Stuffed Turkey Leg with Turkey Gravy
Turkey leg is so much simpler and quicker to cook than a whole turkey, and needs a lot less space to cook. You can prepare everything two days in advance: roll the leg and have it ready to go in the fridge, and make the gravy beforehand so you can relax on Christmas Day.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
For the turkey
- 2 boned turkey legs, approximately 1.2-1.5kg in total (brined for 2 hours if you wish)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the stuffing
- 50g butter
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 200g sausage meat
- 1 bunch sage, half the leaves finely chopped
- ½ tsp dried marjoram
For the gravy
- Turkey or chicken bones
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 onions, cut into chunks
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 carrots, cut into chunks
- ½ bunch of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 150ml white wine
- 100ml dry sherry
- 1L good-quality chicken stock
- 1 tsp Marmite or Bovril
- 1 tbsp cornflour
Method
For the gravy
Preheat the oven to 220C/220C fan/ gas 7. Put the turkey or chicken bones in a large roasting tray, put them in the oven, turn the heat down to 200C / 180C fan / gas 6 and roast for 20-25 minutes until golden.
While the bones are roasting, heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add the vegetable oil. When it’s almost smoking, add the onions, garlic, carrots, thyme and bay leaves and brown well for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the white wine and sherry and reduce to a syrup, then add the stock, roasted bones (being sure to scrape the bottom of the roasting tray) and the unchopped sage, plus the stalks from the other half.
Add the Marmite or Bovril and a good grind of black pepper and simmer gently for 1 hour. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of cold water and whisk it into the gravy. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
For the stuffing
Melt the butter in a medium frying pan, add the onion, garlic and a generous pinch of salt and cook for 10-15 minutes until soft. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and mix in the sausage meat, finely chopped sage, marjoram and a good grind of black pepper. Fry a little spoonful in the pan to check for seasoning, adding more salt if needed.
For the turkey
Place a large piece of foil on your work surface. Working with one leg at a time, lay the boned leg on top, skin side up and rub the skin with salt and pepper. Turn it over and place half the stuffing on the flesh side. Smooth it out with a spoon, leaving a 3cm gap at the end you are going to roll towards. Roll the leg up tightly and secure it with kitchen string, then wrap tightly in foil. Repeat with the second leg. Place in a roasting tray and roast in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for another 30-35 minutes, until the skin is golden and the juices are running clear.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest somewhere warm, covered loosely with foil, for 10-15 minutes. Add the roasting juices to the gravy, then carve and serve.
Find more festive recipes in Marcus Everyday. Explore Marcus' full collection of cookbooks here.
