Draw a turkey, truss it as for boiling, and stuff it with a chestnut-and-truffle stuffing, which should be made as follows. Peel off the dark skin from a quantity of chestnuts, place them in a saucepan with two bay leaves, a handful of coriander seeds, a lump of salt and plenty of water, boil, and when nearly soft, drain them, and remove the inner skin. Put one pound of finely-minced bacon and two or three chopped shallots into a stewpan, and toss them over the fire for a few minutes. Cut one pound of chestnuts up into small pieces, put them in with the bacon, add one-half pound of truffles, also cut into moderate-sized pieces, and season to taste with pepper, salt, spices and a moderate quantity each of thyme and marjoram. Stir the mixture over the fire for two or three minutes longer, then stuff the bird with it. Put a few slices of bacon at the bottom of a stewpan and put in the bird with three or four sliced carrots, onions, a clove of garlic, a bunch of sweet herbs tied together with a few sprigs of parsley and a bay leaf, add a few peppercorns and salt to taste, moisten to height with one-half pint of sherry and clear stock and cover with a sheet of buttered paper. Put the lid on the pan with some hot ashes on it, and place it over a slow fire. Braise the turkey for about four hours, and when cooked, place it on a hot dish. Strain the cooking liquor into a small saucepan, skim off all the fat and boil it up again; then pour it over the bird, garnish round with potato croquettes and Brussels sprouts, and serve.

Braised Turkey Stuffed With Truffles

Singe and draw a fat hen turkey, cut the neck off, leaving one crop skin as long as possible, scald the feet and rub off the skin. Peel three pounds of truffles and cut them into small balls. Put one and one-half pounds of grated fat bacon into a fryingpan, put in two shallots, two bay leaves, two sprigs of thyme and one clove of garlic, season to taste with pepper and salt and fry over a slow fire. When cool, strain the melted bacon fat into a basin and put in the truffles and half of the truffle trimmings, chopped. Stuff the turkey with the above mixture and truss it as for boiling. Line a braisingpan with slices of fat bacon, place the turkey in wrapped in a sheet of buttered paper, and cover it with three pints of mirepoix and one-half pint of Madeira. When the liquor boils, move the braisingpan to the side of the fire, place hot ashes on the lid and braise the turkey. Make some hot perigueux sauce, using up the balance of the truffle trimmings. When cooked, drain the turkey, untie it, place it on a hot dish, pour some of the hot sauce over it, and serve with the remainder in a sauceboat.

Braised Larded Turkey With Chestnut Puree

Singe and draw a small turkey, break the breastbone, cut the legs at the first joint and remove the bone to shorten the legs. When the legs have been singed, push them into the thighs by the opening of the drumsticks. Chop fine a quantity of beef-suet, mix an equal quantity of breadcrumbs with it, and truss the bird with a strong string. Set the skin of the breast and legs by singeing, and lard it with bacon. Put some trimmings of bacon and vegetables into a braisingpan, put in the turkey, moisten it to its height with broth and cover it with a sheet of buttered paper. When boiling, move the pan to the side of the fire, put some hot ashes on the lid and let the broth simmer till the turkey, which should be continually basted with its own cooking liquor, is done. Glaze the breast of the bird with a paste-brush, and when well browned, drain it and put it on a hot dish. Mix an equal quantity of white wine with the cooking liquor, skim off the fat, strain it through a fine hair sieve into another stewpan and boil it quickly until it is reduced to half-glaze. Serve the turkey with the sauce in a sauceboat and a separate dish of chestnut puree.