Scottish Way With Turkey

by olga

Servings:

INGREDIENTS

8 to 10 lb. (4-5 kg) young turkey
12 large or 18 medium sized prunes
1/4 cup (60 mL) whiskey
2 cups (500 mL) strong, hot black tea
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 pound (500 g) minced pork
1 egg
1 blade of mace, broken into small pieces
salt and pepper
12 - 18 walnuts, shelled
1/2 cup (125 mL) heather honey (or any other type)

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash turkey inside and out with a cloth generously soaked in whiskey. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Place prunes in a glass jar, pour the whiskey and hot tea on top. Cover and keep overnight on kitchen counter to plump up prunes and facilitate removing the stones.

The next day, place in a bowl, onion, pork, egg and mace. Stir until well mixed. Salt and pepper. Remove stones from prunes, replacing each with a walnut. (Place honey in a bowl of hot water to soften it) dip each prune in honey and add prunes to stuffing.

Pack this mixture into the turkey, tie the legs and wrap the whole turkey in a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. (In Scotland, they wrap it in a heavy linen soaked in whiskey, however, it is then much more difficult to handle and the results are similar.) Before closing foil, pour the 1/4 cup whiskey over the turkey.

Place the roasting pan in a preheated 350 F. oven. Roast 1 1/2 hours, then open top of package. Check on cooking and baste the turkey with the beautifully perfumed juices in the bottom. Pour over any remaining honey. Do not reclose the foil. It may take another 20 to 30 minutes to brown the top and to finish cooking.

Make a plain gravy using a giblet bouillon as liquid, or make a giblet gravy. Serves 8 to 10.

CHEF COMMENTS

Do not let the funny combination of prunes, walnuts and honey disturb you since you also use a "wee nip of good Scotch" to put it all together for Christmas dinner.

Madame Benoit's World of Food

Tagged: scottish, turkey add tags

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