Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

1 Doubled Recipe corn bread
- Prepare a week before and
- break up to dry
1 1/2 Loaves GOOD white bread
- Begin drying w/corn bread
- one week before.
20 lb Turkey
2 1/2 lg Onions, diced
Celery hearts and leaves,
- diced to equal same amount
- as onions
Chicken broth
Butter
Water
Salt and pepper
Sage
6 Eggs
Flour

One week before: Bake a 9 x 13 pan of corn bread. Cool. Break into chunks
and put in very large Tupperware container or large roasting pan. Add 1
1/2 loaves of bread - spread slices for drying moving around daily, and
breaking up as the slices dry out. Use good bread ~ the cheap stuff is NOT
as good! Keep covered with a clean dish towel, do NOT seal with lid.
PREPARATION AND COOKING: Clean a a thawed turkey (thaw in the refrigerator
about 3-4 days for a 20 pound turkey). Place the turkey breast DOWN in a
large roasting pan (enamel is great). Add the neck and giblets. Slice about
2 sticks of butter and place these all over the turkey. Open one can
chicken broth and pour in the bottom of the pan.
If the roaster lid fits, use it to cover the turkey. If it doesn't, make
a cover with heavy foil by tearing off two pieces of foil about 12 inches
longer than the pan and make a "sealed" fold along the lengthwise edges.
Put over the turkey like a tent - that is, leave some space in the center
rather than having the foil touch the turkey. Pinch the edges of the foil
tightly around all edges to seal juices in as turkey bakes.
Bake in a 325 degree oven until about 1 hour BEFORE the turkey is
completely done! You'll have to check a 20 lb turkey in about 2 1/2 hours
or 3 hours. If your turkey is TOO done, it will not be as good. Ideally,
the meat should not be falling away from the bones.
Set a timer for 2 1/2 hours... and about 1 hour before you think the
turkey is ready for adding the stuffing, begin preparing it. Do NOT
prepare too far ahead of time.
Dice the onions and celery hearts/leaves (if you don't have hearts, use
lots of leaves - this is one of the "secrets" of my stuffing). Together,
the onions and celery should equal at least 6 cups, more or less.
Remove the turkey carefully. Move the turkey to another container (I use
the roaster lid or an aluminum baking pan). Pour the broth through a
strainer into the sauce pan you'll be using to make the gravy. Retain the
rest for the stuffing. If more liquid is needed, use cans of chicken broth
and/or 1 stick of butter to 1 cup of water. Into a large container (I use
the huge Tupperware bowl), put the dried corn bread, bread, onions
celery. Pour in any left-over broth. This may be hot, so wait for it to
cool. Mix with a large wooden spoon. Add enough chicken broth to cool the
mixture enough that it can be mixed with your hands. Each hardened piece of
corn bread and bread should be smashed with your fingers. When the mixture
is cool enough that it won't cook the eggs, add the eggs. Remember to break
the eggs into another container. This will prevent egg shells in your
stuffing!!! (Eggs in stuffing: Another secret.) Add salt, lots of pepper,
and lots of sage. Mix by hand, adding more broth as needed for a nice
thick and moist mixture - not too sloppy. Taste it! This is where YOUR
judgment comes into play. The stuffing should have a hint of pepper, and a
definite taste of sage.
When the stuffing looks right and tastes right, start putting it in the
bottom of the roaster. Put in enough so that you have about 1/2" of
stuffing in the pan. Now place the turkey ON TOP of the stuffing, breast
UP. Continue adding the stuffing all around the turkey. If you have
enough, you can completely bury the turkey in stuffing! Bury the neck and
giblets in the stuffing - push then in and cover them.
(My favorite part of the turkey is the neck - no one in my family DARES to
use it in gravy!) If you want giblet gravy (ugh!) hold back the giblets
and do your thing with them.
Cover as before, return to the oven for about 2 hours, or until celery and
onions are tender. Make gravy by adding a couple of large scoops of
stuffing into the retained broth. Make thickening of flour and water (or
cornstarch) to thicken your gravy as desired. If you don't have enough
broth, open another can of Chicken broth!
This turkey is NOT "pretty as a picture" but I guarantee it's the most
delicious way in the world to prepare turkey and stuffing (or chicken and
stuffing). Clem's grandmother raised fourteen children and this was the
only way to prepare enough "dressing" for the entire family. Of course, she
cooked her meals in a wood cook stove. This method of preparation was
handed down to Clem's mother who then taught it to me....Joyce Kohl

Taken from: IT NEVER TURNS OUT THE SAME WAY COOKBOOK
A Collection of Recipes from the Kitchen of Joyce Clem Kohl

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