ROAST TURKEY WITH HAZELNUT STUFFING

Roast Turkey with Hazelnut Stuffing image

Provided by John Moraru

Yield Makes 6 to 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 33

Turkey:
1 14- to 16-pound fresh turkey
1 cup coarse salt
2 Granny Smith apples, quartered
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 orange, quartered
1 Basting Sauce (to use at start of roasting):
1 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dry
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Basting Sauce (to use at end of roasting):
1/4 pound unsalted butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
Sausage and Hazelnut Stuffing:
1 cup hazelnuts, roasted and skinned
1 pound fresh pork sausage
1/2 pound chicken breast, skinned, boned, and diced
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 pound chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
2 tablespoons sage
1/2 pound Virginia ham, diced
8 cups stale bread, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
3 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
2 ounces Amaretto
1 cup turkey stock

Steps:

Prepare Turkey:
Rub salt all over turkey, inside and out. Cover turkey with cold water and let sit for one hour in the sink (this will get rid of blood and gamey taste).
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix spices with apples.
Put 1/2 of apple mixture inside turkey under white meat (front). Using the other half of apple mixture and quartered orange, stuff under the dark meat (back) inside turkey.
Prepare basting sauce #1 by heating butter and adding juices and spices.
Put turkey in roasting pan and add basting sauce.
Roast, covered with foil, for 2 hours.
Prepare Stuffing:
Put hazelnuts in food processor and chop to medium coarseness.
In a large skillet, brown pork sausage and drain. Add 3 teaspoons of butter to pan and fry chicken until done. Sauté onions, celery, and sage until translucent. Add ham and rest of vegetables in large bowl, adding the pork, chicken and bread, mixing well. Add eggs and Amaretto. Finally, add turkey stock to moisten.
Put in baking pan and bake 1 hour at 350 °F.
Finish Roasting Turkey:
Remove foil and roast until internal temperature is 175°F, basting every 15 minutes.
Prepare #2 basting sauce by heating butter and maple syrup.
Remove bird from oven when it reaches 175°F. Let rest - turkey will continue to cook, reaching 180°F in the next 15 minutes.
Baste with #2 sauce until all sauce is gone.
Remove fruit from inside.