Mushroom Flavored Forcemeat Stuffing Recipes

RICH MUSHROOM STUFFING

Steps:

• Tear bread into 1-inch chunks. Place in a bowl and leave out until stale, 1 to 2 days.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Chop thyme and rosemary leaves; set aside.
• Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a large, heavy saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onion, celery, mushrooms, and thyme and rosemary leaves; cook until mixture starts to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer vegetable mixture to a large bowl and add bread, broth, melted butter, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings. Press into a suitable baking dish. Cover with buttered parchment paper, then aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes, removing foil and parchment paper for the last 10 minutes.

MUSHROOM-FLAVORED FORCEMEAT STUFFING

Steps:

• Soak porcini mushrooms in the hot water for 20 minutes. Squeeze the mushrooms dry and finely chop. Strain the soaking liquid and reserve. Tear the bread into pieces and soak in the milk. Coarsely chop the liver and marinate in the Cognac and port.
• Melt the butter the in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add all the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are nicely browned and dry, about 10 minutes.
• Place the ground meats in a large mixing bowl. Squeeze the soaking bread by handfuls to eliminate as much of the liquid as possible, and add it to the ground meat. Add the turkey liver with the marinade. Add the mushroom mixture, the egg yolks, sage, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Knead the mixture together with your hands until very well blended. Sauté a small bit of stuffing in a little butter; taste and adjust the seasoning.

CHRISTMAS TURKEY STUFFED WITH MUSHROOM-FLAVORED FORCEMEAT

Steps:

• Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare the Mushroom-Flavored Forcemeat. (See separate recipe.).
• Stuff the turkey with forcemeat and truss with kitchen string. Spread the softened butter evenly over the turkey. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Bake any leftover stuffing in a small casserole, just like meat loaf.
• Spread the carrots, celery, and onion the bottom of a flameproof roasting pan large enough to hold the turkey. Place the turkey on top of the vegetables. Add the neck and giblets and pour the reserved soaking liquid from the porcini mushrooms (see Forcemeat recipe) into the pan.
• Roast the turkey for 1 hour. Reduce the heat to 300°F and roast until cooked through, 2-1/2 hours or more for a 12-14 pound turkey. An instant-read thermometer should register between 160 to 180°F when thrust into the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone. Baste the turkey every 15 minutes the entire time that it is roasting. Baste with drippings, alternating with the melted butter. If necessary, add 1 cup water or chicken broth to the drippings in the bottom of the pan. If the turkey starts to get too brown, cover loosely with aluminum foil. Remove the foil for the last 20 minutes to crisp the skin.
• Remove the turkey from the over to a platter. Let rest for 30 minutes before carving.
• While the turkey is resting, prepare the gravy: Place the roasting pan over high heat. Add the cognac and port and bring to a boil while stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up the little browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add a little water if the gravy seems too dry. Remove from the heat and strain out all the vegetables. Pour the liquid into a degreasing cup (also called a gravy separator). Let stand for a few minutes to let the fat rise to the top, then pour out the pan juices at the bottom of the cup into a saucepan. (All the fat will be left behind.) Reheat and serve as pan juices with the turkey. If you prefer a thicker gravy, whisk the buerre manié into the juices and, stirring constantly, boil until the gravy is smooth and thick, about 2 minutes.
• Untie the turkey and carve it as you would a chicken. Scoop out the forcemeat and serve it on the side.

FANCY MUSHROOM STUFFING

Steps:

• Using a sharp knife, mince the chanterelles and the shiitakes (a food processor will mince the mushrooms too fine). In step 1 of the recipe for basic bread stuffing, add the minced mushrooms to the skillet with the minced onion. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, rather than 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except bread cubes and broth and stir well. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, add the bread cubes and broth and toss to combine well. If baking in a casserole, it will not be necessary to add more chicken broth.

STUFFING-STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly brush a large rimmed sheet pan with olive oil.
• Using barely moist paper towels, wipe the mushroom stems and caps clean. Carefully tear off the mushroom stems, setting them aside in a medium bowl. Set each mushroom cap on its side and slice off the excess mushroom cap that curls over the gills. (The goal here is to create a flatter surface area so the mushrooms caramelize instead of steam, and so you can pile more stuffing on top.) Transfer the mushroom scraps to the bowl with the mushroom stems, then transfer the trimmed mushroom caps to the sheet pan, cut-side up.
• Brush the tops of the trimmed mushrooms with 3 tablespoons oil. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; sprinkle the mixture over the tops of the mushrooms. Flip the mushrooms so they are cut-side down, and roast until they have released their liquid and are starting to caramelize, about 15 minutes. Remove sheet pan from heat, and set aside.
• While the mushrooms roast, prepare the filling: Finely chop the mushroom stems and scraps or transfer them to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. (You will have about 2 cups.)
• In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the chopped celery, shallots, garlic, rosemary, poultry seasoning and celery seeds. Season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer vegetable mixture to a large bowl to cool, at least 15 minutes.
• Once the vegetable mixture has cooled, stir in the cornbread, cheese, celery leaves and 3 tablespoons chopped parsley. Season generously with salt and pepper. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl, then stir into the cornbread filling until combined. (Makes about 4 cups.)
• Wipe the sheet pan clean, then brush again with olive oil to coat. Mound about 1 to 2 tablespoons filling into each mushroom cap, patting them gently without packing them tightly, then transfer to the sheet pan, spacing them evenly apart. Bake until mixture on top is warmed through, 10 to 15 minutes. Broil until browned in spots, 2 to 4 minutes. Let cool a few minutes, then transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon minced parsley to serve.

MUSHROOM STUFFING

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove with a slotted spoon to paper towel. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of drippings. , Saute celery and onion in drippings until tender. Add mushrooms, sage, salt and pepper; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in the stuffing, celery leaves, parsley and bacon. Combine eggs and broth. Stir into stuffing mixture., Spread in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish (dish will be full). Dot with butter. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes and stuffing temperature reaches 165°. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned.