Introduction
The wild turkey, instead of the eagle, almost became our national bird, and maybe in some ways it is. Many Americans view their Thanksgiving bird as essential to the holiday. But we really encourage you to think of the fine turkey at other times of the year as well. Turkey meat is certainly in keeping with the demands of our modern diet—lean and inexpensive. We have offered a dressing recipe that is fairly classic, with one exception; the dressing is cooked outside the turkey in a separate baking pan. This is really a safer method of cooking. (Sometimes with a big bird the dressing stays at a mildly warm temperature for too long before reaching an oven heat high enough to kill bacteria.) Besides, it really is easier to cook the dressing separately as it can be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated. (Even if stuffing the dressing inside the bird, this should never be done until the very last minute.) If you are using a frozen turkey, it should be defrosted in the refrigerator (never at room temperature) for 3 to 4 days.
Ingredients
| 1 | turkey (12 to 14 pounds) |
| ~ | Olive oil, for brushing turkey |
| ~ | Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste |
Dressing
| 9 | cups day-old bread cubes, cut into ¼-inch-square cubes (about 1 medium-size French loaf or sandwich loaf) |
| 4 | Tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter; plus more butter, at room temperature, for the baking pan |
| 1 | large yellow onion (about 8 ounces), peeled and coarsely chopped |
| 2 | large ribs celery, trimmed and coarsely chopped |
| ¼ | tsp. celery seed |
| 2 | large eggs, lightly beaten |
| 3 | cups Chicken Stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth |
| 1 | tsp. salt |
| ~ | Freshly ground black pepper, to taste |
| ½ | cup chopped pecans |
Gravy
| ~ | Giblets from turkey (neck, gizzard, liver, heart, and tail) |
| 2 | Tbsp. unsalted butter |
| 3 | cups Chicken Stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth |
| 6 | whole black peppercorns |
| 1 | medium-size yellow onion (about 6 ounces), peeled and finely chopped |
| 2 | Tbsp. all-purpose flour |
| ~ | Pan drippings from turkey |
| ~ | Salt, if needed |
Steps
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove turkey from its wrap. Remove neck and giblets from inside the cavity and set aside to make the gravy. Rinse bird completely inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels. Position one oven rack at the lowest level in the oven and the other rack just above it. Place bird on a roasting rack, breast side up, in a roasting pan with sides. With your hands, thoroughly rub the outside of the bird with olive oil. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over the outside of the bird and in its cavity. Place bird in the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F when pierced into the thickest point of the thigh, 1¾ to 2 hours. Plan to let the bird rest for about 15 minutes before carving to let the juices set. While turkey is roasting, prepare dressing and gravy.
Dressing
- Place bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Melt butter in a 10-inch frying pan over medium heat. Add the chopped celery and onion and cook until wilted, but not brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add onion-celery mixture to bread cubes. Then add remaining ingredients and toss well with your hands or a large mixing spoon. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Place stuffing in dish and cover with aluminum foil.
- About 20 minutes before the turkey is done, place the covered dish of stuffing in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. When you remove the turkey from the oven, increase the oven temperature to 400°F and uncover the dressing. Bake until nicely brown and crisp on top, about 20 minutes.
Gravy
- Rinse turkey giblets and dry completely with paper towels. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in an 8-inch frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add all giblets and brown well on both sides. In the meantime, combine stock and peppercorns in a 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Add browned giblets (except liver) to the simmering stock and cook until tender, about 40 minutes. Set aside liver. With a slotted spoon remove neck and giblets from stock and allow them to cool.
- In the meantime, add the remaining tablespoon butter to the frying pan, melt over medium heat, and add chopped onion. Cook until onion is well browned, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle flour over onion and continue cooking, about 3 more minutes. With a ladle dip some of the hot stock out of the saucepan and, with a whisk, blend it into onion mixture. Gradually add 2 more ladles of hot stock, continuing to whisk all the while. This mixture should thicken like a loose paste. Add this mixture back into the saucepan and continue to stir frequently over low heat until gravy has thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Strain pan drippings from the turkey into a cup or a gravy strainer. Allow to set for a few moments for the fat to rise to the surface, and then strain as much of the fat off as your conscience dictates. (Fat does add flavor.) Taste the gravy at this point for salt. We have found no salt is needed when using canned stock. Shred meat from the neck of the turkey, and cut liver, heart, and gizzard into small dice. Add to gravy. Allow to warm completely before serving.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove turkey from its wrap. Remove neck and giblets from inside the cavity and set aside to make the gravy. Rinse bird completely inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels. Position one oven rack at the lowest level in the oven and the other rack just above it. Place bird on a roasting rack, breast side up, in a roasting pan with sides. With your hands, thoroughly rub the outside of the bird with olive oil. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over the outside of the bird and in its cavity. Place bird in the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F when pierced into the thickest point of the thigh, 1¾ to 2 hours. Plan to let the bird rest for about 15 minutes before carving to let the juices set. While turkey is roasting, prepare dressing and gravy.
Dressing
- Place bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Melt butter in a 10-inch frying pan over medium heat. Add the chopped celery and onion and cook until wilted, but not brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add onion-celery mixture to bread cubes. Then add remaining ingredients and toss well with your hands or a large mixing spoon. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Place stuffing in dish and cover with aluminum foil.
- About 20 minutes before the turkey is done, place the covered dish of stuffing in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. When you remove the turkey from the oven, increase the oven temperature to 400°F and uncover the dressing. Bake until nicely brown and crisp on top, about 20 minutes.
Gravy
- Rinse turkey giblets and dry completely with paper towels. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in an 8-inch frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add all giblets and brown well on both sides. In the meantime, combine stock and peppercorns in a 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Add browned giblets (except liver) to the simmering stock and cook until tender, about 40 minutes. Set aside liver. With a slotted spoon remove neck and giblets from stock and allow them to cool.
- In the meantime, add the remaining tablespoon butter to the frying pan, melt over medium heat, and add chopped onion. Cook until onion is well browned, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle flour over onion and continue cooking, about 3 more minutes. With a ladle dip some of the hot stock out of the saucepan and, with a whisk, blend it into onion mixture. Gradually add 2 more ladles of hot stock, continuing to whisk all the while. This mixture should thicken like a loose paste. Add this mixture back into the saucepan and continue to stir frequently over low heat until gravy has thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Strain pan drippings from the turkey into a cup or a gravy strainer. Allow to set for a few moments for the fat to rise to the surface, and then strain as much of the fat off as your conscience dictates. (Fat does add flavor.) Taste the gravy at this point for salt. We have found no salt is needed when using canned stock. Shred meat from the neck of the turkey, and cut liver, heart, and gizzard into small dice. Add to gravy. Allow to warm completely before serving.
Notes
- The dressing can be prepared and even baked a day in advance. To rewarm, remove from the refrigerator about 1 1/2 hours before serving time. Then place in a preheated 350°F oven for about 20 minutes.
- The gravy can also be prepared in part a day in advance of serving. Place in a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator. Add pan drippings to the gravy and then warm in a saucepan just before serving.
- Not everyone likes celery seed. Instead use 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or thyme in the dressing. You also can add either herb in addition to the celery seed, if desired.
- For carving instructions for the big bird, see how to do it on a littler bird in the Roast Chicken.
This content is from the book
The Basic Gourmet
by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis.
Copyright 2006 Culinate, Inc
