Roasted Turkey Wrapped In Bacon with Fruit Nut Stuffing and Vegetables (French)

The turkey's breast is wrapped in bacon before roasting, while the thighs are filled with a richly seasoned fruit and nut stuffing. This elaborate French recipe is a showstopper.

Turkey Breast:
1 (10-12 lb) turkey
liver and gizzard, finely chopped
30 slices smoked bacon
4 leaves fresh sage, torn
1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves
½ orange, freshly zested
coarse sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked

Turkey Legs:
2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup onion, coarsely chopped (1 medium)
2 cups apple, coarsely chopped (2 medium)
1 cup chestnuts, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 12)
1 Tbsp. garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. orange zest, finely grated
1 stem fresh rosemary, finely chopped
5 leaves fresh sage, finely chopped
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground allspice
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground coriander
sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked
4 cups sourdough bread, cut into ½" cubes and dried
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup almonds, sliced or walnut halves
2 large eggs
1½ cups chicken stock
¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Roasting the Turkey:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup white wine
½ lb shallots, coarsely chopped (~ 1 cup)
2 large ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh sage
2 sprigs fresh savoury
2 oranges, freshy zested

Roasted Vegetables:
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 butternut squash, necks only, peeled and cut into ½" thick slices
12 endive leaves
24 cippollini or pearl onions
2 celeriac, peeled, halved and cut into ½" thick slices
12 large white or cremini mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh sage
2 sprigs fresh savoury
coarse sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked
1 Tbsp. pure honey

Using a boning knife, remove the legs and thighs in one piece from each side of the turkey. Cut the meat away from the thigh bone. Holding the thigh bone, use your other hand to carefully cut the meat from around the leg-thigh joint without cutting through the skin. Use the blade of the knife to scrape away the meat from the leg bone up to 2" from the tip end. Using a cleaver, break the leg bone, leaving the tip end intact. Remove the leg and thigh bone in one piece. Refrigerate until ready to stuff. Remove the breast meat, with the skin intact, from each side of the turkey; set aside. Using the cleaver, chop all of the bones into 3" pieces and set aside.

For the Breasts:
Lay 15 slices of bacon horizontally and overlapping slightly, on a clean work surface. Repeat with the remaining 15 slices of bacon (the bacon should be equal in length to the breasts). Sprinkle the bacon with sage, rosemary, orange zest, sea salt and peppercorns. Center each breast, skin-side down, vertically on the bacon. Wrap the slices around each breast very tightly to enclose. Using kitchen twine, truss each breast to secure the bacon to the breast. Chill for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

For the Legs:
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion, apples, chestnuts, garlic, orange zest, rosemary, sage, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and coriander. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the reserved chopped liver and gizzard. Season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes more. Meanwhile, combine in a large bowl the bread, raisins, and almonds. Add the cooked vegetable mixture. Gently stir in eggs. Add chicken stock, slowly, until the stuffing is moist but not wet. If necessary, add more chicken stock to moisten. Sprinkle with parsley; stir to combine.

Firmly press about 1½ cups of the stuffing into the center of each leg. Wrap the meat tightly around the stuffing to enclose it. Truss with kitchen twine to enclose. Chill for at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Transfer any extra stuffing to a buttered baking dish, and bake, covered, for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes more in a 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6) oven.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6) with the racks in the lower third and upper third of the oven.

Roasting the Breasts and Legs:
Combine 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil and reserved turkey bones in a large roasting pan. Transfer to the bottom rack in the oven and roast until well-browned, about 45 minutes.

In a large sauté pan, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil and the butter over medium-high heat. Add the chilled turkey breasts, and cook until golden brown all over. Remove and set aside. Repeat with the chilled legs; reserving any accumulated fat in the saute pan. Remove the roasted turkey bones from the oven, and set wing pieces aside. Add wine to the roasting pan; stirring to loosen bones from the bottom of the pan. Add shallots, celery, carrots, herbs, and zest to the roasting pan, stirring to combine. Place the browned breasts and legs on top of the roasted bones. Return to the oven, and roast for 45 minutes, basting every 15 minutes, with the pan juices. Remove the breasts; set aside and keep warm. Continue to roast the legs, basting and turning, until the legs are cooked through, 1-1½ hours more. When done, remove the legs; set aside and keep warm. Strain the pan juices through a fine sieve, skimming off any excess fat, and keep warm.

Prepare the Roasted Vegetables:
In a large heavy-bottomed roasting pan over medium-high heat, melt butter with olive oil. Add the reserved wing pieces, squash, endive, onions, celeriac, mushrooms, and herbs. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp. of the reserved fat, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned. Drizzle with honey. Transfer to the top rack in the oven, and roast until the squash and the endive are fork-tender, about 1 hour.

Remove the twine from the breasts and legs. Slice crosswise into ¾" slices. Arrange the slices on the platter with the roasted vegetables. Drizzle with the strained pan juices.

Serve the remaining juices on the side.