Cherry Pecan Stuffed Turkey Food

HOLIDAY TURKEY WITH CRANBERRY PECAN STUFFING

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir the celery and onions in the saucepan and cook until they're tender.
• Stir the broth in the saucepan and heat to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the stuffing, cranberries and pecans and mix lightly.
• Remove the package of giblets and neck from the turkey cavity. Rinse the turkey with cold water and pat it dry. Spoon the stuffing lightly into the neck and body cavities.* Fold the loose skin over the stuffing. Tie the ends of the drumsticks together. Place the turkey, breast side up in a shallow roasting pan. Brush with oil. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, not touching bone.
• Roast the turkey at 325 degrees F for 5 hours or until the thermometer reads 180 degrees F and the drumstick moves easily, basting occasionally with the pan drippings. Begin checking for doneness after 4 1/2 hours of roasting time. Allow the turkey to stand for 10 minutes before slicing. *Bake any remaining stuffing in a covered casserole along with the turkey for 30 minutes or until it's hot.

CHERRY-PECAN STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in middle and lower thirds. On two rimmed baking sheets, arrange bread in a single layer. Toast until dry and pale golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium. Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion and celery are softened, about 7 minutes. Add cherries, pecans, sage, and fennel seed and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• Add parsley, eggs, and bread; stir to combine. Add broth in two additions, stirring until absorbed after each addition. Season generously with salt and pepper and transfer stuffing to dish. Bake on middle rack until deep golden brown on top, 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

ROAST TURKEY WITH WILD RICE, SAUSAGE, AND APPLE STUFFING

Steps:

• For the stuffing: Combine the wild rice, water, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and just bursting, about 30 minutes. (Times may very depending on the brand of rice used.) Drain and set aside.
• Adjust an oven rack to lowest position and remove other racks. Preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, apple, celery, garlic, thyme, mace, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and cook until it loses most of its rosy color, but not so much that it's dry, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the cooked wild rice, pecans, and parsley into the vegetable mixture. (This can be made the day before.)
• For the turkey: Remove turkey parts from neck and breast cavities and reserve for other uses, if desired. Dry bird well with paper towels, inside and out. Melt the butter together with the poultry seasoning. Salt and pepper inside the bird cavity. Loosely add the stuffing to the cavity and set the bird on a rack in a roasting pan, breast-side up, and brush generously with the seasoned butter, then season with salt and pepper. Tent the top of the bird with foil.
• Roast the turkey for about 2 hours undisturbed. Remove and discard the foil. Baste with the remaining butter. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, about 20 to 25 minutes more. Remove turkey from oven and tent with foil for 15 minutes before carving.

CHERRY PECAN STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a small sharp knife, cut a slit in each chicken breast to create a pocket about 4 inches long.
• 2. In a small bowl, combine the stuffing ingredients.
• 3. Stuff each breast with one quarter of the mixture.
• 4. Season with salt and pepper.
• 5. On a plate, combine the bread crumbs and pecan chips.
• 6. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg.
• 7. Then dredge in the bread crumb mixture.
• 8. Heat a little oil in a large nonstick oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken on each side for 3-4 minutes.
• 9. Transfer to the oven and bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

ROAST TURKEY WITH PECAN, SAUSAGE & CHESTNUT STUFFING & ROAST SHALLOTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Rinse the turkey inside and out, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Weigh it to calculate the cooking time, allowing 40 mins per kg for the first 4kg, then 45 mins for each 1kg over that weight. Finely grate 1 tsp zest from the lemon and set aside for the stuffing. Cut the lemon into 4-6 wedges and tuck into the turkey cavity with the shallots and herb sprigs. Rub the turkey all over with the butter, then season with salt and pepper. Put the onion wedges in the middle of a large roasting tin and sit the turkey on top. Cover with a loose tent of foil, then roast following your calculated time.
• Make the stuffing. Chop just over half the pecans and reserve the remaining. Line the base of a baking tray or sheet (big enough to take 16 stuffing balls) with baking parchment. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan, tip in the shallots and garlic, and fry for a few mins until softened. Stir in the chestnuts and chopped pecans, then tip into a large bowl and cool. Squeeze the sausages from their casings and add to the bowl with the nut mixture. Add the remaining stuffing ingredients, including the reserved lemon zest, and season with salt and pepper. Shape the stuffing mixture into 16 balls. Break the remaining pecans into big pieces and press a piece into top of each ball. Arrange balls on the prepared tray, cover with buttered baking parchment and chill until ready to cook. Can be made 1 day ahead and chilled.
• Make the glaze. Mix the honey, mustard, remaining 1 tbsp butter and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside. Thirty mins before the end of the cooking time, remove the turkey and increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Remove the foil, then return the bird to the oven for a further 10 mins. Remove again, brush the turkey with the glaze, then roast for another 20 mins until golden. If you are roasting potatoes, put them in now. To test if the turkey is cooked, pierce the fattest part of the thigh with a skewer - the juices should run clear, not pink. If they are pink, continue to roast, checking at 10 min intervals.
• Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer to a warm serving platter and rest, covered loosely with foil so it doesn't stick to the glaze, for up to 1 hr before carving. Meanwhile, cook the stuffing balls and shallots. Increase oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Bake stuffing balls in the oven for 25-30 mins, removing the paper for the last 5 mins if they need browning.
• Make the shallots. Put the shallots in a small roasting tin, toss in the oil, scatter over a few thyme and sage sprigs, and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 mins, turning half way, until shallots are nicely caramelised.
• Make the gravy. Pour off any excess fat from the roasting tin but leave the juices and onions. Sprinkle in the flour, set tin over a medium heat and cook, stirring for a couple of mins to cook the flour, scraping up any sticky bits from the bottom of the tin. Gradually pour in the stock, along with any resting juices from the turkey, and continue to stir until slightly thickened. Simmer gently for about 10-15 mins or until reduced to your liking. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Strain gravy into a pan, warm through, pour into a jug and serve with the turkey. Serve the turkey surrounded with stuffing balls, roasted shallots, and thyme and sage sprigs.

CHERRY-PECAN STUFFED TURKEY

Steps:

• For stuffing, in a medium skillet, cook onion in butter until tender but not brown. Stir in the Marsala, sherry or broth; salt; paprika; thyme and white pepper. Transfer the ingredients to a large bowl. Add bread crumbs, celery, cherries and pecans; toss to mix well. Drizzle with the chicken broth; toss.
• Spoon some of the stuffing into the neck cavity of the turkey; fasten the neck skin with a skewer. Lightly spoon the remaining stuffing into the body cavity. Tie the drumsticks to the tail. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh muscle.
• Roast the turkey, uncovered, in a 325 degree F. oven for 3 to 3-3/4 hours or until the meat thermometer registers 180 degrees F. to 185 degrees F. (cut string between drumsticks when the bird is two-thirds done). Let roasted turkey stand, covered, 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

ROLLED TURKEY BREAST WITH SAUSAGE-PECAN STUFFING

Steps:

• Rinse turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place it on a flat surface, skin side up. Using a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon, gently separate turkey skin from breast meat, being careful not to tear the skin. Remove skin, and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Flip turkey over, and lay flat. If turkey is not an even thickness, cover with plastic wrap, and gently pound with a mallet or a rolling pin. Season with salt and pepper. Spread stuffing evenly on turkey. Starting on 1 short side, tightly roll up turkey.
• Center reserved skin on turkey roll, and smooth to remove any trapped air. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap entire turkey roll in cheesecloth, securing both ends with kitchen string. Tie additional string around roll in 3 or 4 places, spacing evenly. Rub with 4 tablespoons butter.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in lowest position. Place turkey roll on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to oven, and pour water in baking sheet. Roast, rotating halfway through and brushing with remaining 2 tablespoons butter, until stuffing registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 hours and 10 minutes. (Add more water to baking sheet if necessary to prevent pan drippings from burning.) Let turkey roll rest on baking sheet for 30 minutes.
• To carve the turkey roll: Remove cheesecloth, and transfer turkey roll to a cutting board. Carefully cut roll into slices at least 1/2 inch thick, keeping stuffing intact. Transfer slices to a serving platter, and serve immediately with chutney on the side.