Stuffing and Gravy

Stuffing and Gravy

STUFFING: (in the bird)

8-10 cups dry bread cubes (I use french bread)
1 cup chopped celery
1 large chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup butter
1/2- 1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp sage

GRAVY:

pan drippings from roast turkey
2-3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp sage
salt & fresh ground pepper
1/3 flour 1/2 cup chicken broth (gravy thickener)
Directions
Clean sink thoroughly. Remove giblets, and neck of turkey. Wash inside with cold water. Pat dry. Season inside with salt and pepper.

Stuffing preparation:

There are so many varieties of stuffing and this recipe can be easily adapted by adding your family favourites such as cranberries, dried fruits or nuts, ground giblets, sausage. My mom always ground up the giblets and added that to the stuffing, sometimes she even added hamburger.  Our family's traditional stuffing and favourite is just plain stuffing as outlined in the recipe below.

Cube day old bread and toast on cookie sheet until lightly browned. Transfer to large bowl.
Cook onion and celery in the butter until softened.
Mix onion and celery into the bread cubes.

Season with poultry seasoning, sage, salt and fresh ground pepper. Keep tossing as you season to ensure all the bread gets a bit of seasoning.
Toss with enough chicken broth to moisten. Don't add too much or you will have soggy stuffing.
Stuff cavity of turkey and upper breast top. When putting stuffing into bird don't compact too tightly, just firm enough to fill.
Pull neck skin over stuffed breast cavity. Secure with skewer. Pull bottom skin together and skewer tightly. Tie or skewer legs together and secure wings to sides.
Turkey Roasting:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put turkey into large roasting pan (with rack) breast side up. Rub butter over turkey. Season with salt and pepper. Add a bit of chicken broth to bottom of pan.
Cover with foil for about an hour and then remove foil, baste with dripping, and continue to cook uncovered until done. (loosely foil legs if they start to brown too much).
Baste about every 1/2 hour. 
Done when meat thermometer reads 180 degrees inserted between leg and breast.
Transfer to cookie sheet. Cover with foil while you prepare gravy.

Gravy:

Transfer drippings from roasting pan to a gravy separating measuring cup, or skim off extra fat. Be sure to scrape all the extra bits off the bottom of pan (I sometimes add the neck to the pan while roasting turkey to get even more flavourful drippings). Transfer to cooking pot.
Add about 2 cups of chicken broth (depends how much drippings you have).
Heat over medium high.
In a jar mix together flour and 1/2 cup broth, shake very vigorously to ensure no lumps.
Gradually whisk flour mixture into drippings a bit at a time, bring to slow boil, then reduce heat to simmering. Add more flour mix if until desired consistency. 
Season with sage, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Only add a bit at a time, and tasting before adding more. You can always add more to get to your preference.
Continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes.