Main Course
Greek Stuffed Turkey (Galopoula Gemisti)
- Total timeTotal
- 2 hr 30′
- ServingsServings
- 6-8
Stuffed turkey is a traditional dish that is rarely missing from the Greek Christmas table. The stuffing is made the Greek way, with ground beef, chestnuts, pine nuts, Aegina pistachios and cranberries, and the bird is basted with butter, honey and cognac.
Stuffed turkey is a traditional dish that is rarely missing from the Greek Christmas table. The stuffing is made the Greek way, with ground beef, chestnuts, pine nuts, Aegina pistachios and cranberries, and the bird is basted with butter, honey and cognac. This is my favorite recipe for the traditional Christmas turkey: enjoy it with the people you love.
Step by step
2 photos
The recipe
Greek Stuffed Turkey Recipe
Total time 2 hr 30′ · 6-8 servings
Ingredients
For the turkey
For the stuffing
For the gravy
- Optional: 1 whole green apple to close the cavity
Method
- Rinse the turkey well and let it drain. Remove the livers from the cavity; you’ll need them for the stuffing.
Making the stuffing
- In a large pot, heat a little oil and sauté the finely chopped onion over medium-high heat.
- Add the ground beef and stir constantly until it changes color and is well browned. After a little while, add the finely chopped livers and keep sautéing.
- Add the pistachios, pine nuts and dried cranberries, and stir.
- Meanwhile, finely chop the mushrooms, the chestnuts and the apple, and add them to the stuffing too.
- Let the stuffing simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, until most of its liquid has cooked off. Season with salt and pepper and taste. Finally, stir in a little chopped parsley.
- Once the stuffing is ready, add the butter and let it cool a little before you stuff the turkey.
Preparing the Christmas turkey
- Season the turkey inside and out with salt and pepper, and fill it with the stuffing.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the honey and cognac, and add a little salt and pepper.
- With a large kitchen syringe, draw up some of the butter and cognac mixture and inject it into the breasts and thighs of the turkey.
- Close the cavity with a whole green apple, or sew it shut with kitchen twine, so the stuffing doesn’t come out while roasting.
- Place the turkey in a roasting pan and roast in a preheated oven, convection (fan), at 220°C for 30 minutes. Then brush it with the butter mixture, lower the temperature to 180°C and roast for about 80–90 minutes. Allow about 30 minutes per kilo, or, if your turkey came with a pop-up thermometer, watch for it to pop up: that means it’s done.
- Every 20–30 minutes, brush the turkey with the butter and cognac mixture.
- TipTo keep the turkey from browning too much, cover it with aluminum foil for the first hour.
- Once it’s cooked, take it out of the pan and make the gravy.
- Strain the pan juices into a small saucepan and boil for 2–3 minutes. Add the orange juice, cognac and honey, and stir well. Finally, add the cornstarch dissolved in a very little water and stir until the gravy thickens.
- Carve the Christmas turkey and serve it with the stuffing, the gravy and orange slices.
