Southern Style Turkey Stuffing |
| The first turkey I cooked
was at the age of 15. Mother was confined to bed prior to the birth of
my second brother, Clark. Running back and forth between the kitchen
and her bedroom for instructions, I manage to put a complete Thanksgiving
dinner on the table. Her recipe for stuffing did not include sausage.
Not sure it was the best ever, but it was all eaten. The amounts below should be enough for a 19-22 pound bird
with some left over to bake in a separate dish. For
a smaller bird, about 12 pounds reduce the amount about one third. Use
2 eggs. |
| 1 recipe baking powder biscuits, about 9
biscuits 1 recipe cornbread, an 8 inch square or 10 inch cast iron skillet (preferred) 1 pound pork sausage, browned to well done 1 cup finely chopped celery 1 cup finely chopped onion ¼ cup fresh or dried parsley flakes 3 eggs 3 to 4 cups turkey or chicken broth 1 (or more) tablespoon powdered sage or three tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage ¼ teaspoon black pepper (No additional salt should be required. The biscuits, cornbread and broth provide plenty. The amount of sage added will depend upon the spiciness of the sausage used.)
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| Cook biscuits and cornbread several days ahead of time and
crumble on cookie sheet or in a large bowl and allow to dry in the open air. Toss by
hand occasionally. Drying allows bread to absorb all flavors and moisture from
liquid ingredients. The breads may be cooked weeks
ahead of time, allowed to dry and placed in a heavy plastic bag in the
freezer for later use. Thaw thoroughly before continuing to prepare
the stuffing. Brown sausage, drain and reserve excess grease. Put reserved grease back in skillet and heat. Sauté celery, onion, parsley, sage and pepper over medium high temperature. Drain and discard excess grease. Put crumbled bread in large bowl and mix completely. Make a well in the middle and crack eggs into well. Break yolks with a fork and make a paste of whites and yolks. Mix thoroughly into bread. Add browned sausage and mix well with hands. Add sautéed celery, onion parsley and sage. Mix again by hand. Add broth one cup at a time to make mixture moist. Add more broth as needed. Mixture should just barely stick together when a handful is formed in the palm of the hand. Stuff loosely into bird's cavity and tie legs together with string. I don't go to the trouble to sew or truss the skin together. Have found that tying the ends of the drumstick together is sufficient. Roast turkey according to the directions on the package. Put any excess stuffing in a baking dish and bake separately in
the oven while the turkey is "setting". I gets a
brown crusty surface, which come folks prefer. |
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