ROAST TURKEY WITH PEARS AND SAGE
INGREDIENTS
ROAST TURKEY
2,5kg whole turkey (innards removed)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons duck fat/ butter
fresh Sage leaves under the skin
PEAR GLAZE
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup turkey/chicken broth/soup
3 tablespoons duck fat/butter
1/2 very ripe pear peeled, cored, and finely chopped
PEAR and SAGE STUFFING
500g white bread toasted on duck fat, slightly rubbed with garlic and cut into cubes
1 yellow onion diced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 leaves of fresh sage
2 tablespoons flour
1 egg
1/2 pear cored and chopped
100ml milk
1 teaspoon salt
+add as much Pear Glaze (approx. 2 tablespoons) to it as needed to get a firm but the juicy result
PAN DRIPPING GRAVY
into the pan under the turkey:
1/2 cup pear glaze
2 cups Turkey/Chicken broth/soup
the rest of the pears halved
METHOD
BRINE THE TURKEY
Place the bird into a turkey-sized oven bag/pot and fill the bag/pot with a brining solution that contains 1 cup of salt and 1 tablespoon of dried sage for every 4 litres of water. Make sure the turkey is completely submerged in the liquid and place it in the refrigerator to soak overnight
PREPARE THE GLAZE
The next morning, make the glaze by bringing all the ingredients to a boil in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Bring the heat down to medium-low and continue to boil for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool a bit, and then puree in a blender or food processor until completely smooth. Set aside.
PREPARE THE STUFFING
Next, make the stuffing. Toast the bread slices on duck fat. When they cool down, rub them with fresh garlic and cut the bread slices into small cubes. Pour the milk over the cubes in a large bowl and allow them to soak, stirring a couple times. Meanwhile, saute the onions in the duck fat or butter over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. When it is ready add to the soaked cubes with the duck fat/butter, the egg, pear, seasonings, and 2 tablespoons of the pear glaze and toss until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Set aside.
ROAST THE TURKEY
Now you can begin preparing the turkey. Preheat the oven to 230 C. Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse it, and pat dry. Mix together the duck fat/butter with the sage, thyme, salt, and pepper until it is fairly soft and spreadable. Rub the mixture all over the in-and outside of the bird and underneath the skin on the entire breast.
Place some fresh sage leaves under the skin too!
Once the bird is coated with the fat mixture, set it in the roasting pan, breast facing up. Stuff the bird until full and set aside whatever stuffing you have left in a separate oven-safe pan. Tie together the turkey’s legs with cooking twine.
Whisk together 1/2 cup Pear Glaze with 2 cups Turkey/Chicken broth/soup, then pour the mixture into the roasting pan, pouring around (not over!), the turkey. Arrange the rest of the halved pears around the bird.
Place the roasting pan in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 180 C and continue cooking for 20 minutes per 500g of turkey. (2,5 kg turkey needs 1hour 40 min) Baste the bird every 20 minutes with the pan drippings, but every third basting (i.e. once per hour) baste the bird with the pear glaze. Rotate the roasting pan once per hour to help the bird cook evenly.
*If the bird is browning too quickly*, tent tin foil over the roasting pan.
When it’s done, allow the bird to rest for 30 minutes before serving.
PAN DRIPPING GRAVY
While the bird is resting, make the gravy. Heat 3 cups of the liquid from the bottom of the roasting pan in a small pot over low heat. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of corn starch and 2 tablespoons of flour until smooth. If you want your gravy to be thicker, continue adding tablespoons of flour and/or corn starch until your desired consistency is reached. Remove from heat and set aside.
Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy and the remaining pear glaze on the side for optional drizzling.
