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Debbie's Roast Turkey Dinner
1 - 20 pound Turkey (any brand) 3 loaves of day old bread 1 - 12 ounce can of evaporated milk 2 onions 3 sticks of fresh celery Margarine Poultry season or sage seasoning (either one) Season salt Garlic powder Pepper Flour 1 package of dry Turkey Gravy Aluminum foil A very large roasting pan If the turkey is frozen, thaw the turkey according to the directions on the wrapper. You will need to do this in advance of any preparations. For timing purposes, keep in mind the weight of the turkey (cooking time also on wrapper) plus, allow yourself another hour for preparation time. My experience has been that if I get a 20-pound turkey stuffed and in the oven by 8 a.m., we should be ready to eat by 2:00 or 2:30 p.m. Begin by removing the leaves and white bulky end off of the 3 sticks of celery and then dice the celery into small pieces and set aside. Peel the skin off of 1 of the onions and dice that into small pieces also. In a skillet with medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of margarine. Add the diced onion and celery to the skillet and stir together. Brown lightly. Add the entire 1 can of milk to the skillet. Season the mixture as it cooks with approximately 1/2 teaspoon of season salt, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning or sage seasoning, either one. Bring the mixture to bubbling and then remove it from heat. Remember to remove the neck from the bottom cavity area that you will be stuffing and then remove the bag of giblets from where the neck would normally be attached. After removing the neck and giblets from the turkey, rinse the turkey thoroughly in cold water. Drain and place the turkey in the roasting pan. In a large bowl, tear 2 and 1/2 loaves of bread into small pieces. Pour the contents from the skillet into the bowl of bread. Using a stiff spoon, mix the celery and onion into bread. The mixture will be stiff and hot. Add the water to the bread mixture gradually and stir constantly. Only add enough water to make the bread mixture moist and manageable. Add another 1/2 teaspoon of season salt and another 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and another teaspoon of poultry seasoning to the bread mixture. Blend thoroughly. The mixture should be thick. Set aside. In a large pot, add the neck and giblets, 1 whole peeled onion, and the leaves from the celery. Fill the pot at least half full of water and boil until tender, approximately 1 hour and then remove the pot from heat. Spread the legs of the turkey apart and fill the open cavity with the stuffing (bread mixture) use 2 or 3 slices of bread to hold the stuffing in if necessary. Tie legs together if possible. You can replace the plastic leg holder back into position�believe it or not it will not burn or melt. Use any remaining stuffing you have left to stuff the front neck area. An easy way to do this is to be sure the flap of neck skin is under the turkey. At the breastbone, where the skin feels hollow, make a hole with a knife and push dressing into the turkey through the hole. Now that the turkey is stuffed, use the knife and make 2 holes into the turkey breast on each side. With a butter knife, stuff little pieces of margarine into the holes. DO NOT CONTAMINATE YOUR MARGARINE BY USING THE SAME KNIFE, FROM TURKEY AND BACK TO THE MARGARINE CONTAINER.... Add enough water to the roasting pan to cover the bottom of the pan. Season the top of the turkey with season salt, garlic powder and pepper. Cover the turkey with aluminum foil and place in the oven at 375 degrees. Remove the neck and giblets from the pot you cooked them in and set them aside. You can shred the giblet and liver and de-bone the neck and add the meat to your gravy later if you wish. After about half the cooking time has passed, remove the turkey from the oven. Carefully, protecting your hands from steam, remove the aluminum foil and with help from someone, pour the juice from the turkey pan into the giblet pot. Cover the turkey back up lightly and put it back into the oven for further cooking. Remove the aluminum foil from turkey the last hour of cooking time so that it can brown. Bring the turkey broth pot back up to boil, and then reduce the heat to low. In a small bowl, make a flour and water mixture using approximately 60-40, 60% flour�40% water and then stir to remove the flour lumps. Use a wire strainer and hold it over the pot with the broth; pour the flour-water mixture quickly through the strainer into the broth, stirring aggressively. Shut the heat off to the gravy pot. Continue making and adding the flour-water mixture to the broth until the gravy is the exact thickness you like. Do not be afraid to add to much flour-water mixture. In a separate bowl, add the dry gravy mix and 1 cup of cool water. Stir until dissolved. Add the packaged gravy mixture to your pot of gravy and blend together thoroughly. Congratulations, your dinner is done...Get someone else to clean up! By the way, I always serve baked Acorn Squash, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, chilled Jellied Cranberry Sauce, pies and the works with this dinner.
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Debbies Roast Turkey Dinner
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