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Turkey Stuffing
Ingredients to fill a 12 pound domestic bird
8 Cups Crouton sized Bread Cubes, lightly toasted 1 Cup sliced Celery 2 Cups Finely chopped fresh Mushrooms 1/4 to 1/2 Red LaRouge Pepper, 2/3 cup when chopped A 3" Onion, Finely chopped and sautéed in olive oil, 2/3 cup when chopped 12 small Pearl Onions, just cut off the ends and peel the outer layer 8 ounces of Ground Pork 6 or 8 ounces of melted butter 12 ripe cranberries
Preparation
Toast the Bread Cubes just enough to make them firm.
White bread works well as does the lighter variations of wheat.
Potato bread gives the stuffing a slightly sweeter taste.
Rye bread and Bagels don't work well.
A small change in the amount of LaRouge Pepper makes a large change in the flavor of the finished stuffing.
Don't be tempted to use the whole pepper.
If you can't find a LaRouge pepper, a Bell pepper will do in a pinch
Use only a teaspoon or so of Olive oil to sauté the chopped onions.
The Olive oil can be added to the rest of the ingredients along with the onions.
I like the slight hint of olives that results.
The pearl onions get mixed in raw.
They will cook just fine in the bird.
I never seem to remember to buy the ground pork, so I usually substitute some sweet Italian sausage.
Just squeeze it out of the casings.
Mix the ingredients by hand in an extra large mixing bowl.
There's no need to get everything perfectly mixed.
Some variation adds to the result.
Just be sure to get the sticky ingredients like the pork evenly distributed throughout the mix.
Ram it into the bird as hard as you can.
I hold the neck area of the bird with my left hand and use my right fist like a piston.
As the bird cooks the stuffing will expand, soaking up some of the juices and flavor.
Insert two accurate meat thermometers into the thickest part of the breast meat from the rear so that they read the temperature of the meat near the ribs.
Insert your most accurate thermometer into the center of the stuffing.
Cook the bird, covered, at 250-275 degrees F till the meat is at 180-190 degrees and the center of the stuffing is at 170 degrees minimum for 1/2 hour.
Don't guess at the temperature.
This is a variation of the recipe that was killing people a generation ago.
Cooking it at too high a temperature for too short a time is hazardous.
If you don't follow proper poultry preparation methods and insure that the center of the stuffing reaches 170 degrees for 1/2 hour you could have a fatal bacteria problem.
Cooking slower, at a lower temperature, allows the tough fibers to break down without toughening the meat.
Basting is not necessary and can actually dry out the surface by washing off the natural fat and juices.
If you get it right, the bird will fall apart when you try to carve it.
It's easier to just tear of a piece with a fork than it is to cut it.
You will notice I didn't specify a cooking time.
That's because it's difficult to predict.
I start early in the morning to make sure it's done in time.
When the bird and stuffing reaches the specified temperature for 1/2 hour just lower the oven temperature to 175 and it can sit without drying out for 6-8 hours as long as you don't baste or uncover it.
Sitting at 175 will actually tenderize it further.
The end result won't look as brown as the high temprature birds but witll be far more edible.
The thermometers are the key to a good bird.
All of the rules of thumb on how many hours per pound at what temperature are just a guide to estimate the internal temperature.
Like all guides of that sort a safety margin is built in.
You end up drying out bird after bird to save a few bucks by not buying a few thermometers.
Why estimate what it's so easy to measure?
My Mom makes turkey and goose dinners that are just wonderful.
The birds are so tender that they disintegrate on the platter if not while you try to get them out of the broiler intact.
As I refine my recipe I will change it here.
Hopefully, I can figure out just the right temperatures to make it perfect every single time.
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