You Will Need:

For the Stuffing

½ cup (125 ml) Ina Paarman's Sticky Marinade
200 g finely sliced chorizo sausage or salami or sliced mushrooms
3 T (45 ml) olive oil
2 x 100 g Ina Paarman's Poultry Stuffing Mix
1 cup (125 g) soft dried Turkish apricots, sliced into fine strips
100 g roughly chopped almonds
2 cups (500 ml) hot water

Ina’s Tip

Because the fridge will probably be overloaded this time of the year it is perfectly fine to thaw the turkey at room temperature. Remove giblets as soon as they are loose. Once there are no ice crystals in the body cavity and the legs are thawed and flexible, prepare the stuffing and season the bird. Cook within 4 hours after thawing unless refrigerated.

Method:

Halve the stuffing recipe for a 3 - 4 kg turkey or large chicken.

Cut the chorizo into 1 cm wide strips and stir-fry in the olive oil until aromatic.

Add the Stuffing Mix to the chorizo in the pan and toss over medium heat for 1 minute to develop the herb flavours.

Add the sliced apricots and chopped nuts.

Add the hot water, stir and leave to stand. Taste, it may need a little black pepper.

Remove the giblets in a plastic bag from the cavity of the turkey.

Rub the turkey inside with the Chicken Spice and spoon the stuffing into the cavity. Truss the turkey (tie it up) with string.

Rub a mixture of 1 T (15 ml) Chicken Spice and 1 t (15 ml) White Sauce Powder all over the bird. Rub olive oil into the skin of the bird.

Attach the three lengths of baking paper with a double fold to each other and staple them together.

Wrap the bird in the paper with a double fold on top.

Fold the sides in neatly and secure with wooden washing pegs. May be pre-prepared to this stage and left in the fridge.

Adjust the oven rack to two slots below middle position. Preheat the oven to 120 °C.

Move the oven rack right down.

Place the turkey on a trivet or rack over a roasting pan with 1 litre hot water in the bottom. Add the giblets (but not the liver) and onions.

Roast for 6 - 7 hours at this very low temperature (time depends on size of the bird).

Through the paper wrapping, the bird will acquire a mouth-watering golden colour, retaining all the moisture and natural juices.

To make the gravy, unwrap the bird and allow juices to run into the roasting pan.

Remove the rack from the pan.

Place it on a clean baking sheet.

Brush the bird with Sticky Marinade and return it to the oven set on 200 °C to brown.

Put the roasting pan with the onions and giblets on the stove plate - mix 1 - 2 T of Brown Gravy Powder with ½ cup (125 ml) of water and stir into the pan drippings until thickened.

Taste, if too strong, add a little more water, if too weak boil fast to reduce and concentrate the flavour.

Strain the gravy to remove solids. Serve this brown gravy on the side in a sauceboat.

CHICKEN: 1,5 - 2 kgs, halve stuffing and cook for 3 hours