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–+ servings
Two freshly baked turkey wellingtons on a sheet pan.
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5 from 2 votes

Fig and Sage Turkey Wellington

Super moist and tender turkey, slathered in fig jam, sprinkled with sage, and wrapped in flakey puff pastry. This recipe also includes how to make turkey gravy and turkey stock from the same turkey used for the Wellington.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time4 hours 10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Fig and Sage Turkey, Fig and Sage Turkey Wellington, Roast Turkey, Thanksgiving Turkey, Turkey, Turkey Wellington
Servings: 2 Turkey Wellingtons
Calories: 1853kcal

Equipment

  • mixing bowls
  • whisk or fork
  • pastry brush
  • serrated knife
  • roasting pan or large casserole or pie dish
  • foil
  • meat thermometer
  • sheet pan and parchment paper
  • sauce pan if making gravy
  • crockpot if making stock
  • large strainer

Ingredients

Roast Turkey

  • 1 bone in frozen turkey breast thawed in refrigerator for at least 24 hours
  • 3-4 large carrots roughly chopped
  • 1-2 white or yellow onions roughly chopped
  • 4-5 celery stalks roughly chopped
  • 6-10 garlic cloves
  • 3-4 cups chicken, turkey, or vegetable stock
  • 2-3 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2-3 teaspoons black pepper
  • 2-3 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sage
  • 1 stick room temperature butter optional
  • 1 orange or lemon optional

Turkey Wellington

  • 1 jar fig jam/spread
  • 1 box puff pastry, 2 sheets thawed
  • 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 large egg

Turkey Gravy

  • strained and reserved dripping from turkey pan
  • gravy packet from frozen turkey
  • ¼-1/2 cup half-and-half or cream (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • salt and pepper
  • preferred herbs

Turkey Stock

  • reserved turkey carcass
  • 2-3 large carrots roughly chopped
  • 2-3 celery stalks roughly chopped
  • 1 large onion roughly chopped
  • 6-10 garlic cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
  • 2-4 sprigs each of your favorite fresh herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary, or parsley)
  • water

Instructions

Roast Turkey

  • Defrost the turkey in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before roasting.
  • Preheat your oven to 325°F
  • Rinse off your defrosted turkey in a clean sink with the faucet on a low setting so you don't spray salmonella all over your kitchen. Remove the gravy packet from the turkey cavity, wash the packet with soap and water, and then keep it so you can make some gravy later.
  • Pat your clean turkey dry with some paper towels.
  • Rub your turkey with thyme, sage, pepper, and kosher salt.
  • If you want, you can also mix up some room temperature butter with the salt, pepper, sage, and thyme, and rub it under the turkey skin.
  • Place chopped veggies and garlic in the bottom of roasting pan or large casserole dish with 2-3 cups of stock.
  • Fill cavity of turkey with some of the chopped vegetables, along with a chopped lemon or orange (optional), and place turkey on top of veggies.
  • Roast in oven until internal temperature reaches 165°F. Refer to turkey roasting times in notes.
  • Remove from oven, tent a piece of foil over turkey, and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes, then transfer turkey to a large cutting board and allow to sit for another 20-30 minutes, until it's cool enough to handle.
  • Strain liquid left in roasting pan, reserve the liquid for gravy, and discard vegetables.
  • Once turkey is cool enough to handle, remove skin, and carve off each breast.
  • Reserve turkey carcass if making turkey stock.

Turkey Wellington

  • Unroll or unfold 2 sheets of thawed puff pastry and set on counter.
  • Slather 1 of the turkey breasts with ½ jar of fig jam, then sprinkle on ½ teaspoon of dried sage, and place it on one of the sheets of puff pastry. Repeat the same process with the second breast.
  • Wrap up the breasts tightly in puff pastry. Cut off any excess puff pastry, and use some water or egg wash to stick the puff pastry to itself.
  • Place wrapped breasts on a silicon mat or parchment paper lined sheet pan, seam side down, and brush with an egg wash.
  • Place the wrapped breasts in the freezer for 20-30 minutes, until puff pastry is cool to the touch.
  • Preheat oven to 400°F
  • Bake Wellingtons in oven for 20-40 minutes, until golden brown.
  • Remove from oven, allow to cool on sheet pan for 10 minutes, slice and serve.

Turkey Gravy

  • Take the drippings leftover from the turkey and pour into a sauce pan along with the contents of the gravy packet from the turkey.
  • Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, then measure a couple tablespoons of the hot liquid into a bowl, add a tablespoon of cornstarch, and whisk together to make a slurry.
  • Add the slurry back into the simmering gravy and add some half-and-half or cream. Depending on how much liquid you have, and how creamy you like your gravy, somewhere between ¼ - ½ cup.
  • Taste your gravy and season to taste with salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Throw some garlic powder in there if you like garlic. Maybe some rosemary, onion powder, or seasoning salt. Use whatever seasonings you like.
  • Let the gravy simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened.

Turkey Stock

  • Clean all the meat off the turkey bones, and then toss the bones into a crockpot with some chopped onion, carrot, celery, garlic cloves, teaspoon of peppercorns or ½ teaspoon of ground pepper, bay leaves, and some sprigs of fresh herbs. I used sage, rosemary, thyme, and parsley. If you don’t have fresh herbs, use a teaspoon or 2 of dried herbs.
  • I don’t add salt to my stock, so that I can control the amount of salt in the recipe for whatever I’m using the stock for.
  • Fill it up crockpot with some water, leaving about ½ inch room at the top, cover and then cook on low for at least 12 hours.
  • Let the stock cool for about an hour so you don’t burn yourself, remove all the large pieces with tongs and discard, then strain liquid thru a fine mesh strainer. If you want a really clear stock, you can double strain the liquid thru some cheesecloth or a coffee filter.
  • Store in containers in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

Turkey Roasting Times

  • 4 to 8 pounds (breast only): 1 ½ to 3 ¼ hours
  • 8 to 12 pounds: 2 ¾ to 3 hours
  • 12 to 14 pounds: 3 to 3 ¾ hours
  • 14 to 18 pounds: 3 ¾ to 4 ¼ hours
  • 18 to 20 pounds: 4 ¼ to 4 ½ hours
  • 20 to 24 pounds: 4 ½ to 5 hours
Other Notes:
  • Buy yourself a bone-in frozen turkey breast, bonus points for one that comes with a gravy packet. They’re sold just like whole turkeys, but they’ve had their wings, thighs and legs removed. You only need the breasts for this recipe, but if you want to roast an entire turkey, buy one of those so you can munch on a drumstick while you impatiently wait for your wellington to finish baking.
  • Defrost turkey in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before roasting. No, you can’t cook an entire frozen turkey. And no, you can’t thaw that bad boy in the microwave. Do not thaw it at room temperature! Plan ahead and thaw your turkey for a day in the refrigerator like a civilized individual.
  • I’ve never brined my turkey, and they always come out amazing, flavorful, and juicy. If you want to brine your turkey, go nuts, but I don’t have a recipe or instructions for that.
  • Make sure to disinfect countertops and sink after rinsing and handling raw turkey. 
  • To reheat leftover Turkey Wellington, I find it best to heat up in a toaster oven at 350°F for 5-10 minutes, to crisp up the puff pastry.
  • If you don’t have a crockpot, you can make stock in a large stockpot on a stovetop. Bring everything to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid, and simmer for 3-4 hours.
  • If you want to use your instant pot to make stock, 30 minutes on high pressure, then allow to naturally release.

Nutrition

Serving: 2Wellingtons | Calories: 1853kcal | Carbohydrates: 235g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 93g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Monounsaturated Fat: 53g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 668mg | Potassium: 288mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 89g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 7mg