Stuffed roast turkey is a dish that might be prepared for Christmas Eve in France. It's not something that everyone will choose but Christmas is the only time in France that you can find whole turkeys for roasting.
A turkey in my local butchery. Just a few kilos in weight, and certified Label Rouge, which is the most trusted independent poultry quality certification in France, ensuring good welfare standards and the best husbandry practices.
Traditionally the main Christmas meal would have been poultry of some sort, usually goose. This is a hangover from pagan winter solstice festivities, where the goose represented the Sun dying in winter before rising again, Phoenix-like, guaranteeing protection to those who eat it.
The Spanish brought turkeys to Europe, and by 1570 their reputation as a delicious treat was established. These first turkeys were called 'poule d'Inde' (Indian hen) in France as they were believed to have come from India.
Turkeys in one of the local supermarkets the week before Christmas. Under 4 kilos, 6 euros a kilo, from a well known large scale producer.
The turkey surplanted the goose at Christmas because it represented an exotic fowl that because of its rarity was only eaten at the most important feasts.
The first turkey served in France at a banquet was at the wedding feast of Charles IX and Eleanor of Austria in 1570.
Chestnut stuffing for turkey is traditional in France.
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