Chestnut And Wild Mushroom Stuffing Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Using chestnut knife or sharp paring knife, make large X on flat side of each chestnut through shell but not meat. Soak chestnuts in bowl of warm water to cover by 2 inches for 15 minutes, then drain well. Arrange chestnuts in 1 layer in shallow baking pan, then roast in middle of oven until shells curl away at X mark, about 15 minutes. Wearing protective gloves, peel away shells from chestnuts while still hot. In large pot boiling water, blanch chestnuts 2 minutes, then drain. Using kitchen towel, rub chestnuts to remove skins. Coarsely chop and reserve. Leave oven on.
• Butter 9- by 13-inch casserole dish with 1 tablespoon butter.
• On foil-lined baking sheet, toast bread in 350°F oven, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Place in large mixing bowl and set aside. Leave oven on.
• In heavy, large skillet over moderately high heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add mushrooms and sauté, stirring, until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Add another 2 tablespoons butter and heat until melted. Add onion and celery, and sauté until translucent, 6 to 7 minutes.
• Add mushroom mixture plus parsley and thyme to bread and gently stir to combine.
• In heavy, small pot over moderate heat bring chicken stock to gentle boil. Pour into bread mixture and gently toss to combine. Stir in egg, salt, and pepper. Transfer to casserole dish. The stuffing can be prepared up to this point and kept, covered and refrigerated, up to four hours. Bake until golden brown and heated through, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Steps:

• To roast the chestnuts, cut an X on the flat side of each chestnut and bake 15 to 20 minutes at 190C oven. Let cool for 10 minutes and then peel and chop.
• In a large pot over low heat, heat the butter then add onions. Sauté for about 3 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile lightly grind sage, rosemary, thyme and pepper together.
• Stir in minced garlic, chestnuts, mushroom, herbs and spice mix and sauté for a further 4-5 minutes.
• Beat egg and milk together and pour over cubed bread.
• Drizzle bread with warm broth and toss to ensure even coverage.
• Toss through cooked mixture gentle with your hands to coat everything well.
• Set aside to cool.
• Spoon some stuffing loosely in neck cavity, pull neck skin over stuffing and fasten to turkey's back with a short skewer. Loosely spoon stuffing into body cavity, tuck the legs under the band of skin that crosses the tail or reset the legs into the leg clamp. Or tie the legs to the tail with kitchen string. Twist the wing tips under the back.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Divide bread between 2 large baking sheets. Bake until golden, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Transfer to large bowl.
• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add onions and cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add mushrooms; stir until mushrooms begin to soften and release juices, about 5 minutes. Add celery and stir 2 minutes. Mix contents of skillet into bread cubes. Mix in chestnuts, thyme, rosemary and nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• TO bake stuffing in turkey:
• Mix 1/2 cup chicken broth into stuffing. Fill main turkey cavity with stuffing. Mix enough chicken broth into remaining stuffing to moisten (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken broth, depending on amount of remaining stuffing). Spoon remaining stuffing into buttered baking dish. Cover stuffing with buttered aluminum foil. Bake stuffing in a dish alongside turkey until heated through, about 45 minutes.
• To bake all stuffing in pan:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 15x10x2-inch baking dish. Mix 1 1/2 cups broth into stuffing. Transfer to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil. Bake until heated through, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Steps:

• For the stuffing, soak the porcini in 300ml boiling water and set aside for 20 mins, then drain, reserving the liquid, and finely chop. Heat the butter and fry the shallots for 2 mins, then add the mushrooms and cook for 3 mins more. Leave to cool. Mix with all the other stuffing ingredients and set aside.
• Place the chicken, breast-side down, on the board. Use a sharp boning knife to cut through the skin on the backbone along the length of the bird. Slowly run your knife down against one side of the ribcage, working down the length of the chicken and keeping close to the bone. As you cut, use the other hand to gently pull away the skin and expose the flesh. Pop out the thigh and wing joints, and cut through where they are attached to the main carcass. Continue cutting down the side of the bird, keeping the knife as close to the carcass as possible, until you reach the ridge of the breast bone, then repeat with the other side.
• To remove the carcass completely, snap away the wishbone where it joins at the neck end and carefully cut beneath the breast bone - this is where the skin is at its thinnest, so carefully cut away, then lift and cut away the carcass, as you don't want to nip or pierce the skin.
• Open up the chicken, skin-side down, and scrape clean or cut away the thigh bones and any other stray bits of bone or cartilage like the wishbone. Remove the 2 smaller fillets that run along the breast and set aside. Finally, use a larger chopping knife to cut off the feet and wing tips, but don't discard them.
• Repeat with the pheasant, but cut the legs off completely so you are left with just the 2 breasts attached by the skin. Cut the legs in half and keep. You should now have the semi-boned chicken, the pheasant breasts, the skinned duck breast and the stuffing. If all that butchery doesn't appeal, your butcher - with a bit of warning - should be able to prepare all the birds to this stage for you.
• To assemble the roast, open up the chicken, skin-side down. Put a third of the stuffing between 2 pieces of cling film and use a rolling pin to roll it out flat so that it just covers the surface area, then place on top of the chicken. Lay the duck breast in the middle of the stuffing, cover with a layer of stuffing, then add the pheasant breasts, skin-side down. Add a final layer of stuffing and lay the 2 chicken mini fillets on top.
• Tuck in the top and bottom edges of the chicken, and pull the two long edges together. Tuck one edge of it over the other so everything is rolled together and neatly encased, then flip over. Using butcher's string, tie the chicken at regular intervals around the width, then tie it once around the length to hold the stuffing in. Finally, tie the legs together. Can be prepared to this stage and chilled up to 1 day ahead.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Scatter the shallots, thyme and carrot into a roasting tin with the pheasant legs and chicken wing tips. Place the roast on the vegetables and rub all over with the softened butter. Pour the wine over, then season generously. Put the tin in the oven and cook for 1 hr 40 mins until beautifully browned all over, or until a digital cooking thermometer reads 68C (or above) when inserted in the middle. Remove, loosely cover with foil, and leave to rest somewhere warm for 30 mins.
• While the roast is resting, make the gravy. Place the tin on a low flame if flameproof, or tip the contents into a saucepan if not. Scatter over the flour and cook until light brown. Gradually pour in the mushroom soaking liquid, then the chicken stock. Simmer everything together until you have a smooth, thickened gravy, adding any resting juices from the roast. Season to taste, then strain the gravy through a sieve into another saucepan. When the roast has rested, remove the string, carefully carve into thick slices and sprinkle with thyme.

Steps:

• For convenience we cooked this outside the turkey in a buttered casserole at 350 F degrees for about 90 minutes. The timing isn't crucial. Or you may stuff the turkey as below.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 TB (30 ml) butter or margarine, onions, and celery and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add mushrooms and garlic, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until tender.
• Add sage, thyme, rosemary, and half each of the salt and pepper. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes or until fragrant.
• Pour in wine and chicken broth. Scrape brown bits from the pan. Simmer for 3 minutes.
• Add rice, chestnuts and parsley to skillet mixture and let cool completely.
• Toss the mixture with eggs until well combined.
• IF YOU WANT TO COOK THIS IN THE BIRD:.
• Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). Remove giblets and neck from turkey; rinse inside and out with cold water and pat dry. Season the turkey (including the cavities) with the remaining salt and pepper.
• Stuff both cavities with the rice mixture, packing lightly. Truss the legs closed with kitchen twine. Place turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan. Rub skin with remaining butter. Roast turkey for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 F (180 C).
• Roast, basting with pan juices, every 30 minutes for about 3 hours, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 180 F (85 C) when inserted into the inner thigh.
• Rest turkey for 20 minutes; reserve pan juices to make gravy. Transfer turkey to a platter, carve and serve with stuffing on the side.