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ROSAMUND’S CHESTNUT AND SAUSAGEMEAT STUFFING FOR TURKEY

A recipe for chestnut and sausagemeat stuffing is not very original but I thought I would put up the recipe for the way I do it – and have done for a great many years, so the methodology is well tried and tested. I normally put the sausagemeat stuffing in the neck of the bird and another stuffing in the body cavity. The amounts below are generous for the neck of a large bird or the body cavity of, say, a 10-11lb. turkey but there are not many ingredients so the quantities are easy to increase if you want to stuff the body of a large bird.  I used to make this recipe with a tin of chestnut puree but last year, when I couldn’t get the puree, I pureed the chestnuts in a food processor and we thought the resulting slightly ‘grainier’ texture was nicer – but it is obviously a bit more hassle than buying ready-made puree.  

Ingredients

  • 250 g tinned chestnuts or 250 g tinned chestnut puree
  • 250 g Middle White sausagemeat
  • 100 g soft white breadcrumbs
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground mace
  • Plenty of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Small quantity of plain flour for dusting

Instructions

  • If using whole chestnuts, process them in a food processor until reduced to a slightly rough puree. Add the sausage meat and breadcrumbs to the puree and mix well to combine. Add the spices, salt and pepper. Fry a small piece of the mixture, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
  • Flour the work surface and your hands – the mixture is very sticky – and form into convenient balls a bit larger than an egg. Keeping your hands well floured, continue stuffing sausagemeat ‘eggs’ into your bird until the cavity you are using is as full as you want it to be (don’t over-stuff).