Abigail Donnelly, Author at Woolworths TASTE

Christmas recipes

Porchetta with mushroom-and-sage stuffing

1 1⁄2 hours

Christmas dessert

Meringue cake with cream cheese icing and caramel cornflake crown

40 minutes

Salad recipes

Christmas trifle with Italian meringue

Chicken recipes

Crispy roast duck with confit vegetables

1 hour

Christmas recipes

Trout gravlax with quick pickled cucumber

Christmas recipes

Turkey with flavoured butter

2 hours, plus 45 minutes resting time

Turkey with flavoured butter

Serves 8

Difficulty Easy

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cooking Time 2 hours, plus 45 minutes resting time

Ingredients

± 4 kg free-range turkey, thawed and at room temperature
2 carrots, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery
3 onions, roughly chopped
Turkey giblets (that come with the bird)
1 bulb garlic, halved
4 bay leaves
150 g butter, melted

For the flavoured butter, combine:

250 g butter, softened
2 sprigs thyme, leaves removed and finely chopped
3 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to its hottest temperature. Fill the turkey’s cavity with sausage stuff and place into a large roasting dish lined with the carrots, celery, onions, turkey giblets, garlic and bay leaves.
Spread the flavoured butter evenly under the skin.
Reduce the oven’s temperature to 180°C and roast the turkey for 2 hours, basting with the melted butter and juices. The turkey is cooked when the juices run clear when a knife is inserted into the thickest part and the skin is browned.
Remove from the roasting dish (set aside for making the gravy), cover with 4 layers of tin foil and rest for 45 minutes.

Cook's note: With just a little extra love and attention (and this recipe) you can end up with perfectly moist turkey. The key is to baste the bird in its own juices every 30 minutes or so to keep it succulent. A great stuffing will also help keep things juicy.

Discover more festive recipes here.

Coffee pecan nut pie

Easy beef stew

Air-fryer buttermilk chicken breasts

Recipes & Articles by Abigail Donnelly

Hasselback potatoes

Porchetta with mushroom-and-sage stuffing

Meringue cake with cream cheese icing and caramel cornflake crown

Melon ball salad

Christmas trifle with Italian meringue

Chicken liver pâté

Christmas panetonne

Crispy roast duck with confit vegetables

Festive piccalilli

Five-spice Christmas biscuits

Trout gravlax with quick pickled cucumber

Turkey with flavoured butter

Turkey with flavoured butter

Ingredients

Method