Stuffed turkey leg, honey roasted ham, gravy, miso roasted potatoes and fried sprouts with bacon and garlic

Serves: 6
Course: Dinner
Cooking Time: 4 hrs
Prep Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Ingredients
  • FOR THE STUFFING:
  • 200g butter
  • 2 large onions, diced
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 500g breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp chopped rosemary
  • 1 tbsp chopped thyme
  • 1 tbsp chopped sage
  • 100ml vegetable stock
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Salt and pepper
  • FOR THE HONEY GLAZED HAM:
  • 1 bacon loin (650-800g)
  • 200g demerara sugar
  • 200g Dijon mustard
  • 200g honey
  • FOR THE STUFFED TURKEY LEGS:
  • 2 turkey legs, deboned (but keep the bones)
  • 200g butter
  • 600g stuffing (above)
  • Salt and pepper
  • FOR THE TURKEY GRAVY:
  • 2 turkey leg bones
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 bunch thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 100g plain flour
  • 100ml red wine
  • 300ml turkey drippings from the roasting tray
  • 50ml cream
  • Salt and pepper
  • FOR THE FRIED SPROUTS WITH GARLIC:
  • 500g sprouts
  • 100g butter
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 200g bacon, diced
  • 1 bunch parsley, chopped
  • FOR THE MISO ROASTED POTATOES:
  • 6 large Rooster potatoes, peeled and chopped in half
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 200g butter
  • 100g miso paste

1. Stuffing: In a pan, melt the butter and cook the onions and garlic over a medium heat for five minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Honey glazed ham: Place the ham into a pot and cover with water. Cook the ham on a medium heat (softly simmering and topping up the water when required so that the ham is covered) for 3.5-4 hours (until a knife can pierce through to the centre with no resistance). Allow to cool.

In a bowl, mix the sugar, mustard and honey together and place over the fat of the ham. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 200C (until dark golden brown). Remove and set aside to cool.

3. Stuffed turkey legs: On a chopping board, lay the turkey legs out, skin side down. Fill the legs with cold stuffing and roll over to form a roulade. Melt the butter and brush over the turkey legs. Season the skin with salt and pepper. (Any stuffing that won’t fit in the legs can be cooked separately in an ovenproof dish covered with tinfoil, for 20 minutes, on a lower shelf when you are cooking the roast potatoes.)

Wrap the legs in tin foil and cook in the oven for 45 minutes at 190C. Remove the tin foil and baste juices and butter over the skin and cook for a further 40 minutes at 190C until golden brown and the juices are running clear. Allow to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

4. Turkey gravy: Place the turkey bones, onion, thyme, carrot and bay leaves into a tray and brown in the oven for 40 minutes at 200C. Add the red wine and then add 500ml of water and cook for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and strain through a sieve into a pot. Add the flour and whisk until thick. Add the turkey juices, cream, and season with salt and pepper.

5. Fried sprouts with garlic: Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the sprouts for four minutes. Transfer to iced water to cool down.

In a pan, melt the butter and add the garlic and bacon. Cook until the bacon is golden brown and then add the sprouts. Cook until crisp and season with salt, pepper and parsley. Alternatively, this can be done in an air fryer at 180C for eight minutes.

6. Miso roasted potatoes: Put the potatoes in a pot with salted water and bring to a simmer until three-quarters cooked. Strain off the excess water.

Heat the vegetable oil in an ovenproof dish at 200C until very hot. Transfer the potatoes into the dish and cook for 25 minutes, turning halfway through. In a pot, melt the butter and miso and stir the potatoes in the butter mix just before serving. Season with salt.

Gráinne O'Keefe

Gráinne O'Keefe

Gráinne O’Keefe is a chef, restaurateur and contributor to The Irish Times. She is chef-patron of the Dublin restaurant Mae