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Turkey with Cherry Stuffing

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Thinking of a recipe to prepare for Thanksgiving? Turkey with cherry stuffing is a fruity twist to the classic stuffed turkey recipe. The cherries make the meat more savory and aromatic. Enjoy it with potatoes or other sides.

 

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

3/4 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon chicken powder

5 cups seasoned stuffing cubes or bread cubes

3/4 cup golden raisins

3/4 cup chicken broth

1 14.5 oz. can pitted tart cherries, drained

1 turkey (10 to 12 pounds)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

 

Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and celery for 2-3 minutes or until they are tender. Add the thyme and chicken powder. Mix well.

Place the onion and celery in a large bowl. Add the raisins, broth, cherries, stuffing cubes. Toss until well combined.

Loosely stuff the turkey with the cherry filling. Skewer the openings or sew them and then tie the drumsticks together.

Put the turkey breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Brush it with oil. Bake it at 325° for 4 to 4-1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 180° for the turkey and 165° for the stuffing. Baste it occasionally with pan drippings. Cover the turkey loosely with foil if it browns easily and the stuffing is not heated through.

Let the roasted turkey stand for 20 minutes before removing the stuffing and carving the turkey.

While waiting for it to cool down, heat the drippings in a small saucepan and let it thicken to make gravy.

 

Photo Courtesy Of:  cnewtoncom

Stuffed Turkey

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Thanksgiving is a few days away and we all know that it will not be complete without a stuffed turkey. Here is a simple recipe that you can follow. Feel free to add more herbs to the turkey and gravy if desired.

 

Serves 16-18

Ingredients:

2 large onions, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

2 medium sized carrots, finely chopped

3/4 cup butter, divided

2 lbs. day old bread (2 loaves), cubed

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup minced fresh parsley

1 egg, beaten

1 16-18 lbs. whole turkey with neck and giblets

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

For the gravy:

4 1/2 cups water, divided

1 medium carrot, halved

1 celery rib, halved

1 small onion, quartered

1 bay leaf

6 whole peppercorns

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Place a large skillet over high heat. Melt half a cup of butter in the skillet and sauté the onions, celery and carrots for 4-6 minutes or until they are tender. Transfer it to a large mixing bowl.

To make the stuffing, put the bread cubes, chicken broth, parsley and beaten egg in the bowl with the onion mixture.

Cut off the giblets and neck of turkey. Place them in a covered container and refrigerate.

Loosely fill the turkey with the prepared stuffing mixture. Skewer or sew the turkey openings. After, tie the drumsticks with a kitchen string.

Next, put the rest of the stuffing in a greased 2 quart baking dish and refrigerate.

Melt the remaining butter and put it in a small bowl. Place the turkey breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush it with melted butter and season it with garlic salt and paprika.

Bake the chicken at 325F. After one hour, baste it every 30 minutes. Cook it for 4-4 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 180F for the turkey and 165F for the stuffing. Cover it loosely with foil if it browns too fast.

While baking the turkey, start preparing the gravy by combining 4 cups of water, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, peppercorns, giblets and neck in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer it for an hour or until the giblets are tender. Strain the broth and set aside.

Loosely cover the baking dish with the extra stuffing with foil. Bake it simultaneously with the turkey for 25-30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake it for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm.

Take the turkey from the oven. Cover it loosely with foil and let it stand for 20 minutes before you begin carving it.

Place the turkey drippings and browned bits into a measuring cup or small bowl. Skim off the fat.

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat.  Pour in the remaining water. Add the flour and salt. Stir until well combined. Mix in he reserved broth and drippings. Bring it to a boil. Cook it for 2-3 minutes or until it becomes thick. Transfer it to a jug and serve it with the turkey and baked stuffing.

 

Photo Courtesy Of:   fletcherjcm

Traditional Roast Turkey

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Granted, the quantities seem a bit extreme, but it’s a big treat! It’ll make enough to provide you with Turkey and Stuffing Sandwiches for a while!

Roast Turkey

To serve 6

6.5kg Turkey

75g Softened Butter

225g Very Fat Streaky Bacon

900g Stuffing

1.       Heat the oven to 220C

2.       Loosely stuff the Turkey with the stuffing, pushing it up between the flesh and skin, towards the breast.

3.       Cover a large baking tray with 2 sheets of foil, one going each way (width-ways and lengthways), and lay the turkey on its back in the centre. Cover in butter, and cover with bacon, making sure that the bowl is completely covered (even if some is overlapping it would be okay.)

4.       Wrap the Turkey in foil loosely, sealed firmly but leaving enough space for air to help the Turkey and Stuffing cook through.

5.       Place in the oven for forty minutes, and then carry on preparing other sides.

6.       After the forty minutes, reduce the heat to 170C.

7.       After three and a half hours, turn the heat back up to 200C, remove the Turkey from the oven (you may need some help with this!), take the foil and take off the bacon slices. Baste thoroughly, and return for another thirty to forty five minutes, basting it on a regular basis.

8.       To make sure that the Turkey is cooked through, pierce in several places with a skewer and make sure that the juices that come out are golden and clear, with no trace of pinkness.

Serve with Roast Potatoes, Parsnips, Cranberry Sauce, Roast Parsnips and a range of vegetables (Carrots, Brussel Sprouts, etc.)

Pumpkin Pie

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A great use for the inside of those pumpkins you’ve turned into Lanterns. For best results, use ‘Pie Pumpkins’ – usually available from late September through to mid December. They’re smaller, sweeter and have a more edible texture (less grainy than the lantern type). If you do want to use the Lantern type, add 25% more sugar, and blend for much longer after cooking.

Serves 8

Pumpkin

1 cup Sugar

1.5 tsp ground Cinnamon

1 tsp ground Cloves

1 tsp ground All Spice

½ tsp ground Ginger

½ tsp Salt (optional)

4 large eggs

3 cups pumpkin puree (that you’ll be making!)

1 ½ cans of Evaporated Milk

½ tsp Vanilla Extract (optional)

Pie base

1.       Wash the exterior of the Pumpkin in cool or warm water – with no soap, before cutting the pumpkin in half. For cutting the pumpkin, use a blade that’s serrated – a bread knife, or a handsaw (as I’ve seen happen for large amounts of pumpkins!)

2.       Remove the stringy substance and the seeds (keep the seeds for this recipe: roasted pumpkin seeds)

3.       Cook the Pumpkin. You can steam it, microwave it or bake it until soft. I’d recommend microwaving it – the simplest way of doing it. Start off with fifteen minutes, and add more time in small increments – it might take twenty or thirty minutes

4.       Scoop out the cooked pumpkin. It should be soft enough to scoop with a large smooth spoon (like a tablespoon). If cooked well enough, and in large enough chunks, it should be able to be peeled off with just your hands. If there’s any standing water, you might want to let it set for thirty minutes, before pouring any excess off of the pulp.

5.       Puree the Pumpkin. This is where you need to add any extra sugar (if you’ve used a Lantern Pumpkin). Use a handheld blender to make sure that there are no lumps, and that it’s a constant, smooth satiny texture. It should take around two or three minutes, depending on the amount of Pumpkin.

6.       Make the pie crust. You can either make a shortbread pie crust, or buy one from the store. Pre-heat the oven to 210 C or 425 F

7.       Mix the remaining ingredients using a hand blender or mixer.

8.       Pour the pie mix until it’s 1cm (1/2 inch from the top of the dish). Don’t worry if it looks very runny.

9.       Bake the pie at 210 C for the first fifteen minutes, and then turn down to 175 C or 350 F, and bake for another forty five  to sixty minutes – until a clean knife inserted into the centre of the pie comes out clean.

10.   Enjoy! Serve warm or chilled. Whipped Cream, Ice Cream or on it’s own, it’s a beautiful pie – and goes very well with coffee!

Photo courtesy of Maggie Hoffman