Seasons Greeting from RLG (and a turkey recipe!)

On behalf of the Red Lion Group trustees, I would like to wish all of our members and followers a peaceful and joyful christmas, and most importantly – a healthy and happy 2023!

In the spirit of xmas, I would like to share with you below a turkey recipe provided by commitee member and trustee Theresa Parr.

Soused turkey recipe

Forget all the bother with brining, etc. Far too much fuss! I first started using a basic version of this recipe 40 years ago, since then been modified several times. Definitely tried and tested so you will have beautiful, moist, tender and tasty turkey every time.

Chestnut Stuffing

2 rashers of streaky bacon

1 onion

Liver from the turkey chopped small

Knob of butter

200g vacpacked chestnuts broken up

1 Bramley apple chopped small

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 dessert spoon chopped thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground mace or grated nutmeg

1 large sausage skinned (Sainsbury’s do really good high meat content sausages, the caramelised onion ones work well)

Salt and pepper

Fry bacon, onion and liver for 10 mins in the butter.

Tip into bowl and mix in all the other ingredients.

Soused Turkey

Loosen the neck end of the turkey and stuff with the chestnut stuffing mixture. Secure with a skewer.

Pop an apple or onion into the main cavity. This keeps it moist.

Slather the turkey with butter, about 500g. I soften the butter in the microwave and then brush it on for a good, even covering.

Cover the turkey in back bacon. (I use lots as it comes out soft and delicious; very good on Boxing Day). Worth using tooth picks to secure as they tend to slide off all the butter!

Place a few large carrots, large tomato, a stick of celery and a halved onion in the bottom of the roasting tin. ( I chuck the celery afterwards but roast the carrots with your potatoes and pop the onions out of their skin as an accompaniments)

Place turkey on top of the veg.

Then pour in half a bottle of wine into the pan, red or white, your choice but use good quality wine as it flavours the turkey and is the base for your gravy. ( If you don’t drink wine, then you can use a good stock)

Cover with a double layer of foil but wrapped loosely to allow it to steam.

It’s cooked when the juices from the thigh run pink.

Gravy

Remove everything from the roasting tin but leaving just a couple of tablespoons of liquid. Serve the excess liquid.

Whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour and warm through over a low heat until combined.

Gradually whisk the reserved liquid back in and whisk until slightly thickened.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you don’t have enough liquid then you can make it up with stock.

Many thanks to Good Housekeeping and Delia for the original recipe inspiration.

Theresa Parr
RLG Commitee member and trustee