Bacon-wrapped turkey with pears (Paleo)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 turkey, about 18 to 20 pounds;
• 2 onions, peeled and halved;
• 3 celery stalks, halved crosswise;
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled;
• 6 ripe pears;
• 1 lb bacon;
• Softened cooking fat;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
   to taste;

PREPARATION

1 Preheat your oven to 400 F and let the turkey
temper at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

2 Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey, reserve them for other recipes and rinse the turkey
before patting it dry.

3 Rub the turkey all over with your favorite cooking fat and season the bird to taste with sea salt
and freshly ground black pepper.

4 Stuff the cavity with 1 onion half, 2 celery halves
and 2 garlic cloves.

5 Place the turkey in a roasting pan and arrange
the remaining garlic, onions and celery around
the bird.

6 Place in the oven to roast for 30 minutes, then
lower the heat to 350 F for the rest of the cooking process.

7 Baste the bird every 45 minutes with the rendered fat in the pan.

8 Once the inner thigh reaches a temperature of
145 F, prepare the pears by cutting them in half,
coring them, rubbing some cooking fat on them
and seasoning them to taste.

9 Remove the bird from the oven, place the bacon
slices all over it crosswise with the slices overlapping a bit, using toothpicks to secure the slices if
needed.

10 Arrange the pear halves around the turkey and
return to the oven for about 45 minutes, until
the inner thigh reaches 165 F.

11 Remove from the oven and let rest for about 15
to 20 minutes before carving and enjoying the
roasted turkey with the bacon and the pears.