Turkey:

Preheat the oven to 210oC. Season the Turkey well inside and out. Fill cavity with stuffing. Place bird into a roasting tray and spread butter over the entire bird, now cover with bacon.

Cut in half: 1 onion, 1 leek, 1 carrot, 2 sticks of celery and half a garlic bulb and place around the turkey. Add 10g of thyme and 3 bay leaves. Now pour 1 litre of water into the roasting tray. Cover the entire tray with tin foil. Make sure the tin foil is tightly covering the turkey and roasting tray so that the turkey will steam.

Place in the oven and leave for 45 minutes, after 45 minutes, turn the oven down to 170oC and continue cooking for another 2 hours. For the last half hour of cooking remove tin foil from the turkey and peel off bacon. Turn the oven up to 200oC and roast until the skin of the turkey is golden brown and crisp. Once roasted remove from the oven and allow resting for 45 minutes.

(The bacon can be cut into smaller pieces fried off then served with the Brussels sprouts or kept for the amazing soup that can be made with leftovers on Boxing Day)

Apricot Stuffing:

Bring Apricots to the boil in the brandy and a splash of water then leave to soak until softened. Drain off liquid and dice apricots.

Combine all ingredients, correct seasoning and fill cavity of the Turkey.

Chipolatas Sausage (optional):

Wrap sausage in bacon and cook in oven at 200oC until golden brown

Cranberry Sauce:

Juice and Zest oranges place in a pan with spices and reduce by half. Add cranberries, bring back to the boil, simmer for 10 minutes and remove from heat.

Bread Sauce:

Simmer milk with onion, clove and bay leaf then strain over bread. Stir until bread softens then add cream, nutmeg and season. Serve warm.

Brussels Sprouts:

Peel outer leaves from sprouts and crisscross the bottom of them. Blanch Sprouts in boiling water for 3 minutes then drain and finish in a large pan with plenty of butter. Cook sprouts on a low heat until slightly caramelised and meltingly delicious.

Season and drain excess fat.

Gravy:

Pour all excess fat from Turkey roasting tray then add carrots, celery and onion and cook until caramelised. Add red wine and reduce, add chicken and veal stock and aromatics and allow reducing to sauce consistency. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan then place back on the stove. Bring to the boil correct seasoning and whisk 50g butter into the gravy, serve hot.