Thanksgiving Stuffing and Turkey

I love Thanksgiving! The cooking and smells are relaxing to me. I always make a turkey and stuffing a certain way. Both of these are done the day before, so that on the big day I just have to turn on the oven.

The turkey is soaked in a mixture of salt and sugar, flavoring it and giving it a moist texture. The stuffing complements the turkey beautifully. I made some changes to it, but the original recipe came from America's Test Kitchen.  

I start the turkey brine no later than 8 am the day before Thanksgiving. That way the turkey does not have to cut into your bed time when it is ready to be taken out in 12 hours. 

Roast Turkey

12-14 pounds turkey

Step 1: Brining

1/2 cup kosher salt or 1/4 cup table salt
1/2 cup sugar
8 cups cool water

If your fridge does not have room for turkey to brine, use need to use a cooler and have a lot of icepacks on hand  (you need the temperature to be below 40 F during the entire brining time).

Dissolve salt, sugar and water in a large cooler or another large container. Be sure that all of the sugar and salt get dissolved. Slide the bird into the container.

You may need to increase the brining ingredients depending on the size of your brining container (keep the proportions the same). You need enough brine to just cover the bird.

Leave the chest on the counter or place the container on the bottom self of the refrigerator for 12 hours.

After 12 hours, remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it well under cool water (do not skip this, otherwise the sugar on the turkey will burn).

Place on a baking sheet lined with a kitchen towel. Truss the bird with butcher's twine to help it keep its shape and cook evenly. The Internet has nice videos and pictures on how to do this.

Stuff the cavity with quartered onions and roughly chopped celery and return it to the refrigerator uncovered for 8 to 12 hours. At the end of the 'drying process' the bird will not look like it did when you put it in the fridge. It will have an unappealing bruised look.

Step 2: Roasting

Move the oven rack to the bottom of the oven and remove the rest of the racks (the bird needs a lot of room).

Preheat oven to 400 F. Put a roasting rack on a baking sheet or a big baking dish. Place the bird breast side down and brush with unsalted butter. Bake for 30 minutes. Flip the bird on its side, brush with butter and bake another 15 minutes. Flip on the other side, brush with butter and bake another 15 minutes. Brush the bird with butter and finish the roast with 45 minutes to hour breast side up. The turkey is done when thigh is 160 F.

 

Remove the bird from the oven when you did all the flips and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Note: the butter may start to burn on the baking sheet and smoke. I add a cup or so of water to the baking sheet to keep it from smoking. When I take the bird out, to keep water from splashing around, I use a turkey baster to suck up the excess liquid.

Stuffing with Sausage, Apricots and Pecans

To prepare the bread cubes, start with a sturdy, rustic bread (I use whole wheat). Cut the crusts off and cube the bread. Spread it on the baking sheet and leave it to dry for 24 hours or bake them in 250 F oven until dry.

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing and broken up

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion

1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery

1/2 teaspoon dried sage, thyme, marjoram (each), crushed with fingers

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

2 cups pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
1 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped and soaked overnight in white wine
12 cups dried bread cubes

1 cup chicken stock

3 large eggs

Place the bread cubes in a bowl, big enough for tossing with the rest of ingredients.

Cook the sausage over low heat in a 12 inch skillet until cooked. Transfer to the bowl with bread. Add the oil to the skillet, onion and celery. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the dried herbs and cook for another couple of minutes. Transfer to the bowl with bread and sausage.

Add the parsley, pecans and apricots to the bowl and toss to combined. In another bowl, whisk the eggs together and add the chicken stock. Pour over the mixture of bread crumbs and toss to combine. Place into a baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the next day.

On the day of Thanksgiving, remove the wrap, and cover with foil. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.