This was influenced by some stuffing recipes in Joy of Cooking, 1975
edition. (Not the nasty, upscale-designer-y New Joy, updated, tamed and
eviscerated for the new, "lighter," modern lifestyle!) No
fear-mongering about the dangers of food poisoning from stuffing cooked
in the bird that wasn't cooked to a high enough temperature. You just
make sure to cook it long enough - duh!The other influence was the recipe on the bag of Brownberry stuffing bread cubes, unseasoned.
In Joy, I learned that oysters were once a staple feature in turkey stuffings. Makes sense -- up through the early part of the twentieth centruy, they were considered the quintessential American food, enjoyed regularly by members of all classes of society, all across the land. Everyone knew how to prepare them, men and women alike. They were cheap and plentiful, and then I don't know exactly what happened, except that they ain't cheap today. At any rate, a good fit for an American feast that customarily features our native pultry (turkey), fruits (cranberry, pumpkin, squash), grain (maize, or corn), white and sweet potato (OK, so we stretch it to South America, too).
I don't typically measure seasonings if I'm not following a recipe, so I have written some approximations of how much I put in. Note that "<" means "less than," not "approximately." How much less? Don't remember.
Oyster-apple stuffing
2+1 cups stock (I used homemade chicken stock)
1 stick butter
Seasonings:
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- several grindings black pepper
- Herb Shaker blend, 1-2 teaspoons (available at Woodmans on the revolving rack in the produce section. If you can't get it, use some other herb blend, or use more of the herbs below so that you have about the same volume of seasonings. If your herb blend contains salt, adjust the other salt you add.)
- paprika, <2 tsp
- dried thyme, <1/2 tsp
- dried basil, <1 tsp
- dried sage, <1 tsp
- cayenne pepper, about 1/2 tsp
Bits of stuff
- 1 bag unseasoned stuffing croutons
- 1 small can oysters
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 celery stalk, sliced in 1/8-1/4 inch crescents
- 1 cup dried mushrooms, cut in quarters or smaller. (I had organic button mushrooms from the Willy St. Coop on hand that I had dehydrated this summer. THey had a lot of them on sale.)
- 1/2-1 cup dried apples, cut into 1/2" pieces (I used scissors to cut them.) (I used Cortland apples that I picked locally in October, sliced up, and dehydrated.)
For rubbing cavity:
olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt, about.
Bring to boiling one cup of the stock. Turn off heat. Soak the mushrooms and apples in stock for at least half an hour.
Bring to boiling two cups of stock. Add the seasonings.
Turn the bread cubes into a large bowl. Gradually add the seasoned stock, gently tossing it together. Add the oysters, onion, and celery, gently folding them in. The perfect tool for this is a Kitchamajig, available at fine thrift shops and yard sales near you.
Add the mushrooms and apples, but not their soaking stock. You will use that later. Gently fold them in.
Prepare your turkey. Drizzle olive oil into the cavity -- perhaps a couple of tablespoons. Rub about a teaspoon of salt into the cavity. Stage the bird in the browning bag in the roasting pan. Scoop as much stuffing in as fits, then pile as much on as balances between the drumsticks. Do not pack it.
About half the stuffing fit into our 14-pound bird. We baked it for 3 1/2 hours at 325, to a temperature of 205. The recipes say to get to 180 or 185. The higher temperature will be more tender and juicy, as long as you use a browning bag.
Turkey:
Rub the outside of the bird with salt and olive oil. This helps the skin become brown nicely, with good flavor.
Loosen the skin carefully with your fingers or a blunt (butter?) knife. Drizzle plenty of oil and rub salt between the skin and the breast.
Stuff fresh laurel (bay) leaves and sprigs of fresh marjoram under the skin. Dried herbs would also work. Any other fresh herbs you happen to have around would also work. Fresh, whole sprigs are just so easy -- no chopping, just wiggle them on in.
Total rubbing salt can be about a tablespoon -- 1 teaspoon in the cavity and the rest on and under the skin. Total olive oil, maybe 1/4 cup. Maybe more or less.
Remember that the skin of birds is designed to be impermeable. If you want to add juiciness or seasoning to the meat of any poultry, you have to get under the skin or into the cavity.
Does that mean basting the surface of a turkey during roasting is a waste of time? Yes!
The rest of the stuffing
Add the soaking stock to the rest of the stuffing and fold in.
Put the rest of the stuffing into a greased casserole dish, bread loaf pans, or muffin tins. Bake until nicely browned. I filled a 12-cup muffin tin and baked it later that night for 15 minutes at 350.
One advantage to using small shapes like bread loaf pans is that you might be able to fit them into the oven along with the turkey.
Enjoy!