Prep. time: 15 minutes + 90 minutes for the stuffing
Cooking time: 45 minutes per kg (30 in a roaster)

Our grandmothers knew how to plan their Christmas eve dinner: what could be simpler than to make some extra filling for the tourtière and use it to stuff the turkey?

The Christmas turkey is traditionally served with mashed potatoes and cranberry jelly or sauce.

We're giving the basic stuffing recipe but there are many variations. You could:

• replace the potatoes with breadcrumbs or cooked rice
• add diced apple, walnuts, raisins, fresh cranberries, etc.

Making the stuffing

1. Place the ground pork in a pot with the finely chopped onion; cover with water;
2. bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for about 90 minutes over medium heat until almost all of the liquid has evaporated;
3. combine the meat with the potatoes; season with salt, pepper and sage.

Hints

• P.S. the mashed potatoes should be made with a minimum of milk, otherwise the stuffing will not hold its shape
• Variation: some cooks replace the mashed potato with breadcrumbs moistened with a little milk
• Since there's never enough stuffing in the cavity to satisfy all the guests, you can increase the quantity and reheat the excess stuffing in a covered dish in the oven just before serving . Pour on a good ladleful of cooking juices from the turkey before baking
• This is also useful if the amount of stuffing is too great to fit in the turkey.

Preparing the turkey

1. Empty the turkey cavity, brush the turkey inside and out with melted or softened butter, cover with thin slices of bacon, particularly around the legs which tend to dry out;
2. stuff the turkey;
3. sew the opening closed, folding the skin over to keep the stuffing from escaping;
4. roast in a preheated oven, calculating the time according to the weight.

Hints

• Allow 45 minutes per kilogram; cook the turkey at moderately low heat, basting often
• Once the turkey begins to brown, cover it with a piece of aluminum foil; uncover it 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time
• To prevent the turkey from browning too much and to keep it moist, an enamel roaster is perfect. These speckled white and blue oval pans that our grandmothers used are still available. Cook the turkey covered for 30 minutes per kg (another advantage is the faster cooking time)
• A roaster is also good for preventing turkey from drying out when reheating it; otherwise cover it with aluminum foil, but either way cover the exposed meat with lettuce leave to preserve all the moistness.

Presentation

1. Place on a serving platter with some holly or pine boughs;
2. pour the cooking juices into a sauce boat;
3. serve the side dishes in separate bowls.