1 15-19 pound Turkey (I prefer Butterball)
salt and pepper
4-5 sticks butter (2-2.5 cups)
For the stuffing:
1 bag or box herbed cornbread stuffing mix
1 Hawaiian ripe pineapple (very important that it is Hawaiian - you can identify them as they have longer leaves and they have a much more intense flavor - pick a really ripe one, because pineapples do not continue to ripen after being picked)
1 cup finely chopped pecan nuts
1 cup mild, hot or very hot roasted green chilis (peeled, seeded and chopped) - if you can't get them, you can use Jalopenos or Asian chili's)
If you want your dinner ready at dinner time, you should start with the preparation around 10.00 am (for an early dinner) or 11.00 am.
Pull out the bag with yukky stuff (you know what I mean) out of the belly and set aside for the gravy (you have to look for that recipe somewhere else, I do not like that gravy). Test, if the bag feels still frozen (happened to me once with a 21 pounder). If so, rinse the bird several times with warm water until it is completely defrosted.
Rinse the complete turkey with cold water and dry the skin off with a bathtowel.... just kidding... with papertowels. Leave the turkey in the sink, because it is getting messy.
Lightly salt and pepper the complete turkey inside and out. Make sure to rub it good in.
In a microwave-safe bowl soften 4-5 sticks of butter (one by one in the microwave so you do not waste anything) until it has the consistency of a lotion (really soft and creamy).
Scoop up the soft butter with your hands and spread it evenly over the turkey. Every inch should be covered. How much? Just imagine, you have to protect it against sunburn. Be generous, but don't overdo it. And don't forget the belly- and throat-cave.
After you got the complete bird creamed put it in a heavy duty roasting pan (I prefer the aluminum-kind you can throw away - I hate too many dishes) and put the turkey in the fridge until you prepared the stuffing. (Clean everything with soap that had contact with the bird-juices and desinfect it. You got to be really careful.)
I buy the regular herbed turkey stuffing in a bag and add to the dry mix: The finely chopped fresh pineapple, chopped pecan nuts and the chopped green chili. Follow now the recipe on the bag or box you bought. Mix thoroughly.
Get the turkey out of the fridge and fill it on both sides with the stuffing. Do not overstuff it! Sow the openings tight with needle and a black thread (easier to see). Most turkeys come now with a metal-thong that keeps the legs and wings together. If yours doesn't, you should secure them yourself. Do not ask me how... never did it myself. A staple-gun? Nails? Perhaps you can ask the person who got you the turkey how it is done...
Put the bird now on the lowest level of the preheated oven (350 F).
Put the leftover-stuffing mix in an oven-safe container and refridgerate it for the next day to bake separately (1/2 hour at 350 F) as a side-dish to your leftovers.
Now comes the secret to my success in having a really juicy bird!!!
