Ingredients

• 1 turkey weighing approx. 6 kg
• 180 g softened butter
• 230 g of the most popular English bacon
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• Juice:
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• turkey offal broth
• Stuffing:
• turkey crumbs or about 300 g of chicken hearts and liver

• 4 finely chopped shallots
• 2 finely chopped celery stalks
• 200 g of boiled and sliced ​​chestnuts
• crust of 2 loaves of white toast bread
• 6 eggs
• 50 g butter
• 100 ml of milk
• 200 ml armagnac
• salt and black pepper
• bunch of sliced ​​herbs (sage, thyme, etc.)

Cooking guidelines

Stuffing: Finely chop the crusts and fry in a piece of butter. Then soak them in milk for a while. Fry golden shallots and celery in butter. Add chopped crumbs, chestnuts, salt, pepper and simmer until the meat is soft. Let everything cool down a bit and then add bread, eggs, herbs and armagnac.

Turkey: It is best to work with your hands with the finished stuffing. Loosen the fingers around the turkey's neck with your fingers and create a pocket with them. Spread a little stuffing under the skin and roll the skin carefully again so that the stuffing does not run out during baking.

Insert the remaining chestnut stuffing into the abdominal cavity and lightly stuff it with a spoon. Do not overdo it with the amount so that the stuffing does not run out during baking! It is seen, among other things, because the meat is then softer and juicier on the inside than if the turkey hell were 'just like that'. If you have any stuffing left, spread it in a baking dish and bake for about half an hour.

We line the large baking pan with foil; use two, one in the width of the baking tray, the other in length. They must be long enough to comfortably wrap the turkey in them. Lay the turkey on its back and massage it thoroughly with softened butter, especially the femur. Salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 220 ° C.

Put the wrapped turkey in the oven and bake for 40 minutes at 220 ° C. Then reduce the temperature to 170 ° and bake slowly for 3 to 3 hours. Finally, remove the foil, raise the temperature to 200 ° and bake for another half hour. Let the turkey stand for half an hour. Finally, pour the juice and dust with flour, whisk the broth and cook until thick. Salt and pepper.