How To Roast A Turkey In The Oven?
This is a classic French roast turkey recipe cooked mainly for Christmas dinner but also served throughout the year. Traditionally Roasted Duck and Apple Roasted Goose were more commonly served in France. The stuffing 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!
Jump to:
- How To Roast A Turkey In The Oven?
- ❤️About This Recipe
- 📸Ingredient Shot
- 📋Ingredient Notes
- How Much Turkey Per Person?
- 🔢Instructions
- One Secret Of A Butterball Turkey 🤭
- Two Methods Of Roasting
- Top Tip
- 🍵How To Make Easy Gravy
- ⏳Turkey Cooking Times & Temperatures?
- 🤔What To Serve With This Recipe
- Kitchen Equipment
- 🌰Recipes Using Chestnuts
- ❄️Storage
- 🌟More Delightful Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
❤️About This Recipe
Turkey stuffed with chestnuts or Dinde Farcie Aux Marrons in French is a seasonal meal as there are many turkeys ready in the autumn. And also many delicious chestnuts to be bought in the markets all over France and elsewhere around the world, just in time for Christmas celebrations!
These days most people will buy a turkey from the supermarket either fresh or frozen which is available all year. Some people will buy a fresh one just before Christmas which may need plucking and cleaning by a butcher if they are not prepared to do it themselves. I am happy to go to the grocery store to purchase a frozen one or the local farmers market for a fresh one ready to pop in the oven.
📸Ingredient Shot
📋Ingredient Notes
- 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.
- belly pork or bacon adds another layer of flavor.
- butter is good for developing browning on the turkey skin.
- bouquet garni of thyme, bay leaf, parsley
- 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 very appetizing and your guests will rave about it!
How Much Turkey Per Person?
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 leftovers 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.
One Secret Of A Butterball Turkey 🤭
If you live in North America you have probably heard of the famous Butterball Turkey. This time-tested brand has developed a superb bird for roasted turkey. One of the secrets is that dollops of butter have been inserted under the skin of the bird in various locations around the breast and other meatier parts of the foul.
You can do the same for a lift in delicious flavor, I do!
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 it 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 Easy 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 easy gravy 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.
⏳Turkey Cooking Times & Temperatures?
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
Kitchen Equipment
- meat thermometer
- roasting pan
- whisk
- gravy boat
- knife
- cutting board
🌰Recipes Using Chestnuts
This tree nut can be prepared in 3 Different Methods, and used in a variety of ways in recipes like Pork Pie. 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
Turkey Stuffed with Chestnuts & Sausages
Ingredients
- 10 - 15 lb turkey
- Salt and pepper
- 1 lb chestnuts
- 1 lb cocktail sausages or sausage meatballs
- 2 medium onions finely sliced
- 2 medium carrot finely sliced
- 4 oz belly pork diced or bacon
- 2 oz softened butter To rub on outside of turkey to roast if using.
- Bouquet garni of thyme bay leaf, celery, and parsley tied together
Instructions
- Remove the turkey giblets if they are still inside the turkey and keep aside.
- Rinse the turkey and pat dry.
- Season the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper.
- Place your turkey giblets, sliced carrots, onions, diced belly pork, or bacon, 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.
- If you don't have a meat thermometer cover the thighs and wings with foil and cook the turkey until the legs are loose when wobbled back and forth.
- 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 cooking 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.
Judith says
This is such a delicious turkey dressing. If you have never tried it you really should! Our whole family loves it!