Do I have to put stuffing INSIDE a turkey???

[CountessDraculaboredofxmasname]

I always have
But no-one seems to eat it - I do balls of it too so they are nice and crispy and everyone just eats those.

Could I just stuff with some lemons and apples and onions like i do a chicken?

(or will it dry out too much)

Apples and onions and stuff is fine.

It won't dry out - you can always make sure that you baste it well.

Just do balls, in fact stuffing the turkey often results in people misjudging cooking times and poisoning folk!

I use an onion, lemon and apple.

Oh good
thanks!

Someone - Nigel Slater, I think, was saying that turkeys are much better cooked without the stuffing inside, because it slows down the cooking time and means the turkey is more likely to be dried out. he recommended putting half a lemon, butter and some herbs inside for flavour and moisture, but not actually stuffing it.

It always seems such a waste tbh

no you actually shouldn't put stuffing in the body cavity of a turkey as it rarely cooks all the way through and brings down the cooking temperature inside the bird. you should only stuff the neck cavity. It is a food poisoning risk apparently.
Aromatics such as lemons, apples and onions would be lovely.

Yes I usually shove halved onions apples and lemons in a chicken depending on how big the cavity is, I just thought that as a turkey is so big it might dry out

i do what ocomeALYefaithful does

also, when the turkey is cooked, i loosely cover it in tin foil, then put a tea towel over it, and leave it to rest for an hour or so, and it stays moist

lots and lots of basting helps

oh yes I don;'t stuff the whole cavity!!

which herbs then?

Sage I guess is good

thanks muchly

sage and lemon it is