Moms Holiday Turkey Recipes

MOM'S TURKEY MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, stir together the oats and milk. Thinly slice 1/4 of the onion and set aside. Finely chop the remaining onion. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, oat mixture, chopped onion, bell pepper, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix just until well combined.
• Transfer the mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and shape into a loaf about 5 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches high. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle with the sliced onions. Bake for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees.F.
• Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

MOM'S HOLIDAY TURKEY

Steps:

• To make the marinade for the turkey: Place the onion, garlic, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a food processor and puree until completely blended. Put the turkey in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Rub the outside of the turkey all over with the mustard mixture. Cover the turkey with plastic wrap to keep in the moisture. Refrigerate the turkey overnight or up to 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap and place in a roasting pan. Tuck the turkey wings beneath the breast and tie the base of the legs together with butcher's twine. Using a pastry brush or bulb baster, baste the turkey with some of the malt. Transfer the turkey to the oven and roast, uncovered, for 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the malt. If the turkey breast starts to look like it's getting too dark, cover it with aluminum foil.
• Cook until the juices run clear and the turkey's internal temperature is 160 degrees F in the breast and the leg registers 175 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
• Remove the turkey from the oven and cover it loosely with foil. Let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving and serving with the stuffing and cranberry passion fruit sauce on the side.

MOM'S HOLIDAY TURKEY AND DRESSING

Steps:

• Make your dressing the day before your meal.
• Remove heart, gizzards, liver and neck from thawed turkey and place in pan with enough water to keep covered while boiling; skim off foam.
• Add salt, pepper, onion, parsley flakes and bay leaf.
• Cook about 3 hours or until tender; remove from heat; save broth for later.
• Depending on size of turkey, grind the celery, onions, heart, gizzards, liver and meat from neck.
• In 10 inch fry pan, fry ground up mixture in 1/4 lb. oleo or butter until water evaporates; cool.
• In a large roaster, using your hands, combine stuffing cubes and eggs with fried mixture; moisten with broth. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Refrigerate overnight.
• To prepare turkey, stuff both cavities with the dressing and close up.
• Melt oleo or butter; pour over turkey.
• Cover wings and legs with foil.
• Pour remainder of broth on turkey.
• If needed, add water so you have 2 inches of liquid in roaster.
• Roast at 375 degrees for 3/4 hour uncovered.
• Turn oven down to 325 degrees; cover and continue cooking until legs begin to pull away from turkey.
• Baste occasionally.
• From a distance, make sure the little ones get to see that bird coming out of the oven to be basted. It's a real treat for them.
• When done, remove stuffing to serving dish.
• Good luck removing turkey from roaster. Carve, serve, and give thanks.

MOM'S PERFECT ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Defrost turkey, if necessary.
• Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Open turkey package, (try this in a clean sink) removing turkey giblets and other interior cavity elements along with thermometer. Unless you want to make gravy or cook these elements, throw them away, noting the exact poundage of the bird (cut off the label with this on it if necessary and reserve for time calculations later). Leave the skin on the turkey for roasting.
• Wash (rinse) turkey inside and out, making sure that any stray feathers are removed.
• Place turkey breast-side down in a foil-lined rectangular cake pan (depending upon size of bird, use a 9x13 pan) or foil-lined roasting pan. Also take into consideration that some juices and fat will melt during roasting time and may fill up the pan a bit around the turkey unless put on a roasting rack in the pan. (No one likes to clean up turkey mess, but if you're out of foil, spray pan with cooking spray to have easier cleanup later. I prefer to use a disposable foil pan so that I can discard entire mess after Thanksgiving is over.).
• Place turkey with pan into oven, about in the middle (enough space needed for bird to fit), and not so close to heating element that anything burns.
• Do not change oven temperature. Cook for fifteen minutes per pound. (Example: 20.2 pound bird would be: 20.2x15=303 minutes. 303/60=5.05, so you would need to cook the bird for five hours, and one to three minutes.).
• Take out of oven, and let rest for at least 15-30 minutes. The juices will need to settle back into the bird. If you cut it immediately, you will have a dry bird. Basting is only required when you overcook the meat (aka meat thermometer), or if you want a particular flavor to the turkey (basting with stock, juice of some sort, butter mixture, BBQ sauce, etc.) Turkey, when done well, may be nice with seasonings, but has a great flavor on its own. If you left in the meat thermometer, you should not see it pop out. The bird is still safe to eat and YUMMY!