Traditional Roast Turkey

serves 4

ingredients

10-12-pound oven-ready turkey

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

½ cup red wine

6 tablespoons butter

seasonal vegetables, to serve

stuffing

1½ cups white button mushrooms

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

6 tablespoons butter

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt and pepper

port & cranberry sauce

½ cup granulated sugar

1 cup port

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2 To make the stuffing, clean and chop the mushrooms, put them in a saucepan with the onion, garlic, and butter, and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining stuffing ingredients, including salt and pepper to taste. Rinse the turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Fill the neck end with stuffing and truss with string.

3 Put the turkey in a roasting pan. Rub the garlic over the bird and pour the wine over it. Add the butter and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Baste, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and roast for an additional 40 minutes. Baste again and cover with aluminum foil. Roast for an additional 2 hours, basting regularly, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat-in the inner thigh area near the breast-without touching the bone, has a reading of 180°F. The stuffing is ready when a meat thermometer inserted into the stuffing in the cavity reads 165°F. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, cook until the turkey is tender and the juices run clear when the tip of a sharp knife is inserted into the thickest part of the meat. Gently pull the leg away from the body; the leg should give and no traces of pink or blood should remain. Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and let stand for 25 minutes.

4 Meanwhile, put the sugar, port, and cranberries in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until almost boiling. Serve the turkey with seasonal vegetables and the port-and-cranberry sauce.

Recipe from A Year Full of Recipes