Dinde Farcie Aux Marrons
How To Roast A Turkey In The Oven
This is a classic French roast turkey recipe cooked mainly for Christmas dinner but can be served all year. Traditionally Roasted Duck and Apple Roasted Goose were more commonly served. The stuffing or dressing in this recipe has chestnuts and sausages, and the bird is roasted on a bed of onion, carrot, belly pork or bacon, and bouquet garni.

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- Dinde Farcie Aux Marrons
- How To Roast A Turkey In The Oven
- ❤️About This Recipe
- 📸Ingredient Shot
- 📋Ingredients
- A Guide For How Big Your Turkey Needs To Be?
- 🔢Instructions
- Two Methods Of Roasting
- Top Tip
- 🍵How To Make Turkey Gravy
- ⏳How Long To Cook A Turkey In The Oven?
- 🤔What To Serve With This Recipe
- 🍴Equipment
- 🌰Chestnut Recipes
- ❄️Storage
- 🌟More Delightful Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
❤️About This Recipe
Of course, roast turkey dinner is often a seasonal meal as there are many turkeys ready in the autumn. And, also many lovely chestnuts to be bought in the markets all over France and elsewhere around the world.
These days most people will buy a turkey from the supermarket either fresh or frozen which are available all year. Some people will buy a fresh one just before Christmas which may need plucking and cleaning or your butcher may do this for you.
📸Ingredient Shot
📋Ingredients
- Whole fresh or frozen turkey large enough to feed all your guests, see the guide below.
- Chestnuts in the shell or already shelled chestnuts or canned will do if that's what you can find. Drain them, rinse them under fresh water, and soak them in water for one hour to ensure there is no canned flavor.
- cocktail sausage, sausage meatballs, or sliced pieces of sausage are all good.
- onion & garlic are important for flavor.
- carrot (see below)
- belly pork or bacon adds another layer of flavor same with the butter and good for developing color on the turkey skin.
- butter
- bouquet garni of thyme, bay leaf, parsley
- salt & pepper
- vegetables for cooking with the meat in the roasting pan during the second half of cooking, like potatoes, carrots, squash, parsnips or/and serve vegetables for side dishes
This delicious turkey dressing when cooked looks so very appetizing and your guests will rave about it!
A Guide For How Big Your Turkey Needs To Be?
You will need between 1¼ pounds to 1½ pounds per person. This will depend on how many children will be at the dinner and how many robust adult diners you will feed. Much better to have too much for wonderful left overs than not enough for your guests.
As A Guide:
4.5- 5.9kg (10 - 15lb) turkey will serve about 8 to 10 people.
A 7.3 - 9kg (16 - 20lb) turkey will serve 16 to 18 people.
Poultry has a lot of weight in bone, skin, and fat that will not be eaten, so it is best to plan up.
🔢Instructions
Step 1
Pierce the shell of each chestnut and then bake them in a hot oven until the shells split (about 10 minutes). Remove the shells and inner skin while hot, (You can use already shelled ones or canned chestnuts from the grocery store if you prefer).
Step 2
Mix the chestnuts with the sausage cocktails, sausage meatballs, or slices.
Step 3 Remove the turkey giblets from inside the turkey and put them aside. Rinse the turkey in the sink and pat dry.
Step 4 Season the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper. Place your turkey giblets, sliced carrots, onions, diced belly pork herbs, and about 6 tablespoons of water in a large roasting pan.
(Or you can simply sauté the giblets in a pan on the stove with a little butter, salt, and pepper which is what I usually do to snack on. Minus the neck and gizzard which go in the roasting pan.)
Step 5
Spoon the stuffing mixture inside your turkey. Place your stuffed turkey on the bed of giblets and vegetables in the roasting tin. Cover the turkey skin with the softened butter. (If I have a large turkey I won't add the vegetables until after roasting for one hour.
Two Methods Of Roasting
- Cover the bird with either greaseproof paper or tin foil loosely. Place in a preheated oven at 350°F/180°C/Gas 4, see the chart below for times. Remove the greaseproof paper/foil for the last half an hour to brown and crisp the turkey.
- Don't cover the turkey and bake in the oven uncovered at 400°F/200°C/Gas 6 for 15 minutes then turn it down to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4 for the remainder of the time. This method will seal the skin and keep the juices inside the turkey. This is the method I use. I will cover it with foil near the end of the 3 hours if it is browning too dark on the tips of legs and wings.
Use a roasting thermometer to test for doneness which should read 165°F/75°C internal temperature taken in the deepest part of the thigh or breast.
Top Tip
Allow your turkey to rest for half an hour before carving it.
While your turkey is roasting learn how to carve your bird to get the most out of it. Learn how to carve your turkey like the pros.
🍵How To Make Turkey Gravy
Of course, your roast turkey recipe would not be complete without a good sauce or gravy to accompany it. Here is a very simple and tasty method to make a good sauce that everyone will love.
To the roasting pan after all the vegetables have been removed, add about half a pint of water (this can be water from cooked vegetables if you have any or chicken stock, or a mixture of water and wine).
Mix the juices from the pan into the liquid. Simmer for about 10 minutes
Strain the liquid and pour it into a warmed serving jug.
If you prefer a thicker gravy you can mix a little cornstarch mixed with a little cold water to the meat juices before simmering it. A good tip is to use a small balloon whisk to prevent it from going lumpy.
⏳How Long To Cook A Turkey In The Oven?
Use this handy chart, but remember that all ovens are different and you may have to adjust your time as needed. These temperatures apply to roast goose, roast chicken, and roast duck. As with all poultry, a little more done is better than a little underdone.
If you would prefer to roast your poultry at 350°F/180°C/Gas 4 then this will reduce the cooking time by about 30 minutes.
Most people will want to have leftovers after Christmas dinner or whatever the occasion to cook a turkey is, so you can have plenty of delicious meat for sandwiches, turkey broth, soup, and great turkey recipes if you upsize your turkey weight to start with.
🤔What To Serve With This Recipe
Your roast turkey recipe has now been transformed into a feast fit for a King and it can be served with your choice of:
- fresh seasonal vegetables
- Buttery Green Beans
- Vegetable Medley
- Caponata
- Roughly cut vegetables added to the roasting pan about halfway through the time such as carrots, onions, squash, potatoes, whatever you fancy.
- If you prefer mashed potatoes rather than roast make Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
- Or another satisfying alternative is Pommes Boulangére.
- A beautiful bread like Milk Buns.
- Cranberry sauce
- Pickles
🍴Equipment
- meat thermometer
- roasting pan
- whisk
- gravy boat
- knife
- cutting board
🌰Chestnut Recipes
This tree nut can be prepared in 3 Different Methods, and used in a variety of ways in recipes like Pork Pies. We don't want to forget the delicious ways this nut is baked in cakes, Chocolate Chestnut Cake, and Yuletide Log.
❄️Storage
- A turkey can be frozen for up to a year.
- Cooked turkey and gravy can be frozen for 3 months well wrapped and in an air tight container.
🌟More Delightful Recipes
📖 Recipe
A Special Roast Turkey Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 - 15 pound turkey
- Salt and pepper
- 1 pound chestnuts
- 1 pound cocktail sausages or sausage meatballs
- 2 onion finely sliced
- 2 carrot finely sliced
- 4 ounce belly pork diced
- 2 ounce softened butter To rub on outside of turkey to roast if using.
- Bouquet garni of thyme bay leaf, and parsley tied together
Instructions
- Remove the turkey giblets if they are still inside the turkey and keep aside.
- Rinse and pat dry.
- Season the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper.
- Place your turkey giblets, sliced carrots, onions, diced belly pork herbs, and about 6 tablespoons of water in a large roasting pan.
- Pierce the shell of each chestnut and then bake them in a hot oven until the shells split (about 10 minutes).
- Remove the shells and inner skin while hot, (You can use already shelled ones or canned chestnuts from the grocery store if you prefer) and mix with the sausages or sausage meatballs.
- Place this mixture inside your turkey.
- Place your stuffed turkey on the bed of giblets and vegetables in the roasting tin.
- Salt the turkey skin liberally with the softened butter and cover with either greaseproof paper or tin foil.
- Place in a pre-heated oven at 350°F/180°C/Gas 4 for about 3 hours.
- Remove the greaseproof paper/foil for the last half an hour to brown and crisp the turkey.
- Or, after salting and buttering the turkey skin, place in the oven uncovered at 425°F/220°C/Gas 7 for 40 minutes, then turn it down to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4 for the remainder of the time. This method will seal the outside skin and keep the juices inside the turkey. This is the method I use and I will cover it with foil nearing the end of the cooking time if it is browning too dark on the tips of legs and wings.
- Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness which should read 165°F/75°C internal temperature taken in the deepest part of the thigh or breast. After the meat reaches this temperature, plunge the thermometer into the dressing and when it reads 165°F/75°C your turkey is done. In theory your turkey will continue to cook for about 20 minutes after taking out of the oven so you could take it out a little earlier if you want.
- Allow your turkey to rest for at least half an hour before carving commences. Letting it sit will allow the juice to distribute through the meat while it cools.
How To Make Gravy
- Of course, your roast turkey recipe would not be complete without a good sauce or gravy to accompany it. Here is a very simple and tasty method to make a good sauce that everyone will love.
- Add about half a pint of water (this can be water from the vegetables if you have any or chicken stock, or a mixture of water and wine) to the giblets in the roasting tin and mix the juices from the pan into the liquid. Simmer for about 10 minutes and strain the liquid into a serving jug.
- If you prefer a thicker gravy you can mix a little cornstarch with water and add to the meat juices before simmering it. A good tip is to use a small balloon whisk to prevent it from going lumpy.
- Put through a strainer and fill your warmed gravy boat.
- Your roast turkey recipe has now been transformed into a feast fit for a King and it can be served with your choice of fresh seasonal vegetables. Like Vichy Carrots or Buttery Green Beans.
- Bon Appétit!
Notes
- 4.5- 5.9kg (10 - 15lb) turkey will serve about 8 to 10 people.
- A 7.3 - 9kg (16 - 20lb) turkey will serve 16 to 18 people.
If you tried this recipe please let us know.