Add some serious umami flavor to your classic Holiday turkey with this "under your skin" umami stuffing. It will both trap the moisture in the bird, and add a lot of savoury deliciousness to the meat, leaving you with the perfect Holiday turkey.
Serves 10-12
INGREDIENTS
10 - 12 lb Turkey, room temperature
3 white onions, sliced into thick rounds
3 celery sticks, sliced into big chunks
few sprigs of thyme, rosemary, sage
splash of white wine (100ml)
2 bulbs of garlic, top sliced off
1 red onion, quartered
1 orange/handful of cranberries
For the stuffing:
1lb/500g Italian sausage meat
6 oz (175g) softened butter
2 tablespoons Taste #5 Umami Bomb
TIP: if you can't find good Italian sausage meat, you can also use some of your favourite salami.
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 220°C (425°F)
- Mix together the sausage meat, butter and Umami Bomb into a rough paste. A food processor makes this a quick job.
Preparing the turkey
- Lay the turkey on a clean work surface and using your hand, loosen the skin from the breast section. Take care with jewellery or long nails as to not tear the skin.
- Once the skin is loosened, take handfuls of the stuffing mix and work under the skin, making a "breast shield" that will seal in the moisture and trap all the delicious umami flavour.
- Now arrange two large sheets of foil across your baking tin – one of them lengthways, the other across (no need to butter them). Lay the onion slices and celery in an even layer on the foil with the herbs. Add the garlic to the tray. Splash the wine into the tin.
- Lay the turkey on its back in the centre on top of the onions. Place the onion and fruit in the cavity of the bird.
- Place a piece of foil over the turkey and tuck the ends underneath the turkey in order to wrap it - this will protect the skin from browning too much while the turkey is cooking.
- Place the roasting tin on a low shelf in the oven and cook at the initial high temperature for 40 minutes.
- Then remove the bird from the oven and remove the foil layer.
- Turn the heat up to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C) and cook the turkey for a further 30 minutes.
- Baste frequently with the pan juices to avoid the meat drying out.
- To test if the bird is cooked - pierce the thickest part of the leg and if the juices run clear it is cooked. You can also tug at the leg - if it gives a little, it is fine. Remove from the oven.
- Allow the bird to rest for 30 minutes in a warm place before carving
