Super Moist Thanksgiving Turkey

If you are looking for a fail safe Thanksgiving turkey recipe, this is it. This recipe is tried and true and super simple to make. The chicken stock can be replaced with champagne or a white wine, if you prefer. To free up my oven, I made this in an electric roaster last year and it still turned out beautifully. If you want a really nice browned exterior, I would recommend doing this in the conventional oven. Be forewarned, this makes for such a moist, juicy turkey that the meat will fall off the bones, especially in the turkey legs. Happy Thanksgiving!

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 pound) whole turkey
• 8 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 (14 oz.) can of chicken broth (or 3 1/2 cups of your favorite champagne/wine)
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoons seasoning salt
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Rinse and wash turkey. Remove the giblets from the cavity and If unwanted, discard them. If you want them, add them to the pan or reserve them for your gravy.
  2. Place turkey in a roasting pan or electric roaster. Make little pockets under the skin by separate the skin over the breast of the turkey. Put 3 tablespoons of the butter on each “pocket” between the skin and breast meat and rub it in as best as possible. Take the other 2 tablespoons of butter and rub all over the outside of the turkey.
  3. Combine the chicken broth with the parsley and minced onion and pour over the top of the turkey. Sprinkle seasoning salt and garlic powder over the turkey.
  4. Cover with foil, and bake in the preheated oven 3 1/2 to 4 hours, until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 180 degrees F (80 degrees C). For the last 45 minutes or so, remove the foil so the turkey will brown nicely.

This is a great Thanksgiving Day stuffing that combines sausage, herbs, dried cranberries and apples. It may look complicated but it really is very simple to make…and tasty! If you cannot get fresh herbs, dried may be used but fresh is so much better. If you’re feeling really lazy, you can use the pre-packaged cubed “stuffing” bread which can be found at many local supermarkets. Play around with the breads if you like. You can even use cornbread if you prefer. This stuffing/dressing recipe is so good, you won’t be disappointed and you will have people hitting you up for the recipe left and right.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cubed stale whole wheat bread
• 2 cups cubed stale white bread
• 2 cups cubed stale sourdough
• 1 pound sage pork sausage (i.e. Jimmy Dean’s)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 2/3 Tablespoons fresh sage or 2 1/2 teaspoons dried
• 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1 Fuji or Braeburn apple, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries (i.e. Craisins)
• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 cooked turkey liver, finely chopped
• 1 1/4 cup turkey or chicken stock (if placing the stuffing inside the turkey, use only 3/4 cup)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. To prepare the bread:  Leave out the slices of bread for a day to dry out and stale.  For the sourdough, I find that the baguettes, sliced then left out, work well.  Cube the bread once dried. Option 2: Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Cut the bread into cubes and then spread in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Set bread cubes inside a large mixing bowl.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, until sausage is browned and onions are soft.  Break up the sausage while browning. Drain excess grease.  Add the sage, rosemary, thyme and celery and stir well to incorporate the flavors of the herbs. Cook together for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the sausage mixture to the bread in mixing bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, parsley, and liver. Drizzle with turkey/chicken stock and melted butter, and mix lightly.
4. If you prefer to bake stuffing outside of the turkey: Spoon stuffing into a 13×9 baking dish and bake at 350 F covered for 45 minutes.  Stir the stuffing slightly after 30 minutes to spread the turkey/chicken stock.  If the stuffing seems too dry for your tastes, add a bit more stock.  If the stuffing is too wet, bake uncovered for the rest of the time (15 minutes).

If you want to stuff your holiday turkey with your stuffing: Spoon the stuffing mixture into your turkey to loosely fill.