Submitted by obcork t3_y0hv1p in massachusetts
egv78 t1_irt2bno wrote
Reply to comment by TheSkiGeek in Thanksgiving questions from a foreigner by obcork
I thought I'd be able to find a free link, but the recipe and video are behind America's Test Kitchen's paywall. [link] Maybe you might be able to see the video? I've taken the ATK recipe and tweaked it over the years.
(If you know how to break a bird down into leg quarters and bone-on breast, most of the day-ahead prep is just that. Here's a link to a video on breaking down a chicken; skip the part about separating the legs from the thighs, and, once the breast has been cut off of the lower ribs and backbone, leave it whole; stop 2:10 into the video.)
BTW, this is a fair bit of work (maybe more than other recipes), but it's most all done the day before, so it's very little work day off. Cutting the bird into pieces also cuts the cooking time down to ~ 3-4 hours for a bird that starts out at 15 lbs. Yup, it's that fast.
Ingredients:
For stock: celery, onions, carrots, two additional legs or wings, whichever is cheaper
for stuffing / dressing: celery, onions, carrots, (fresh) sage leaves (and any other herbs that you like), a full loaf of non-mass-produced bread, and 4 eggs. I like to add sautéed mushrooms, dried cranberries, and pecans, but they're all optional.
for the bird: I usually use a 15+ lb bird, salt, pepper. (Optional, but I really like them: wooden / bamboo skewers, kitchen twine, and a few extra sage leaves - ~1 tsp chopped fine)
Steps:
T-5 days, buy bird, place in fridge.
T-1 day (AM) poke and prod to see if it feels like it's thawed; if not, use the water bath trick.
T-1 day (PM - start early, just in case it's not 100% thawed), remove from fridge and package. Save the neck, heart and lungs for stock (pitch the liver). Carve the wings and leg quarters off of the body. Use kitchen shears to cut off the lower part of ribs and backbone (leaving just the breast still on parts of the ribs).
Optional part: Using a paring knife, cut through the back of the thigh and debone it (leave the leg bone in, just remove the thigh bone). Sprinkle salt (1/2 t), pepper (1/4 t), and thinly sliced sage leaves (1/2 t) onto each thigh; then, using the skewers and twine, roll, skewer, and tie to close it back up. If you don't want to do this bit, just rub the salt and pepper over the dark meat.
Rub about 1-2 teaspoon of salt onto the breast meat, getting up under the skin, if possible. Place breast and legs onto something like a 9x13 pan, and place in fridge. If you have the space (so no uncooked food would touch it), you can leave it uncovered to dry out a bit.
For the stock: [I do make my own; it's basically this video, but using the turkey bones and skipping the tomato paste.] Roughly chop (don't bother peeling) 2-3 celery ribs, 2-3 carrots, 2-3 onions and place into a roasting dish. Layer the backbone, wings, neck, heart / lungs, and the extra wings/legs on top of the vegetables and roast at 425F until deeply golden brown all over, checking and flipping about every 30 min. (~1.5-2 hours) Once browned, add everything to a stock pot, add 2-3 quarts of water to cover everything, bring to a bare simmer, and let just simmer over night. (You should see an occasional bubble breaking the surface.)
T-day: Strain out the bits from the stock. Defat. (Save the fat for making a roux and/or moistening the stuffing.) Reduce. Cover and keep warm (above 140F) until you need it later.
(About 3-4 hours before you're going to be eating) Stuffing: (uses 1.5lbs of bread, cubed; 3 medium onions, chopped fine; 4-6 celery ribs, minced; 2-3 carrots, minced; 2 Tbs chopped sage; 4 eggs, beaten; and the optional mushrooms (sautéed), cranberries (up to 1 cup), and pecans (up to 1/2 cup, chopped).
Get the bird out of the fridge to start to warm up. Slice the bread into 1 inch cubes; dry / slightly toast in a 300F oven on two baking sheets. ~25-30 min. Remove from oven, add the bread cubes to the largest bowl you have and increase oven temp to 435F. Melt 4 Tbs of butter in a 12 inch, oven safe frying pan. Sweat the onions and a large pinch of salt for ~10-12 min; add the celery, carrots, sage leaves, and ~1.5 tsp pepper and sweat for another ~5 min. Transfer the veg to the bowl with the bread; wipe out the pan with paper towels. Lightly oil the skin on the breast, place it skin side down in the pan and roast in the 425 oven for 30-minutes.
While the breast is roasting, add anything else to the stuffing that you're using, plus the four eggs, and stir to combine. Arrange the stuffing onto a roasting dish, but try to mound it up & keep it from the sides. (The turkey will just cover the stuffing, so that the stuffing doesn't overcook.) Once the 30 min is done, pull the pan and breast out of the oven, place the breast skin side up on 2/3 of the stuffing (thin / pointy part of the breast pointing in), then add the leg quarters to the other 1/3 so the legs lie along the breast. Use a spoon / spatula to skootch the stuffing under the bird. Put the bird / stuffing pan in the oven (still at 425F).
(Use the frying pan (and any cooked-on bits) to make a gravy out of some of the stock.)
Roast the bird and stuffing at 425 for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 350 and roast until the breast meat hits ~155-160F on a probe thermometer (should be ~40-80 min longer); thigh meat should hopefully be ~175F. Remove from the oven and let rest for ~30 min. (If the thighs haven't hit 175, they can cook a bit more.) Taste the stuffing for seasoning (salt and pepper as needed). If you want toastier stuffing, you can put the bird on a cutting board to rest and cook the stuffing a bit while the turkey is resting.
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