While some prefer to prepare the dressing as a separate dish, others prefer the Thanksgiving tradition of filling turkey cavities with the filling for dinner. Follow some of these tips for stuffing turkey for Thanksgiving to add elegance to your Thanksgiving dish.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Prepare the Turkey for Stuffing
Step 1. Remove your turkey from the wrapper
Check to see if any feathers remain when the turkey is plucked, and remove the feathers.
Step 2. Remove the turkey innards from the cavity
Underneath your turkey tail, you will see an empty cavity. In this cavity you will fill it with stuffing later.
- Remove the offal (the innards are usually placed in a paper wrap). The turkey neck is also placed in the cavity; take out the turkey neck too.
- Place the offal in a plate or plastic bag that is tightly closed and refrigerate if you plan to make the offal sauce later. If not, just throw the innards away.
Step 3. Rinse the turkey in a clean sink
You can also place a plate in the bottom of the sink to help support the turkey as you rinse it.
- Run cold water over the outside of the turkey.
- Turn the turkey up and rinse the cavity you just emptied. Occasionally, there will be liquid seeping out of the viscera wrap and holes in the turkey cavity. You certainly don't want your stuffing to look bloody.
- Remove your turkey from the sink and place it on the kitchen counter. Dry the turkey with paper towels.
Step 4. Sprinkle your turkey with salt and pepper to taste
Make sure the outside and cavity of the turkey are covered with the seasoning.
Part 2 of 2: Fill Your Turkeys
Step 1. Prepare your stuffing ingredients
Make sure that your filling uses only cooked ingredients including cooked vegetables, meat and seafood. If you are using eggs, then you should use eggs that have been boiled.
Step 2. Preheat oven to 165 C
Position your oven rack so that your stuffed turkey can fit into the oven once the turkey is cooked.
Step 3. Fill your turkey neck cavity with the prepared filling
Bend the neck crease down, and lift the wings up and over the closed crease. The wings will hold the neck crease without the need for support.
Step 4. Fill the turkey body cavity with the stuffing
Make sure that you don't squeeze the filling into the cavity as it may not cook completely.
Step 5. Tuck the turkey leg inside the skin fold for a neat look
Step 6. Place the turkey in your roasting pan
Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the turkey breast.
Step 7. Cook the turkey until it reaches an internal temperature of 82 C in the thickest part of the turkey
The stuffing inside the turkey should reach 74 C.
Step 8. Remove the turkey from the oven
Cover the turkey with a sheet of aluminum foil and let it sit for 20 minutes.
Step 9. Scrape the stuffing out of the turkey and place it in a clean bowl or plate
Step 10. Serve your cooked roast turkey to your guests
Slice your turkey and serve with the filling you put on the plate earlier.
