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Historically,
cooks all over America have baked their stuffing inside the bird
as a way of imparting its delicious juices and flavors. But, it's
practically an art form to get the stuffing up to temperature without
over cooking the turkey. In the past few years, this practice has
fallen out of favor as people have become more aware of illnesses
associated with improperly cooked food. If the idea of cooking your
stuffing and turkey separately is out of the question for you, then
this recipe is certainly worth a try. Get yourself a good quality
thermometer that you can calibrate (it should come with instructions
on how to do this) and use it. It's very important that you loosely
fill the turkey with stuffing, or you'll be waiting all week to
get it to the proper temperature. It's better to cook extra stuffing
outside the bird, and have a happy (and healthy) holiday. .......................................................................................................--SC
Yield:
5 - 8 Servings
- ½
cup unsalted butter
-
16 leaves fresh sage, lightly crushed
-
1 (12-pound) fresh young turkey
-
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
-
Corn & Sage Stuffing - see accompanying recipe
-
Giblet Gravy - see accompanying recipe
Preheat
the oven to 450º F.
In
a small saucepan, combine the butter and sage. Heat until the butter
has melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Reserve
turkey gizzards for use in a turkey stock. Reserve giblets, neck
and wing tips for gravy. Rinse the turkey in cold water and pat
dry thoroughly. Brush the cavity with the sage butter and season
with salt and pepper. Lightly fill the cavity of the turkey with
the stuffing and truss.
Place
the turkey breast-side down on a lightly oiled rack in a roasting
pan and season the outside of the turkey with salt and pepper. Baste
with sage butter and roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Turn the turkey breast side up, baste again with sage butter, and
continue roasting for 10 minutes.
Reduce
the heat to 300º F and continue cooking, basting every 20 minutes
with the sage butter. Roast until the turkey reaches an internal
temperature of 170º F when tested in the thickest part of the
thigh.
Serve
slices of turkey with stuffing and gravy.
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