| GRANDMA’S ROAST TURKEY Several days in advance, collect and store dry crusts of bread or corn bread. Break crusts into bite-sized pieces and freeze until you have about 3 quarts. The bread you collect needs to be dense in bulk. Use whole wheat, rye, white or sour dough but not the light, white bakery bread that dissolves into gooey mush when wet. Two or three hours before you want to cook the turkey, bring the neck, heart, giblet and one teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan. Cover and simmer on low heat for one hour or until tender. Remove the meat and set broth aside to use in the dressing or as soup stock. Pick meat away from the neck bones and slice the heart and giblet into thin pieces. Set these aside for nibbling passersby. 3 quarts dried bread, broken into bite-sized pieces 2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon dry sage 4 cups celery, sliced thin 1 large onion, diced ¼ inch pieces ½ cup butter When you are ready to make your dressing, remove bread from the freezer to thaw. Sprinkle with sage and salt. Fluff through the bread with your fingers to distribute the seasoning. Stir fry celery and onions in butter for 2 minutes. Add 3 cups of broth to the vegetables and simmer for another 3 minutes. Pour mixture over bread and toss with a sturdy fork to distribute vegetables evenly. Bread should be moist but not sticky. Pack stuffing mixture into the turkey neck cavity then fasten the loose skin over the dressing and secure the skin flap with meat skewers or sew shut with a needle and thread so stuffing won't leak out into the juices as the turkey bakes. Stuff the body cavity next. Secure the skin flaps and legs over the stuffing to prevent leakage and skewer or sew cavity shut. Put any remaining dressing in a casserole dish to bake later. Sprinkle dry sage, salt and pepper over the turkey and place turkey breast side down in a large baking pan that has a lid or cover top of turkey with aluminum foil. By turning the turkey over on the breast side it will not display as pretty, but the juices will flow down into the breast meat as it bakes rather than into the scanty meat portions along the back and your white meat will be more moist and flavorful. Bake 425 F for 1 hour. Turn heat down to 350 F and continue baking according to the instructions on the turkey - so many minutes per pound of meat. When your turkey has browned and appears done, test it by inserting a fork in the meaty area just under the leg or wing. If no pink leaks out with the juices and the meat draws readily away from the bone the turkey is ready. Remember, the more you poke the turkey the drier the meat will become so avoid too much probing with the fork. To serve, carefully set the pan out of the oven on a hard flat surface. Take care not to scorch your kitchen counter or any plastic utilities such as the blender or toaster that may come in contact with the hot roasting pan. Lift the turkey out of the pan by using large sturdy piercing tools, taking care not to spill out the dressing. Place turkey on a large serving platter and allow to cool slightly before carving. Pour juices out of roasting pan into a bowl and strain off any fat, dressing or undesirable skin pieces. Set aside. Add 2 quarts of water to the drippings in the roasting pan and simmer on a burner to soak off the remaining juices. These drippings should have browned enough during the roasting process to add a rich brown color to your gravy. Strain and set aside. Combine juices, broth and drippings soaked off the roasting pan into a large three or four quart sauce pan and bring to a boil. Slowly drizzle in flour and water mixture, stirring constantly. Use only as much flour mixture as necessary to reach the desired thickness. Salt to taste as desired. Note: For the stuffing you can also use canned chicken stock or stock made from bullion if you don’t want to use the stock from the boiled neck, heart and giblets. |
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