What's the procedure for stuffing a turkey?

[Sacotool]

I'm stuck cooking the turkey this year, so I have to find out how to stuff the SOB. Do you just load all the raw stuffing into the hole in the bird, and cook normally?

 

[cxim]

http://www.ont-turkey.on.ca/handyfr.htm

 

[Sacotool]

Thanks, that's just what I need!! As you can probably tell, I've never cooked a turkey before

 

[Sacotool]

Do you guys think if the stuffing is cooked seperately, will it taste the same as it does when cooked inside the turkey?

 

[cxim]

It does not taste exactly the same. some folks like it dry some moist.

The regular way to do it is to take the gibblets & boil them down & use to make a broth that gives turkey flavor. Use the broth to make the stuffing. That way you cam make it as wet or dry as you like. It is easier to make & keep for leftovers if done outside the turkey. we usually do some of both. There are about a hundred recipes to make stuffing pending your taste prefs.

JOY OF COOKING is a good basic cookbook that has how tos & what spices /seasonings, etc to use. sage is the most common with turkey.

any way, JOC comes in paperback & can be found at used bookstores for a couple of bucks. old editions are fine. the good basic recipes don't change.

One of my favorites is well dried bread crumbs, onion, garlic, apple, poultry seasoning. mixed & left in fridge overnite & cooked seperate.

 

[Moonbeam]

It's much better inside the bird in my opinion. I just woke up from stuffing myself with stuffing I stuffed in a turkey today. Be sure to take all the stuffing out of the turkey before you refrigerate the leftovers. I hear there is a high risk of bacterial infection is you leave it set inside the bird too long. Don't forget to stuff the pouch in front too. Wash the bird and dry it. Boil the neck and gibblets with celery onion and carrots while the turkey cooks. Save the liquid. Pull the meat off the neck and cut up that gizzard and liver to for the gravey. There are lots of ways to make stufing but chopped celery, onion, parsely, and chicken broth to moisten it are nice. After the bird is done you make the gravey in the turkey pan. Add the gibblet neck water minus the vegetables and some flour and put heat it on the stove snd stirr constantly while you add chicken broth and disolved flour till it thickens and you got lots to serve everybody several times. Throw in the chopped up gibblets and the meat pulled off the neck. It will make for less tension if you get a turkey that has a done-o-momiter or thing-i-bop that pops up when the bird is cooked since you got no experience. You are looking at 4 to 6 hours at 325 so start early for normal wieght range. It's Thanksgiving so enough of the 'I gotta cook the SOB", and put on a happy smile. Give thanks and prepare yourself to be very proud of yourself for the pleasure you'll be bringing. PM me when dinner's served. I'll be there. Gobble gobble.