Day Ahead Christmas Turkey With Stuffing And Gravy Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up. Sprinkle with poultry seasoning and pepper. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together., Roast, uncovered, 30 minutes. In a 4-cup measuring cup, mix broth, herbs, lemon peel and juice, and garlic; pour over turkey. Roast, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, 3 to 3-1/2 hours, basting occasionally with broth mixture. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly., Remove turkey from pan; let stand at least 20 minutes before carving. Skim fat from cooking juices., To freeze: Carve turkey and place in shallow freezer containers. Pour cooking juices over turkey; cool slightly, about 1 hour. Cover and freeze up to 3 months., To serve: Partially thaw turkey in refrigerator overnight. Preheat oven to 350°. Transfer turkey and cooking juices to a large baking dish. Pour 1-1/2 cups broth over top. Bake, covered, until a thermometer inserted in turkey reads 165°, 50-60 minutes., To prepare gravy: Remove turkey to a platter, reserving broth mixture; keep warm. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in broth mixture; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve with turkey.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes. Blend in the bread crumbs, salt, poultry seasoning, pepper, thyme and sage. Stir in enough chicken broth to moisten. Spoon into large resealable bags and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
• To bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the stuffing into greased casserole dishes.
• Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. If stuffing a bird, cook according to the recipe for your bird and place any extra stuffing into a casserole dish to bake.

Steps:

• In a non-stick skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Allow bacon to cool and crumble. Add onions and celery to bacon fat and cook until tender. Stir in mushrooms and cook until golden. Stir in seasonings. Remove skillet from heat and let cool.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Soak 3 cups stuffing croutons in water. Squeeze out water from croutons so that they are moist but not soggy. In a large bowl, combine dry and moist croutons with onion mushroom mixture. Mix in eggs and moisten with water if necessary. Fill cavity of turkey with stuffing. Cover opening of cavity with foil. Tuck wings under turkey. Make a small slit in neck skin and tuck legs through slit to secure. Transfer leftover stuffing to a baking dish, cover with foil and bake alongside turkey. (This may need to be moistened.) Place stuffed turkey in roasting pan. Rub turkey with butter and season. Roast uncovered for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue roasting for approximately 3 hours or 15 to 20 minutes per pound. Baste the turkey with its drippings occasionally as it cooks. Turkey is done when pricked with a knife on the thigh the juices run clear. When turkey is done, transfer to a cutting board and cover with foil. Allow turkey to rest so that juices can be reabsorbed. Place roasting pan over medium high heat. Skim off excess fat with a spoon and reserve in a bowl. Add 3 cups hot chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up brown bits stuck to bottom of pan. In a small dish, combine into a paste 3 tablespoons flour with 3 tablespoons of reserved fat. Whisk flour mixture into simmering gravy. Season with salt and pepper.

Steps:

• FOR THE TURKEY: Rub turkey inside and out with cheesecloth dipped in lemon juice.
• Stuff as directed in stuffing recipe, and brush with melted butter. Place on rack in large roasting pan. Cover with 2 sheets of foil arranged to form a loose tent over bird. Roast in 325°F oven, calculating 25 minutes per pound. To cook in advance, deduct 1 hour from cooking time and remove from oven.
• Remove stuffing and unmould from cheesecloth into casserole. Let cool and chill.
• Leave foil on turkey; transfer to large platter. (Save pan drippings to make gravy.) Soak two large towels in cold water; wring and wrap around turkey and platter. Store in refrigerator overnight, keeping towels moist.
• Next day, finish roasting the turkey, with foil in place in 325°F oven for 1 hour or until legs move easily. Makes 14 generous servings.
• FOR THE SAUSAGE STUFFING:.
• Break up sausage or squeeze meat from casing into large greased skillet; cook over medium heat, stirring, until all traces of pink disappear.
• Stir in sage and savory. Drain and place in large mixing bowl.
• Melt butter in another skillet and sauté onions, celery and parsley until golden. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Chop apricots if using, and stir into vegetables along with wheat germ.
• Add vegetable mixture and bread cubes to sausage meat; stir well; Moisten with enough hot water to make a dry or moist dressing as desired.
• Line turkey cavity with double thickness of cheesecloth. Using ice cream scoop, spoon stuffing into cheesecloth lining, allowing room for stuffing to expand during roasting. (Extra stuffing may be baked separately in small covered baking dish.).
• When turkey comes out of oven, remove cheesecloth with stuffing. Turn stuffing out into casserole discarding cheesecloth. Cover and refrigerate. Next day, reheat stuffing, covered, in 325°F oven until hot in centre. Makes enough for one 22 lb. turkey.
• FOR THE GRAVY: Pour drippings from roasting pan into large saucepan; let stand until fat rises to surface. Skim off fat.
• Heat drippings; sprinkle flour over and stir together. Add turkey stock and cook, stirring, over medium heat until bubbly and slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Strain through coarse sieve and refrigerate.
• Wash roasting pan and line with foil in preparation for final hour of roasting turkey next day. Any additional pan drippings may be added to prepared gravy.
• Heat gravy gently before serving and pour into gravy boat.
• *Homemade turkey stock may be made by cooking turkey neck and gizzard in enough seasoned water to cover until tender. Strain and use for gravy.
• Canadian Living The Merry Christmas Cookbook.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Arrange a single layer of turkey wings in a large roasting pan. Scatter the onions over the top of the wings. Roast in the preheated oven for 1-1/4 hours or until wings are browned.
• Place browned wings and onions in a 5 quart stockpot. Add water to roasting pan and stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour the the water from the pan into the stockpot. Stir in 6 cups broth, carrot, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1-1/2 hours.
• Remove wings from the pot and place on a cutting board. When the wings are cool, pull off the skin and meat. Discard the skin and save the meat for another use. Strain contents of stockpot through a large strainer into a 3 quart saucepan. Press on the vegetables to extract any remaining liquid. Discard the vegetables and skim the fat off the liquid. Bring the contents of the pot to a gentle boil.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour into the remaining 2 cups chicken broth until smooth. Gradually whisk the flour mixture into the simmering turkey broth; simmer 3-4 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Stir in the butter and pepper. Serve immediately or pour into containers and refrigerate or freeze.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Place turkey wings and onions in a roasting pan. Roast, uncovered, until well browned, about 1 hour. Transfer wings and onions to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Add water to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Add to slow cooker. Stir in 6 cups broth, carrots and thyme. Cook, covered, on low 4 hours., Remove wings; discard or save for another use. Strain and discard vegetables from turkey stock; skim fat. In a 6-qt. stockpot, melt butter over medium-low heat; whisk in flour, pepper and remaining broth until smooth. Slowly whisk in stock; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer and stir until gravy reaches desired consistency.