Focus on food: November 19, 2007
Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe
This great recipe serves 10, with plenty of leftovers central to the Thanksgiving Feast, of course, is the turkey, stuffing, and gravy. The well-loved classic New England bread stuffing is here supplemented by a Victorian-style Fruit and Nut dressing that fills the neck cavity. Giblet Gravy is also traditional in New England, but if there are some guests who are not giblet-lovers, it’s easy to leave the innards out of one gravy boat.
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Ingredients:
• 1 15-pound fresh turkey
• 2 to 3 cups Fruit and Nut Stuffing
• About 8 cups New England Bread Stuffing
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• Giblet Gravy
Directions:
1. Remove the bag of giblets and the neck. Wipe the turkey inside and out with a damp paper towel. Pull off and discard any large pieces of fat round the body cavity.
2. First stuff the neck cavity with the Fruit and Nut Stuffing, and unclose the vent by using a metal skewer to secure the skin to the body. Then stuff the body cavity, tucking the legs back under the precut band of skin or metal lock to secure them. Tuck the wing tips back under the shoulders of the bird.
3. Put any leftover stuffing in two baking dishes, sprinkle with a little chicken broth, cover with foil, and refrigerate. Bake during the last 45 minutes of the turkey’s roasting time.
4. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and brush with 2 tablespoons of the butter.
5. Turn the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Place the turkey in the oven with the legs facing toward the back. Roast for approximately 4 1/2 hours, calculating about 17 minutes per pound, basting with more melted butter and the pan drippings every 20 to 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should register 180 to 185 degrees in the thigh of the bird, and the stuffing should register 165 degrees.
6. Remove the bird to a board or platter and let it rest for 20 or 30 minutes before carving. Remove the stuffing and pass it in a bowl.
Posted by Chris Rossi at November 19, 2007 08:17 AM