Turkey and Stuffing

These instructions will be different depending on how many pounds your turkey is. This was for a 20 pound bird.

If turkey is frozen, thaw according to package directions. Before preparing the turkey, prepare the stuffing. 

Chop:

3 C. celery

2 C onion

Put in large bowl. In another bowl, put 4 1/2 C hot water, and mix in 4 1/2 tsp. better than bouillon chicken flavor. In another really big bowl, dump 3 boxes of Mrs. Cubbison's Traditional Stuffing Seasoned. 

In a large frying pan, melt 3 sticks of butter.  Sauté veggies in butter until soft. Add salt and pepper. Add the mixture to the bowl of bread crumbs. Sprinkle 3 tsp of sage, and more salt and pepper. Toss. Add the chicken  broth slowly. You will not use all the broth. You want it to be not too soggy, and not too dry. The consistency should allow you to make a ball that sticks together like a snow ball. Set stuffing aside, and save the extra broth.

Melt an additional 3 cubes of butter in a small sauce pan. This will be for the top of the turkey. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 Begin preparing the bird! Open up the turkey and remove the bag of parts. Throw out the liver, and rinse the remaining turkey parts really well. Put in a medium sauce pan with remaining broth left over from stuffing. Add water to make sure liquid is about 3 inches covering. Simmer all day and watch that the water level does not get too low. Add more water and chicken broth as needed. This will be for the gravy later on. 

Rinse the turkey really well inside and out. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Stuff the neck first with stuffing. Flip it around and stuff the other side. You want it packed in pretty well, but don't pack in as much as you possibly can, also don't let it be too loose. Just a good medium. Whatever stuffing you don't use in the turkey, place in a casserole dish greased with butter, and cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. Pull it out of the fridge 20 min. before you bake it. Bake it in the oven for about 30 min before you eat at 350 degrees F. 

Place the prepared bird in a roasting pan. (I used the aluminum ones that are disposable, for this large turkey, I used 2).

Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Brush the turkey with butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 2 cups chicken broth (made with hot water and chicken bouillon)to the bottom of the roasting pan. Make a foil tent over the top of the turkey, place the pans on a cookie sheet for extra support, and place the turkey on the lowest rack in your oven. 

Let it cook for 2 hours, then baste the turkey with the drippings fro the pan. Brush with melted butter. Repeat this every hour now. When the turkey has 1 hour left, remove the foil tent. 

Check with a meat thermometer to make sure the turkey is done. Once it is done, remove from the oven, and cover with foil to keep warm. Let it sit about 30 min. before you slice it up. 

The package directions said the bird would take about 5 hours to cook, but it ended up being more like 6 hours, so plan for more time than you think you will need. 

This last Thanksgiving, I made my first turkey in the oven! I followed my Mom's instructions exactly, and it turned out so juicy and delicious! I had the instructions scribbled down on a piece of scrap paper, so I wanted to get it typed up so I can always have it!