by Millie Bentley
Greetings. We always had turkey and dressing for Thanksgiving as long as I could remember. Mom cooked the turkey in different ways over the years. The last I can remember is she used a large roasting pan with a lid, roasted the turkey with water on the bottom of the pan until almost done. Then she would put a lot of the raw dressing she had saved out from stuffing the turkey, pile it in the bottom of the pan around the turkey and finish it off for about an hour. It was really delicious and the turkey came out moist and brown.
Once I roasted the turkey and put it on top of the stove, dressing and all, to wait for a group of people to come over for dinner. That was a bad mistake! When the group and I returned for dinner, the turkey was rotten. And the smell was terrible!
The temperature was just right to spoil the turkey. Lesson learned.
What do I do now is purchase about a 9 or 10 pound turkey, wash and dry it really good and put it in a Little Chief smoker for about an hour. I also put the neck and giblets in the smoker along with the turkey. This gives the turkey, the dressing and the gravy a smoke flavor. The turkey itself is moist and not dry as it is when it’s smoked by itself.
Turkey with cornbread dressing
Prepare corn bread a day or two ahead of Thanksgiving using the following recipe:
4 tablespoons bacon grease or butter
1 cup of flour
1 cup of yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place bacon grease or butter in a nine or 10 inch cast iron skillet.. Place skillet in pre-heated oven. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add milk and egg stir to combine. Remove skillet from oven and pour hot grease over batter. Stir to combine. Pour batter in skillet and bake in 400° oven for 20 minutes or until cornbread is brown on the top and done. Put a plate on top of pan and turn upside down to remove cornbread. Allow to cool.
Turkey gravy
Place smoked giblets in sauce pan; add 4 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of Salt. Place lid on top and simmer for about an hour. Remove giblets and feed them to your cat. Or chop them up and add them to your gravy. Pour off 2 cups liquid and save for dressing. Just before serving dinner, place pan with remaining 2 cups of giblet water over low heat. Mix together 4 tablespoons of flour and 4 tablespoons of cold water. Pour into giblet water, stirring until gravy is smooth and thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Turkey dressing
12 ounces Jimmy Dean sausage
One or two onions finely diced
One cup celery finely sliced
1 tablespoon butter or bacon grease
5 cups cornbread crumbled
2 cups giblet liquid
1 cup milk or water
1 teaspoon dry sage
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet melt butter or bacon grease. Sauté sausage, onion and celery until vegetables are limp and sausage is no longer pink. Place sausage and vegetables in bowl with cornbread and sage. Mix well. Pour in giblet liquid and milk until dressing is correct consistency for stuffing turkey – not too dry, not too soggy. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff cavity and neck of turkey lightly. Pin neck and wings. Brush with melted butter and place on rack in roasting pan. Cover with foil and roast in preheated 350° oven for 3 1/2 hours. Remove foil and continue to roast for another hour until turkey is brown and done. If there is extra dressing, add more liquid and place in buttered baking dish. Bake in 350° oven for 1/2 hour. Serve warm.
