Turkey Recipe

Keep in original wrapper and put in refrigerator, it will defrost at a rate of 5 lbs. per day. The day before you are going to cook, feel it and you will be able to tell if it still feels frozen. If it does, leave in wrapper and put turkey in sink covered with cold water. Every couple of hours, drain water and replace with cold water. Probably will take about 5-6 hours in total.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, take turkey out of wrapper and takes out “parts” from both ends. Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Salt and pepper inside and out. Place stuffing in cavity of turkey, do not overstuff or it will come out during roasting. Place turkey on rack in roasting pan and put about a cup of chicken broth in the bottom of the pan. Have butter softened and rub over outside of turkey and then put oil on turkey as well. (regular cooking oil.)

Roast turkey for 30 minutes and then lower temperature to 325 degrees. Turkey is done when the juices run clear when you move the leg, or when the internal temperature measured with a food thermometer in the thigh, behind the leg is at 170 degrees f, and the stuffing in the cavity reaches 165 degrees.

Cooking times for a stuffed turkey will run anywhere from 3 hours for a 15 pound stuffed bird to 4. 5 hours for a 22 pound stuffed bird.

Let turkey rest for 20 – 30 minutes after it is cooked so that the juices redistribute.

As for the stuffing, use 2 bags of Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing or one bag each of cornbread and seasoned. Mince a large onion and bunch of celery, (food processor works best), if you don’t have one, cut up very well so that no one ends up with a mouthful of celery and or onions. Sauté until soft in a frying pan with a stick or two of butter. Heat chicken broth and add to stuffing along with the vegetables. It depends on how soft you like your stuffing as to if you want to add additional broth. You can also add breakfast sausage, (sliced) along with small pieces of apple to the stuffing. If you are doing that, sauté the apples in butter add the sausage and add to the stuffing mix.

Care of Joan Lundgren