good meat thermometer.  If in doubt on whether it is done or not, stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat,  If it is 65 C or up, stop cooking because it is done.

To get some color of the roast, remove the foil and let cook uncovered in the oven for the last 20 minutes.

When finished roasting, let rest somewhere warm or wrapped in foil for 20 minutes.  Don’t cut into it too soon or you’ll risk all the juices running out and the meat getting dry and don’t forget to remove the kitchen twine before cutting into it.

For the Gravy

Carefully remove the turkey from the roasting tray and place it on a serving platter or cutting board.

Add 2 cups (475 ml) of boiling water to the empty roasting tray.  Using a spoon or spatula scrape all the crusty bits from the bottom of the tray and stir into the hot water.  Let rest for 10-20 minutes then pass through a strainer. Set liquid aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt 1 tbsp of butter over medium heat.  Add finely chopped shallot and cook until translucent and soft.

Add 1 tsp of flour and whisk into the butter and shallots to form a roux.  Let the roux cook for a minute or two then slowly add in the strained liquid made from the roasting tray, whisking as you go to prevent lumps from forming.

Add 2 small sprigs of thyme, 1 tbsp of whisky or bourbon, and 1/2 tbsp of brown sauce.  Whisk together and increase heat to medium-high and let bubble away for 5-7 minutes or until all the flavors are married together.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.