Classic turkey with sausagemeat stuffing and buttered chestnuts

Method

1. Make the stuffing first. Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion until soft. Add the breadcrumbs, fry until golden, then leave to cool. In a large bowl, mix together the sausagemeat and pork. Add the breadcrumb mix to the sausagemeat with the remaining ingredients. Season and set aside.
2. For the chestnuts, melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and, when foaming, add the chestnuts and fry for 5 minutes. Add the stock and cook until it’s almost all absorbed. Season, add the parsley and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan170°C/gas 5. Put the turkey in a big roasting tin (keeping the giblets for stock, if you like). Stuff a quarter of the stuffing into the neck end of the turkey (save the rest for the stuffing-filled red onions recipe, and stuffing balls for Boxing Day) and secure the skin with a skewer. Place the chestnuts in the cavity.
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4. Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time at 20 minutes per kg, plus 90 minutes. Smear all over with the butter and season well. Roast until the juices run clear when you pierce a leg with a sharp knife. If the turkey gets too dark, loosely cover with foil. (Start checking the bird three quarters of the way through cooking – it may be ready sooner than you think, depending on your oven and how full it is.)
5. Once cooked, remove to a warm serving platter and rest, foil-covered, for at least 30 minutes. Keep the juices in the tin to make the gravy.