I am a traditional person, and I love good food. You won’t find any stove top stuffing or pressure cooked turkey breast on my table. My Turkey & Stuffing recipe is guaranteed to put the best Bird on the table this Thanksgiving, or any time of year. Below are all of the ingredients, how to prepare and how long to cook your Turkey.
INGREDIENTS:
- One 20 lb. Turkey (if your family is small, no worries, leftovers are awesome)
- 6 loaves of bread
- 2 48 ounce containers of Chicken broth
- Poultry Seasoning
- Thyme (my favorite spice)
- 4 sticks of Butter (yes butter)
- one large bag of fresh celery
- 1-2 onions
- one large bag of chopped almonds
- optional … injector of your taste to inject into breasts
Start the night before, by shredding up 6 loaves of bread. Thumb tip size pieces works best. If the pieces are too big, it is harder to mix it all together. I simply use two disposable baking tins, but any large containers will do.
Also chop up Celery, onion, and almonds if they are not small enough. You want all of this ready when it is time to mix the stuffing ingredients and put into your bird. This is a secret tip that really makes a difference in this dish.
TURKEY & STUFFING RECIPE
In the morning it is time to mix everything up. Start by pouring your chicken broth into a container that can be heated and will allow you to pour…. adding 2 sticks of butter in. If you are mixing in 2 containers of stuffing, repeat for the other. If you are mixing in one large container, use both containers of Chicken broth and all 4 sticks of butter.
Pour the broth and melted butter all over your container of bread pieces. Mix it up well and create a nice buttery sticky meatloaf texture stuffing. Flatten it out in the pan and give it a nice complete layer of Thyme. spread it liberally over the mix …. then sprinkle the Poultry seasoning over that completely covering it and changing the color. I do not measure those 2 spices, I just liberally cover and mix.
Now that you have your stuffing ready, get your bird out of the refrigerator. Hopefully you took your bird out of the freezer 3 days ago and it is not frozen. If it is frozen then use hot water soaking for an hour or so until the ice is all melted and the Bird is workable. Rinse the inside well and remove the neck and bag of organs of course.
TIME TO STUFF THIS BIRD
Put your Bird on a safe surface or right in the roasting pan you are going to use and start stuffing that mix into both ends. Start by doing the smaller opening first. You wont have to move your bird around and chance spilling any. Now stuff, and I mean really stuff and pack, as much as possible into the cavity of your Bird. I push one handful at a time as deep as I can and keep repeating until I am sure every possible area has stuffing in it. Those flavors being cooked into it are as good as injections to me.
Put your Bird on a safe surface or right in the roasting pan you are going to use and start stuffing that mix into both ends. Start by doing the smaller opening first. You wont have to move your bird around and chance spilling any. Now stuff, and I mean really stuff and pack, as much as possible into the cavity of your Bird. I push one handful at a time as deep as I can and keep repeating until I am sure every possible area has stuffing in it. Those flavors being cooked into it are as good as injections to me.
Now seal your bird back up by securing the legs back into the holders, folding all skin over the opening, and put it in the oven for 5 hours. (or 15 minutes per pound) at 350 degrees. Baste it approximately once per hour with some butter or its own juices in the pan. When the top starts to look dark, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top to protect it from burning. Time may vary per bird or oven, so use your meat thermometer and get the center of that breast to 165 Degrees.
ENJOY A FABULOUS MEAL
Remove your bird, let it cool down for 15 minutes, remove all of the stuffing and put it into your serving container. Let it cool for 15 more minutes, then start slicing and enjoy the tasty, juicy treat. I hope you enjoy my Turkey & Stuffing Recipe, as much as my family does. Bon Apetite.
What Wine are you serving with your Dinner ? Not just any wine with any food. Pairing the right wine with your food makes the meal a memorable and even more delicious event. For Turkey, the best Wine Pairing would be a Pinot Noir or a Dry American Rose. If you are interested in learning more about Food and Wine Pairing, check out my Fine Wine page here, where you can order our best wines and have them delivered to your door just in time for Turkey Day!!