Christmas Turkey Stuffed With Mushroom Flavored Forcemeat Recipes

MUSHROOM-TURKEY STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Cut off the tops of the peppers; pull out the seeds. Drizzle the insides with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and season with salt. Arrange cut-side down in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bake until softened but not collapsed, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until browned, about 15 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl. Add 1 more tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add the turkey and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 6 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Remove to the bowl with the mushrooms and wipe out the skillet.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery and shallot; cook until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper; cook 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add the parsley and cook until the sauce has thickened, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Add the rice and mushroom-turkey mixture to the skillet and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff the filling into the peppers, being sure to pack it in. Stand the stuffed peppers upright in the baking dish. Cover with foil, return to the oven and bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.
• Stir together the panko, Parmesan and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small bowl. Uncover the peppers and sprinkle evenly with the panko mixture. Return to the oven and bake until starting to brown, about 10 more minutes.

MUSHROOM-FLAVORED FORCEMEAT STUFFING

Steps:

• Soak porcini mushrooms in the hot water for 20 minutes. Squeeze the mushrooms dry and finely chop. Strain the soaking liquid and reserve. Tear the bread into pieces and soak in the milk. Coarsely chop the liver and marinate in the Cognac and port.
• Melt the butter the in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add all the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are nicely browned and dry, about 10 minutes.
• Place the ground meats in a large mixing bowl. Squeeze the soaking bread by handfuls to eliminate as much of the liquid as possible, and add it to the ground meat. Add the turkey liver with the marinade. Add the mushroom mixture, the egg yolks, sage, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Knead the mixture together with your hands until very well blended. Sauté a small bit of stuffing in a little butter; taste and adjust the seasoning.

CHRISTMAS TURKEY STUFFED WITH MUSHROOM-FLAVORED FORCEMEAT

Steps:

• Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare the Mushroom-Flavored Forcemeat. (See separate recipe.).
• Stuff the turkey with forcemeat and truss with kitchen string. Spread the softened butter evenly over the turkey. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Bake any leftover stuffing in a small casserole, just like meat loaf.
• Spread the carrots, celery, and onion the bottom of a flameproof roasting pan large enough to hold the turkey. Place the turkey on top of the vegetables. Add the neck and giblets and pour the reserved soaking liquid from the porcini mushrooms (see Forcemeat recipe) into the pan.
• Roast the turkey for 1 hour. Reduce the heat to 300°F and roast until cooked through, 2-1/2 hours or more for a 12-14 pound turkey. An instant-read thermometer should register between 160 to 180°F when thrust into the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone. Baste the turkey every 15 minutes the entire time that it is roasting. Baste with drippings, alternating with the melted butter. If necessary, add 1 cup water or chicken broth to the drippings in the bottom of the pan. If the turkey starts to get too brown, cover loosely with aluminum foil. Remove the foil for the last 20 minutes to crisp the skin.
• Remove the turkey from the over to a platter. Let rest for 30 minutes before carving.
• While the turkey is resting, prepare the gravy: Place the roasting pan over high heat. Add the cognac and port and bring to a boil while stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up the little browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add a little water if the gravy seems too dry. Remove from the heat and strain out all the vegetables. Pour the liquid into a degreasing cup (also called a gravy separator). Let stand for a few minutes to let the fat rise to the top, then pour out the pan juices at the bottom of the cup into a saucepan. (All the fat will be left behind.) Reheat and serve as pan juices with the turkey. If you prefer a thicker gravy, whisk the buerre manié into the juices and, stirring constantly, boil until the gravy is smooth and thick, about 2 minutes.
• Untie the turkey and carve it as you would a chicken. Scoop out the forcemeat and serve it on the side.

TURKEY MUSHROOM GRAVY

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium-low heat, and cook the mushrooms until they are browned and the butter is clear, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove the mushrooms, coarsely chop them, and set aside. There should be about 1 cup of butter left in the stock pot; whisk the flour into the butter, and gently cook over low heat until the flour mixture turns mahogany brown in color, about 20 minutes. Whisk in the chicken broth; bring the mixture to a simmer to thicken the stock.
• Pour the turkey drippings into a saucepan, then cook and stir the onions and celery in the drippings over medium-low heat until the onions begin to turn brown, about 20 minutes. Stir the drippings and vegetables into the thickened stock. Bring the gravy to a gentle boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes to blend the flavors. Stir in the chopped mushrooms, then season to taste with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.