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Perfect pancetta & roast shallot-stuffed turkey

Perfect pancetta & roast shallot-stuffed turkey served on an oval plate

Perfect pancetta & roast shallot-stuffed turkey

Name: Perfect pancetta & roast shallot-stuffed turkey
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients: 5-5.5kg oven-ready turkey neck and giblets removed (save them to make stock, if you like); 1 pack smoked sliced pancetta or streaky bacon (about 14 rashers); 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 large garlic clove; 1 tbsp thyme leaves; 1 lemon zested; 85g butter softened; 400g shallots peeled; small handful thyme sprigs; handful bay leaves; lemon halves, from the zested lemon; bay leaves and chopped thyme, for scattering over (optional)

Barney Desmazery

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Serves 8

More effort

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 3 hrs and 30 mins - 4 hrs

Plus salting and resting

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Stuff your Christmas turkey with shallots and thyme for a flavour-packed main. Pushing pancetta under the skin helps the white meat stay beautifully succulent

Gluten-free

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

5-5.5kg oven-ready turkey

neck and giblets removed (save them to make stock, if you like)
1 pack smoked sliced pancetta

or streaky bacon (about 14 rashers)
1 tbsp olive oil

For the butter

1 large garlic clove
1 tbsp thyme leaves
1 lemon

zested
85g butter

softened

For the shallots

400g shallots

peeled
small handful thyme sprigs
handful bay leaves
lemon

halves, from the zested lemon
bay leaves

and chopped thyme, for scattering over (optional)

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Nutrition: Per serving

kcal401
fat23g
saturates9g
carbs1g
sugars1g
fibre0.7g
protein47g
salt1.1g

Method

step 1

Up to two days ahead, season the bird all over with flaky sea salt – inside and out and under the skin. Leave the turkey in the tin, breast-side up, and put in the fridge for up to two days; the longer you salt it, the more succulent it will be. Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time by allowing 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg, then 45 mins for every additional kg. As a guide, a turkey of this size should take 3½-4 hrs plus 30-45 mins resting.
step 2

To make the butter, mash the garlic with the thyme, lemon zest and a pinch of salt using a pestle and mortar, then beat in the butter until well mixed. Can be prepared up to two days ahead and chilled.
step 3

Gently push your fingers under the skin of the turkey, starting from the neck, until you can push your whole hand down the length of the breast – take care not to tear the skin. Spread the butter under the skin so that it covers the breast meat, reserving 1 tbsp butter for the shallots. Lay the pancetta (or bacon) on your work surface in two rectangles of six overlapping slices. Carefully push each rectangle under the skin to cover and protect each breast. This can be done the night before; take the turkey out of the fridge 1 hr before roasting to bring it back to room temperature.
step 4

On the day, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the whole shallots into a bowl with the thyme, bay and remaining 1 tbsp butter, then season and toss to coat. Lift the turkey into a roasting tin, massage the olive oil into the skin and season well if you haven’t already seasoned ahead. Tip the shallots into the roasting tin, around the turkey, and stuff the lemon halves into the cavity. Cover the tin loosely with foil and roast for the calculated cooking time.
step 5

For the final 30 mins, remove the foil and pour off all of the cooking juices (reserve them for the gravy). Spoon the shallots into the cavity and increase the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roast for the final 30 mins until the turkey is golden and the thigh juices run clear when pierced with a skewer, or until a digital cooking thermometer reads over 70C. Leave the turkey to rest on a warm platter covered with foil – it will stay warm for about 1 hr. If you want to make turkey gravy, pour the fat off the juices and add the gravy to the roasting tin. Bring to the boil, then pour into a gravy jug. To serve, bring the whole turkey to the table, along with the herbs, if using. Carve onto a hot platter with a little of the hot gravy poured over. Any leftover meat can be frozen in the gravy, or used in leftovers.

RECIPE TIPS

SWAP OUT THE SHALLOTS

You can use red or white onions instead of shallots; you'll need to cut them into wedges.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2018

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