Grandma Gs Baked Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes

GRANDMA G'S BAKED THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Remove giblets and neck.
• For those of you who have never cooked a turkey before, check inside the body cavity, and inside the neck chest cavity.
• Rinse turkey and pat dry.
• Mix melted butter and salad dressing.
• Draw up mixture into injector and inject bird in several locations in the brest, thighs and leg.
• Place in roaster pan and add all vegetables inside the body cavity.
• Cut 4, 1/2 inch slices from the butter and insert under the breast skin, and push up as far as it will go.
• Place the remaining stick of butter in the cavity.
• Cover with heavy foil, making sure the foil does not touch the turkey.
• Bake for 2 hours 30 minutes in 450 degree oven.
• If meat thermometer reads 185 degrees, it's time to uncover and baste using all of basting liquid.
• If it has not reached 180 degrees return to oven for additional 30 minutes.
• Check therometer.
• Bake another 45 minutes, until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and cover with foil again and let stand for 15 minutes before slicing.

GRANDMA'S ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Place thawed bird in roasting pan, and dry with paper towels. Be sure to dry every nook and cranny. Liberally salt the inside and outside of the turkey. Place in a fridge, uncovered, on the lowest shelf overnight. 24 hours minimum.
• Remove the bird from the fridge an hour before you want to bake it. There is no need to rinse the bird, and leave the juices in the bottom of the roasting pan. Pick the bird up, and place on a small roasting rack to pickup off the bottom of the pan. Stuff the bird with lemon, onion, and sage. Tie the legs together, and brush melted butter all over the bird. Sprinkle the tablespoon of poultry seasoning over it, and rub liberally to spread around. Cover the bird on the roasting pan tightly with foil, and bake at 350 degrees until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. 15 minutes per pound. Right at almost 4 hours. The last half hour, you'll want to remove the foil and let the skin brown. You can baste the bird, if you would like during this half hour.
• Once the turkey has reached 160 degrees, remove from the oven and cover tightly with foil to let it reest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

MOM'S/GRAMMA'S THANKSGIVING TURKEY & DRESSING

Steps:

• Purchase an 18-20 pound frozen turkey on the Monday, prior to Thursday (Thanksgiving Day). Keep in its sealed covering and place on a cookie sheet or a roasting pan and defrost in refrigerator. Purchase 2 large loaves of Packaged white bread; remove from wrapper. Place on a cookie sheet to dry thoroughly.
• Thanksgiving Morning - Allow 1 hour for preparation time before cooking begins.
• Remove turkey from sealed covering.
• Loosen legs from wire clamp.
• Remove neck and giblets (liver, gizzard & heart) from body cavity.
• Thoroughly rinse turkey and cavity under running cold water, including body and neck. Set upright to drain.
• Sprinkle salt in neck and breast cavity, not on skin - it would cause it to blister when cooking.
• Place neck & gizzard in medium size pan, barely covering with cold water and simmer covered approximately 1 hour.
• STUFFING:.
• Moisten dried bread slices with cold water-pile on cake racks to absorb and drain.
• 2 large packages/loaves dried bread slices.
• 1 12 - 16 ounce package Jimmy Dean "Regular" Pork Sausage.
• 2 large onions quartered.
• Turkey Heart and Liver.
• 2 eggs.
• 3/4 Tablespoon Sage.
• 1 Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning.
• Salt and Pepper.
• 1/3 cup dried parsley - crushed.
• 1/2 stick margarine-melted.
• Brown pork sausage in frying pan -breaking meat into small pieces -drain off fat -set aside.
• Place in blender, or food processor:quartered onions, turkey hear and liver cut in halves, eggs, and seasonings. Blend to liquid consistency.
• Melt margarine; set aside.
• Squeeze excess water from bread with hands and bread into bite size pieces. Place in large mixing bowl.
• Add drained pork sausage. Mix.
• Add blended ingredients and melted butter. Mix thoroughly, but lightly. DO NOT PACK.
• By handfuls, gently place stuffing into neck cavity. Do not pack - close with small poultry nails or skewers.
• Fill body cavity - loosely - DO NOT PACK! Close cavity by replacing legs into wire clamp as originally positioned.
• Tuck wings under back. Place bird, breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan - (No need to turn bird during roasting time).
• Drizzle 1/2 stick melted margarine over bird.
• Place roasting pan on lowest shelf in 300 - 325 degree oven, uncovered - do not add water. Roast 13 to 15 minutes per original unstuffed weight (usually 4 1/2 to 5 hours total).
• Wrap remaining stuffing in foil, roll edges to form pouch and refrigerate.
• After 1 - 1 1/2 hours into roasting time, juices will accumulate in pan - use for basting chest every 1/2 hour thereafter.
• After 2 hours 2 hours roasting time, add 1 large onion, chopped, to bottom of pan - they will brown and make delicious gravy. If skin is darkening too quickly, cover with a tent of foil.
• If sufficient juices aren't forming - add 1/2 cup of water when onions are browning to prevent them from burning. Add boiled neck neck and gizzard - save water used to boil them for gravy.
• After approximately 3 1/2 hours of cooking -if skin is browned satisfactorily, cover roasting pan with its cover. Be cautious to tilt cover away from yourself to allow steam to escape before further basting. Place foil pouch of extra stuffing on wire shelf along side of roasting pan.
• Roasting time is completed when leg moves freely at thigh joint when pushed - or internal temperature is 180 degrees, if roasting thermometer is used (inserted in thickest part of thigh, but not against bone) or internal stuffing registers 165 degrees.
• Remove from oven - place turkey on cookie sheet. Cover with roasting pan cover - let sit for 20 minutes before carving to allow internal juices to flow.
• GRAVY - prepare in roasting pan over medium heat.
• Remove excess fat from pan drippings. Scrape browned residue from bottom and sides of pan-slowly add mixture of 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup water - use wire whisk and blend until thickened - add neck and gizzard water (or water from cooking white potatoes) until desired consistency is obtained - Add salt and pepper to taste - strain into medium size pan, cover and reheat before serving.
• Remove dressing from neck and body cavity - place in large serving container - mix dressing from foil pouch - cover with foil to retain heat.
• Carve turkey - serve - Sit up straight, place your napkin on your lap, pass the cranberries and ENJOY!