Prepare Day Before
Stuffing
- 4 Medium Brown Onions - Chopped
- 1 Stalk Celery - Chopped
- 4 lbs Russet Potatoes
- 6 Cups Dried Cubed Bread
- 1 lb Fatty Bacon
- 1 Bunch Fresh Thyme
- 1 Bunch Fresh Sage
- Sea Salt
- Fine Black Pepper
Boil potatoes until tender. Test with knife. Allow cooling for 20 minutes, and peel off skin.
Cut potatoes into cubes before second cook.
As potatoes are boiling; pull thyme and snip sage. I recommend making sure that the thyme is stock free, and further break apart by getting bunches in between your fingers then pull apart. Two or three times do the job.
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| Fresh Sage |
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| Fresh Thyme |
Chop sage leaves just before cook.
Fry bacon in cast iron skillet until well done. Set cooked bacon aside.
Remove bacon, and pour half of fat into wok. The other half will be used to twice cook the potatoes in.
Heat wok over high heat with bacon fat, and add onions. Cook until almost clear. Add celery, and 2 dashes of salt plus 4 dashes of pepper. As onions and celery are cooking, second cook potatoes in skillet. Sprinkle 2 dashes of salt onto potatoes as they cook. Turn potatoes while they cook and also turn wok mix. Once potatoes are second cooked, add to wok mixture along with the fresh herbs. Gently fold mix together, and cook for 10 minutes more. Turn off heat, and then fold in dried bread one cup at a time. Last, crumble in bacon and fold in. Cool to room temperature.
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| Stuffing |
Turkey Rub Basics
- 4 Dashes Sea Salt
- 3 Dashes Fine Black Pepper
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 4 tsp Dried Sage
- 3 tsp Dried Thyme
The Turkey
I buy no name birds. They are not as greasy, and I find they have a soft game taste too. If you buy a brand name bird don't add the butter as outlined in the following steps. Make sure your bird is completely thawed. In other words, you cannot successfully stuff and cook a frozen bird with this recipe. I thaw my bird out in the refrigerator for several days (3-4) before the day I plan to cook it. If you buy a frozen bird and let it thaw over night, you may find that it will not be thoroughly thawed.
Remove gizzards and neck. Place them into a simmer pot covered with sufficient water.
Rinse turkey cavity of blood. Place turkey into roaster pan and sprinkle rub mixture into cavity as well as in between the skin and breast meat. Apply rub to the outside skin as well. Use left over rub for giblet pot seasoning. Next, stuff bird chest and neck cavity with stuffing. I like to place 1/2 stick of butter in between the skin of each chest side as this keeps the white meat moist. Refrigerate stuffed turkey overnight along with giblet pot.
Simple Cranberry Sauce
This is so simple, and it beats any canned sauce hands down.
12 oz Bag Fresh Cranberries
Syrup
- 1 c. Sugar
- 1 c. Water
- 1/4 c. Triple Sec
In accommodating pot, bring to a boil syrup mix and then add cranberries. Bring back to boil, and reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking and stirring for 8-10 minutes until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat, and cool to room temperature. Place in refrigerator once cool.
Roasting Day
Turkey Cook Times
Roast turkey at 325 degrees covered.
8-11 lbs 3-3 1/2 hours
11-15 lbs 4-6 hours
15-20 lbs 6-8 hours
You'll know the bird is done when the legs begin to fall away from the bird. Some birds have an auto pop up stick as well. When the stick pops up, it indicates that the bird is roasted perfect; with that said, be careful in relying on the pop up stick because it may fail. For the last 20 minutes, you may want to brown the outside skin. This makes for a truly golden bird. Uncover, and baste bird with juices in roaster or from giblet pot. Roast uncovered. Baste again before removing from oven.
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| Roasted Stuffed Turkey |
Giblet Pot Cook
Place giblet pot on a low simmer flame at same time that bird is placed into oven. It needs to simmer covered for at least two hours. You may need to add a bit more water as it cooks due to evaporation. Cool to room temperature once cooked. Once cooled, cut gizzard, heart, and liver into small pieces. Pull meat off neck, and hand shred. Keep broth and chopped meat separated. You will use each for the giblet gravy.
Candied Yams
This is one of my favorites. As the turkey is roasting, boil 6 medium yams until almost tender. Cool for 20-30 minutes, and peel off skin. Next, prepare the syrup.
- 1-1/2 c. Brown Sugar
- 1/2 c. Water
- 1/4 c. Triple Sec or Southern Comfort
- 1/2 stick Butter
In a pot, add sugar, water, and liquor. Bring to a boil, and cook 5-8 minutes. Add butter, and cook for another minute. Allow to rest.
Slice yams about 1/8-1/4" thick, and lay into accommodating oblong baking dish (13 × 5). Pour syrup over yams, and place six pats of butter evenly on top of yams. Bake along side turkey for one hour covered.
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| Baked Candied Yams |
Giblet Gravy
This gravy is a must. Lift roasted turkey from roaster. Place roaster over medium flame, and add the chopped giblets. If you need additional broth, add from giblet pot. Stir, and thicken with:
- 2 Tbsp Corn Starch
- 5 Tbsp water
Mix together with fork, and slowly add to roaster pot. Keep stirring, and add small amounts of thickening mix until a slight creamy consistency is achieved (this is why you add small amounts slowly else your gravy will become too thick). Remove from heat and serve.
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| Homemade Giblet Gravy |
So, there you have it. A simple way to make stuffed holiday turkey any time of the year.
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