Our delicious turkey butterfly is the perfect choice for traditional roast dinners and any special occasion This skin-on turkey butterfly cooks beautifully, as the flavours and moistness of the bird are sealed into the meat while roasting.

What’s more, a turkey butterfly for means you can reduce your prep and cooking time, and skip the carving and deboning. Every serving you’ll get from your turkey butterfly is pure, succulent turkey breast.

Weight: From 4.5Kg
Serves: Approx. 18

Looking to serve a smaller group? Opt for our Turkey Butterfly instead to serve up to 25 guests.

The images are serving suggestions. Keep reading for a recipe from our:

Recipe by The Peckham Chef - Simon Baker

Roasted turkey is the festive season showstopper. This recipe puts a funky spin on the classic bird by using a boneless turkey crown filled with a prune, bacon, brandy and chestnut stuffing. Steamed and then roasted until the skin is golden and crispy. The breast meat remains beautifully tender, moist and full of flavour. 

Ingredients

• 7kg turkey butterfly (boneless crown)

• 15 rashers unsmoked streaky bacon

• 4tbsp cranberry jelly, melted

STUFFING

• 200g pitted prunes, diced

• 75ml brandy

• 150g unsmoked streaky bacon, diced

• 100g chestnuts, roughly chopped

• 1 onion, finely diced

• 500g sausage meat, chilled

• 1 orange, zest only

• 10 sage leaves, finely chopped

• 1 sprig rosemary, leaves finely chopped

• 1 sprig thyme, leaves finely chopped

BUTTER

• 375g unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1tbsp olive oil

• 1 lemon, juice and finely grated zest

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

• 2tbsp chopped parsley leaves

GRAVY

• 1 onion, roughly chopped

• 1 carrot, roughly chopped

• 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

• 150g unsmoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped

• 3 bay leaves

• 3 sprigs thyme

• 1L golden chicken stock

• 1L water

• 3tbsp plain flour

Method

DAY 1

First things first, remove the turkey from its wrapping and place on a tray, skin-side up. Return to the fridge while you prepare the stuffing and butter. This will help the skin dry out, making it easier to crisp up.

STUFFING

1. Mix the diced prunes and brandy in a bowl and set aside to soak.
2. Add the diced bacon to a cold frying pan and set over a medium heat for a few minutes, until the fat is rendered and the bacon just starts to colour. Add the onion and cook until softened but not coloured. Add a splash of oil if necessary. Drain, stir in the chopped herbs and allow to cool.
3. Place the orange zest in a small pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil. Immediately drain and shock in cold water. Repeat this process 3 times in total. Dry the zest in kitchen paper, cut into 1mm strips then 1mm squares.
4. Place the sausage meat into a metal or glass bowl over an ice bath.
5. Add the prunes and brandy, chopped chestnuts, orange zest, and the cold bacon, onion, and herbs. With your hand claw-like, mix all the ingredients together for a few minutes, until well combined.
6. Fry a small portion of the mixture and taste for seasoning. Reserve in the fridge.

BUTTER

1. Put the butter into a bowl and season with salt and white pepper. Add the olive oil and mix until incorporated.
2. Add the lemon zest and juice, crushed garlic and chopped parsley. Mix well to combine. Set aside (and do not refrigerate).

TURKEY

1. Lay the turkey on your work surface, skin-side up. With your hand, loosen the skin from the meat of each breast from both ends of the bird. Don’t tear the skin. And don’t separate the skin from the lower sides of the breasts otherwise all the butter will escape.
2. Carefully push three quarters of the butter into the gaps between the meat and skin. From the outside of the skin, gently massage the butter around the breasts so that the meat is evenly covered.
3. Turn the turkey skin-side down. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
4. Take a third, perhaps half, of the stuffing and pack it down the centre of the turkey but not quite to the ends of the breasts. The stuffing will expand as it cooks so it’s important not to use too much otherwise the skin could split. (Use the remaining stuffing to make stuffing balls, each wrapped with a rasher of bacon.)
5. Now the difficult bit. Use a trussing needle and butchers twine to stitch up the bird, bringing the skin of each breast together so that the breasts assume their original shape (as if the skeleton was in situ). A second pair of hands will make this easier. Tack a few stitches working from the back of the bird to the front, to hold the breasts together. Then stitch along the whole length, removing the tacking stitches as you go. The danger is that the skin can tear, which you really don’t want. Puncture the skin and the meat below if you must. An easier technique is to simply tie string around the breasts, like you would a galantine.
6. Place the turkey in a roasting tray. Spread the remaining butter over the skin, season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil and reserve in the fridge.

DAY 2

TURKEY

1. Take the turkey out of the fridge at least 3 hours ahead of cooking. Remove the foil and briefly remove the turkey from the roasting tray. Put the vegetables, herbs and bacon (for the gravy) into the tray and place the turkey on top. Leave to come up to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 220C.
3. Roast the turkey for 10-15 minutes to gain some initial colour.
4. Take the tray from the oven and baste the bird with the pan juices. Lay bacon rashers over the breasts to keep them moist. Baste again. Add half the stock and half the water to the tray. Cover with foil. Drop the oven temperature to 180C and return the turkey to the oven. Cook for 2.5 hours, basting every 30 minutes. (The rule of thumb is 30 minutes per kilo.)
5. Remove the foil and increase the oven to 200C. Roast the turkey uncovered for around 10 minutes until the bacon is crispy.
6. Remove the bacon in one piece and reserve. Roast for a further 10-20 minutes, until the skin is golden and crispy all over.
7. Remove the turkey from the oven and check the core temperature. Insert a probe at the thickest part of the breast. It should read 65C. This will rise to 70C or just above while resting. If the turkey isn’t cooked through, roast for another 10 minutes and test again. Use the foil if the skin is taking on too much colour.
8. When cooked, transfer the turkey to a wire rack. Brush the skin all over with melted cranberry jelly and place the bacon back over the breasts. Rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.

GRAVY

1. Meanwhile, remove the bay leaves and thyme from the roasting tray.
2. Drain away as much fat as possible. You can use this to roast the potatoes.
3. Pour out most of the pan juices, vegetables and bacon, and reserve.
4. With the roasting tray over a medium heat, whisk in the flour until you have no lumps.
5. Gradually whisk in the pan juices, vegetables and bacon.
6. Simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring regularly.
7. Blitz the tray contents in a blender. Pass through a chinois or fine sieve into a clean saucepan on a low heat.
8. Add the remaining stock and water. Simmer until you reach the desired consistency. Check the seasoning. Keep warm until ready to serve, stirring occasionally.

ENJOY!