Stuffing
10 ounces fresh chestnuts
3 1/2 Tablespoons butter
2 large yellow onions, peeled and chopped
3 shallots, peeled and chopped
1 pound brioche bread, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 eggs
4 Tablespoons crème fraîche
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh sage
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350°F.
To cook the chestnuts first puncture the outer husk with a fork then
either sauté them in a pan over
medium heat or roast them in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the
chestnuts from the oven
and allow them to cool. Once cool enough to handle, crack and peel off
all the skin around the nut.
When through, coarsely chop the nuts, and reserve.
In a sauté pan over medium heat, add the butter and sweat the
onions and shallots until translucent.
Be sure they do not color. Reserve.
Place the brioche cubes on a sheet pan in the oven and toast until golden
brown. Let cool and reserve.
In a large mixing
bowl beat the eggs and the crème fraîche until creamy, and add the brioche
cubes,
thyme, sage, chestnuts and the onions and shallots. Mix until well combined.
Season to taste and
reserve in the refrigerator.
Turkey
One 15-pound turkey
1/3 pound butter
1/4 cup soy
sauce
Salt and freshly
ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Salt the cavity of the turkey and place
the stuffing inside. Close the cavity
and truss the turkey. Spread the butter over the skin of the turkey.
Place the turkey on a roasting rack in
a roasting pan and place in the oven a cook for 20 minutes. Do not open
the oven during searing. Lower
the heat to 350°F, brush the turkey with the soy sauce, and cook
for 2 to 3 hours -- until the internal
temperature reads 150°F. Pour off the excess fat from the roasting
pan and deglaze with the chicken stock.
Pour the mixture into a medium-sized saucepan, bring to a boil, and
simmer for 5 minutes. Pass mixture
through a fine mesh strainer, and reserve.
To serve, remove
the stuffing from the inside of the turkey. Place the stuffing in the
middle of a large
serving platter, and carve the turkey placing the slices around the
stuffing. Pour the turkey jus on top and serve.
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