TURKEY BALLOTINE

METHOD

For the turkey

Remove the turkey ballotine 2-3 hours before you intend to cook it to bring it up to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to180c. Place 1 diced onion, garlic, sage, thyme and rosemary into a large oven tray. Gently turn the ballotine over being careful to keep the bacon lattice attached. Season with sea salt and cracked pepper
and turn the breast back over. Drizzle 50ml of olive oil over the
bacon. Place the joint, bacon side up, on top of the onions and
herbs. Add 300ml of water to the oven tray being careful not to
moisten the bacon. Tent the oven tray with tinfoil and place the tray
into the oven. Cook the ballotine for 20 minutes per 500g of its total
weight – for example, a 4kg turkey would cook for 160 minutes or 2
hours and 40 minutes. After 3 quarters of the cooking time, remove
the foil. Cook the joint for the remaining time uncovered to colour
and crisp up the bacon, basting regularly. Throughout the last
quarter of the cooking time, check the temperature of the joint by
placing a meat thermometer into the centre of the thickest part of
the bird. If the temperature has reached 65-70c remove the breast
from the oven and loosely cover with tinfoil. Rest somewhere warm
for at least 30 minutes. The temperature will continue to rise by a
further 7-8 degrees whilst resting and the ballotine will be perfectly
cooked through.

To serve

After resting, carefully place the ballotine on a large serving board. Locate the strings that are holding the breast together. With sharp scissors, cut the strings just above the knot. Holding the knot, carefully pull each string out being careful not to pull the bacon away. Discard the strings.

Strain any resting juices into a bowl or saucepan and skim the fat from the top. Add the juices to your gravy and reheat it. Carve the ballotine into lovely thick slices, douse with gravy and serve with all of your favourite
sides and trimmings.