Roast Turkey with Champagne and Chestnuts

For those who don’t give up turkey this Christmas but also don’t want industrialized ones full of additives that are bad for their health, check out this homemade recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 peru in nature about 5 kg
• 2 oranges
• 1 lemon
• Big Sal
• Black pepper
• 200 grams of butter
• 1 bottle of good quality champagne
• Peeled chives
• 1 kg of chestnuts

Preparation Mode

1. Wash the chestnuts. Those that float in the water, throw them away.
2. Make a small cut on the side of the chestnuts.
3. Place them in a pressure cooker, cover with water and add a large pinch of salt.
4. After the pan sizzles, let it cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pressure release naturally
5. When the pan is free of pressure, open it, remove the chestnuts, peel them and set aside.
6. Cut the oranges and lemon into slices and place in a large bowl that will fit the turkey.
7. Add the bird and enough cold water to cover the turkey.
8. Remove the turkey and season the water with coarse salt and stir until the salt dissolves.
9. Place the turkey in this mixture and let it marinate overnight.
10. On the day, turn on the oven at 200ºC.
11. Melt the butter and when warm, mix it with the champagne and set aside.
12. Drain the turkey, remove some orange and lemon slices from the water and place them inside the turkey.
13. Then season it inside with pepper to taste.
14. Tie the turkey legs together.
15. Grease the turkey with butter.
16. Place the turkey in the roasting pan.
17. Use a clean, virgin tea towel and moisten it in the champagne mixture.
18. Cover the entire turkey with the cloth and pour the remaining champagne mixture over it.
19. Roast for 40 minutes, always basting the turkey with the pan sauce every 20 minutes.
20. Reduce the temperature to 180ºC and let it roast for another 2 hours, always remembering to baste the bird.
21. When there are 40 minutes left until the end of baking, remove the tea towel.
22. Add the spring onions and chestnuts to the pan, mixing them well into the sauce and roast until golden.
23. Serve decorated to taste.

Mom Tips

The dish towel technique is to prevent the turkey from drying out.

Be sure to baste the turkey with the roasting sauce every 20 minutes.

Tip to check if the turkey is already cooked: poke the thick part of the thigh with a fork. If clear liquid comes out, the turkey is cooked.

Yields 8 servings.

See also the recipe for fruit compote with champagne.