Bacon Wrapped Turkey with Bacon Jam Cornbread Stuffing!
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott/Not Quite Nigella
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 2.5 hours
- Turkey (ours was about 4kgs/8lbs. but the recipe for bacon jam and cornbread stuffing below is enough for a 6kg/12lb. turkey)
- 1 batch Bacon Jam (recipe here)
- 500g/1.1lbs. streaky bacon rashers
- 100g/3.5oz. butter, softened
Cornbread stuffing (enough for a six kilo turkey)
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup/110g/3.9ozs sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozs buttermilk*
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons chilli sauce (optional)
- 1 cup corn kernels
*To make buttermilk from regular milk, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar and stir to curdle.
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line a square or round 20x20cm/8x8inch tin on the base and sides. In a large bowl whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl. In a jug whisk the buttermilk, eggs and chilli sauce and pour into the cornmeal mix and mix with a spatula. Add the corn kernels and bake for 20 minutes. Cool.
Step 2 - Preheat oven to 210C/410F and have a large roasting dish and rack ready. If the turkey has a neck and giblets, remove. Mine didn't. Mix the butter and 1/2 cup of the bacon jam together. Slide your fingers between the breast meat and skin and gently ease them apart. Spread the bacon jam butter with your fingers and push as far as you can across the breast.
Step 3 - Mix the cornbread and the rest of the bacon jam and stuff the turkey with the cornbread stuffing - do not pack too tight as it expands a little. Place on the roasting dish. If you have extra stuffing, place in an oven proof baking dish and add to the oven 30 minutes before the turkey finishes cooking.
Step 4 - Wrap the turkey in bacon securing the bacon with toothpicks. I know I covered the legs and thighs with the bacon but I would leave these uncovered to brown. Roast the turkey for 30-40 minutes at this temperature until the bacon starts to brown and then turn down to 180C/350F and cover the whole tray with oil sprayed foil. The total time depends on the weight of the bird - generally cook turkey for 30 minutes per kilo of bird. If you need the bird to cook til golden but the bacon is cooking too fast, cover the bacon with foil pieces. An internal thermometer should read 75°C to 80°C or 165°F to 175°F. Rest for an hour before carving.
Home Made Cranberry Sauce
- 300g/10.6ozs frozen cranberies
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 strip lemon zest
- A little water
Step 1 - Add all ingredients to a saucepan and simmer together for 10 minutes.