Margies German Meat Dressing Recipes

MARGIE'S POTATO SALAD (WITH ITALIAN DRESSING)

Steps:

• Cook potatoes unpeeled. (they don't fall apart this way!).
• Drain and cool.
• Peel and cut into cubes.
• Stir in onion, italian salad dressing, salt, and pepper.
• Cover and refrigerate ate least 2 hours.
• Toss with mayonnaise.
• Add celery and eggs, mixing gently.

MARGIE'S GERMAN MEAT DRESSING

Steps:

• This is a family recipe that my mother learned from her Swiss/German mother in Milwaukee. Everyone who eats it never wants that boring old bread stuffing again. It contains smoked oysters from those cute little flat tins, pork sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, celery, onion, apples, raisins, pecans and some seasoned breadcrumbs, garlic salt and pepper to taste. It's Sauteed together till cooked and mixed. Then you let it cool and stuff it into the bird so it absorbs all the wonderful turkey juice. It comes out very moist and delicious.
• In a little saute pan you take a few (4-5) smoked oysters and brown in butter, then mash up really well with a fork.
• In a large dutch oven, brown 1/3 sausage to 2/3 parts ground beef (probably 2 1/2-3lb burger and a roll of sausage).
• Add 2 cups each onion, celery, mushrooms and stir well.
• Season meat with garlic salt and pepper to taste.
• Toss in the mashed oysters, 1 or 2 large apples, cored and diced (you can leave on the peel), and a healthy handful of raisins and a cup of chopped pecans.
• When this is all thoroughly cooked and well mixed, put in about 1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs and stir well. The crumbs should absorb most of the juice. If not, you can add a bit more until it all sticks together nicely.
• Nibble a spoonful or two to judge taste and season if needed. (We always knew it was perfect when my father wouldn't put his spoon down after sampling, until mother took it away from him and chased him outta the kitchen.)
• Set aside to cool. (Outside is great if it's cold enough, with a lid on to keep out varmits lurking on the back porch.) After it has cooled enough to handle, stuff into both cavities of the bird, the inside front first. Really pack it in. I use my hands for this. Put the balance into the neck cavity, pulling the skin to cover and fasten the skin securely.
• If you can't get it all in the bird, put in a little pie pan, cover with foil and let cook in the oven. Add to what comes out of the bird after cooking. Butter the bird and season with salt and pepper. We cook ours in a cooking bag so we don't loose any juice (follow the directions for cooking bag). After the bird is cooked and browned, let it rest appropriate amount of time. Spoon out dressing into serving dish. Garnish with a bit or two of fresh parsley. Wonderful with gravy over the top. Makes excellent leftovers if it isn't all eaten up at dinner. It's also great cold when raiding the fridge in middle of night.

ALCAPURRIAS

Steps:

• For the meat: Place a skillet over medium heat and add the canola oil, onions and sofrito. Cook 1 minute, then add ground beef, tomato sauce, adobo, salt and olives. Mix well and let cook until brown, about 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• For the fritters: With a knife, cut the skin off the taro root and peel the bananas. Grate the taro root and bananas on the small holes of a box grater. Mix them with the annatto oil, adobo and salt in a bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour, since the chilled dough is easier to assemble. (This is optional.)
• To assemble the fritters, use wax paper as your base. Cover the center with some annatto oil. Take a heaping 1/4 cup dough and set it in the center of the paper. Spread thinly, then add 3 tablespoons ground beef mixture to the center. Wrap both ends of the paper over each other to make a cylinder-shaped fritter. Push down on the dough to seal the meat inside the fritter. Make sure the dough is sealed completely on both ends and the center. If there are holes, seal them with extra dough, using your finger.
• Heat several inches of canola oil in a Dutch oven or deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
• Slide the fritters into the hot oil for 5 to 6 minutes. Place them on a plate with a paper towel so the grease is absorbed. Serve immediately with hot sauce if desired.

GROUND BEEF DRESSING

Steps:

• In a skillet, brown beef; drain. Place in a large bowl; add remaining ingredients and mix well. Transfer to a 3-qt. baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. , Cover and bake at 325° for 1-1/2 hours. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more or until dressing is lightly browned.

MY FAMILY'S MEAT STUFFING FOR A TURKEY

Steps:

• First, have a very large bowl or pot close to stove top so you can put ingredients in as they are cooked.
• Second, you need a good sized fry pan, preferabley with deep, straight sides.
• Third, a good pair of tongs and spoonula.
• Fourth, are the ingredients. These are estimations, I don't really measure.
• Fifth, you might want to do the prep ahead so as to be able to cook and stuff all at once. Or not!
• *you could use just ground pork but the sausage gives a better taste.
• Heat fry pan and oil lightly with a pat of butter.
• Fry 1/2 the beef and 1/2 the sausage together. Make sure to break it all up and mix it well until all is cooked. Dump it all into the pot/bowl you have waiting. Juices and all.
• Do the same to the rest of the beef and sausage. Mix thoroughly.
• Melt 1/4 cup (4 Tbs) butter in fry pan and saute the celery until almost cooked. Dump it all into the pot/bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Melt 1/4 cup (4 Tbs) butter in fry pan and saute the onion until wilted, but not brown. Dump all into the pot/bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Add seasonings at this point. Use the amount that is to your liking. Mix very well.
• If it seems too dry at this point, melt more butter in the fry pan and add to the mix.
• Finally, add the 1 box of croutons and mix several times over the next 15-20 minutes.
• There should be little or no liquid in the bottom of the pot/bowl after this time. The croutons should have absorbed it. If not, add more croutons and repeat.
• Now you can either put the stuffing in a casserole dish, roaster or other baking pan , and cook separately from the turkey.
• I stuff my turkey, both neck and cavity immediately, while the stuffing is hot, and put it into the oven to roast. The extra stuffing goes in a separate pan to cook along side the turkey.
• If you use a spearate casserole to do cook the stuffing, you may want to use some pan drippings to mix into the casserole and give it more flavor.
• With this we serve mashed potatoes, peas, my special turnip/carrot mash, cranberry sauce, and Polish rye or sisal bread. Of course, the gravy, too!