This is an old recipe from my grandmother for a delectable turkey that is cooked in citrus juices (lemon, orange, and tangerine) and stuffed with meat, roasted chestnuts, and pine nuts. A fantastic recipe for anyone who enjoys Greek food.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 3 hrs 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs |
| Servings: | 12 |
Ingredients
- 1 cup chestnuts
- 1 cup butter, divided
- ⅔ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup tangerine juice
- 1 (10 pound) whole turkey
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ½ pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- ½ cup uncooked instant rice
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ¼ cup raisins (Optional)
- 2 tablespoons brandy
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Make a small incision on the sides of each chestnut and place in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until toasted. Remove from heat, peel, and chop.
- Melt 2/3 cup butter in a saucepan; mix in lemon juice, orange juice, and tangerine juice. Rub turkey inside and out with butter-juice mixture, reserving some for basting. Season turkey with salt and pepper; set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef, ground pork, and onion until beef and pork are evenly brown and onion is tender. Drain grease. Mix in rice. Stir in toasted chestnuts, broth, remaining 1/3 cup butter, pine nuts, raisins, and brandy. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking until all liquid has been absorbed by stuffing. Fill all turkey cavities with stuffing and tie in place with kitchen twine.
- Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan and loosely cover breast and thighs with aluminum foil. Pour about 1/4 inch water into the bottom of the pan. Maintain this level of water throughout cook time.
- Roast turkey in the preheated oven for 3 to 4 hours, brushing occasionally with remaining butter-juice mixture. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) during final hour of roasting and remove foil. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh near the bone should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 930 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 22 g |
| Cholesterol | 322 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 86 g |
| Saturated Fat | 20 g |
| Sodium | 572 mg |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Fat | 52 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I followed this recipe with one modification – I added some fresh and dried herbs to give the stuffing a bit more flavour. Beyond that, I followed the recipe and it turned out very nicely.
I made this dish for our local fire station near our home . All of the firemen loved it.
We cooked our turkey some years ago with this recipe. The result was extra delicious. The best turkey ever. All of the guests confirmed this. Thnx so much!
I made this and my family really liked it. Next time I will make the stuffing – which is really good – but I will not cook it in the bird. It lost some of it’s flavor after being cooked in the turkey and it takes too long to cook the turkey. I always cook the turkey up side down for at least half the time and then turn it around so that the breast meat stays moist. Overall great recipe!
I only made the stuffing seasoned my own turkey breast. Absolutely delicious. My grandma would make it a little different but I wasn’t able to get her recipe. She loved my version. Will save for another time
phenomenal !
The turkey was lovely and tender but in general, we were really disappointed with the dish as a whole. We were expecting something bursting with citrus flavor and rich mediterranean flavor. The stuffing was not only bland, but with the cost of pine nuts and chestnuts, cost over $25 to make! We added more raisins and citrus in an attempt to salvage but it didn’t do much to help. The stuffing mixture might be a nice start to a casserole but just didn’t have bold enough flavors as was. Thankfully we also made a traditional cornbread and cranberry dressing. Disappointing. 🙁
So very close to my Popou’s recipe. Efharisto!
This was really wonderful. The stuffing was excellent. The turkey, to me, was just like any other turkey, but adding the chestnut stuffing made this a definite 4 out of 5. Yum
this was a huge hit at my party. The stuffing makes it wonderful.
just the standard turkey recipie the dressing was not good
Did this for Thanksgiving this year (without the stuffing) and it turned out wonderfully! I will be doing it with the stuffing next time! Thanks for the recipe!
I used this recipe to make meatballs is I mad an orange cream sauce for the pasta I served them with!
geia saaaas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oxi pou dn 8a empaina! kala thn vlepw kai mou trexoun ta salia!
Absolutely delicious! This was the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving Feast and is our new favorite. I used an oven bag for baking, so I did not baste but it turned our flavorful and juicy, The stuffing is unique and flavorful, too.
Fantstic only begins to come close when describing how wonderful this turkey tastes. I am not used to writing about a great recipe. I only suggest that you will be all the happier that you tried this recipe and it won’t be the last time you will!!!! Efharisto’ poli. Ms. Karagouni!!! and Thank you sooo much!
Thank you – well worth the effort
I made this stuffing recipe this year to impress my Greek inlaws since this was the first time they came to my house for Thanksgiving in 22 years! They loved it! The only change I made was adding a dash of cinnamon because I always remember my mother in law’s stuffing having a hint of cinnamon. I thought it was a nice addition.
Very yummy!! Made as suggested!
I want to make this recipe for thanksgiving,so I tried it with a plain chicken to see what it tastes like!!it was fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And very easy to make.You can omit the stuffing if you want to make it easier,but it is worthy,take my word for it!The stuffing may take you an additional 30 minutes to make,but everybody will be impressed!!!Don’t your beloved ones worth that too?And on such a special day???
I have been looking for a recipe that is comparable to what my mom used to make. She passed away many years ago but was a fabulous cook. Most of her recipes are written in greek so it is hard for me to follow, so I came here looking for help. Boy did I find it. This is exactly what she used to make. It is wonderfully flavorful and absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for sharing this!!