Baked Turkey with Bread Stuffing (Granny's)
Roasted Turkey with Old-Fashioned Bread Stuffing brings back memories of my Granny's holiday dinners. I never had enough room for dessert.
1 (10-12 lb) whole turkey, giblets and neck removed
extra-virgin olive oil or butter
Bread Stuffing:
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
½ cup butter
2 Tbsp. ground sage
1⁄4 tsp. black pepper, freshly cracked
1⁄8 tsp. sea salt
8 cups dry bread cubes
½-¾ cup chicken broth
Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C/140°C fan, Gas Mark 3).
Make the Dry Bread Cubes:
Cut bread into ½" squares (12-14 slices). Place in a brown paper bag and close loosely. Let stand for 3-4 days, mixing up by hand each day until thoroughly dry. Or, spread bread cubes onto a large cookie sheet in a single layer and bake for 10-15 minutes or until dry, stirring twice. Cool.
Make the Stuffing:
In a medium saucepan cook celery and onions in butter until tender but not brown, remove from heat. Stir in sage, pepper and salt. Place dry bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and add onion mixture. Drizzle with enough broth to moisten, tossing lightly.
For the Turkey:
Season the body cavity of the turkey with salt. Spoon some stuffing loosely into the neck cavity. Pull the neck skin to the back, and fasten it with a skewer. Lightly spoon more stuffing into the body cavity (place any remaining stuffing into a casserole, cover and chill. Dot with butter and bake alongside turkey for 35-45 minutes or until heated through).
Tuck the ends of the drumsticks under the band of skin across the tail. If the band of skin is not present, tie the drumsticks securely to the tail. Twist wing tips under the back. Place turkey, breast side DOWN, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush with oil or butter. Cover turkey loosely with foil.
Bake the turkey for 1½ hours, turn the turkey over so that it is breast side up. Brush the breast side with oil or butter. After 1 hour more, cut loose drumsticks so that the thighs will cook evenly. When done, the drumsticks should move very easily in their sockets and their thickest parts should feel soft when pressed.
Continue cooking for another 45-60 minutes (total 3¼-3½ hours), or until a meat thermometer placed into the center of a thigh (but not touching the bone) reads 180°F. Make sure the center of the stuffing reads 165°F.
Remove the foil covering for the last 30 minutes of roasting.
Makes 6-8 servings.