Roast Turkey With Oyster Stuffing

Total Time: 4 hrs 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 14
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped leek (with tops)
• 9 cups soft bread cubes
• 1 pint shucked oyster (rinsed, drained, and chopped(reserve liquid)
• 1 cup snipped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 10 -12 lbs turkey
• butter, melted

Recipe

• 1 heat 1/2 cup butter in dutch oven over medium heat until melted.
• 2 cook and stir celery and leeks in butter until tender. remove from heat.
• 3 stir in remaining ingredients except turkey and melted butter.
• 4 stir in enough reserved oyster liquid, if necessary, to moisten stuffing.
• 5 heat oven to 325. fill wishbone area of turkey lightly with stuffing.
• 6 fasten neck skin to back with skewers.
• 7 fold wings across back with tips touching.
• 8 fill body cavity lightly. (do not pack--stuffing will expand while cooking.).
• 9 tuck drumsticks under band of skin at tail, or tie to skewer to tail.
• 10 spoon remaining stuffing into small greased casserole. cover and refrigerate.
• 11 place in oven with turkey during last 30 minutes of roasting.
• 12 place turkey, breast side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan.
• 13 brush with melted butter.
• 14 insert meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of inside thigh muscle or thickest part of breast meat and does not touch bone.
• 15 roast uncovered 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until thermometer registers 185.
• 16 brush turkey with pan drippings 2 or 3 times during roasting.
• 17 place a tent of aluminum foil loosely over turkey when it begins to turn golden.
• 18 after 2 1/2 hours, cut band or remove skewer holding legs.
• 19 let stand about 20 minutes for easiest carving.
• 20 as soon as possible after serving, remove every bit of stuffing from turkey.
• 21 cool stuffing and turkey meat promptly. refrigerate separately.
• 22 use stuffing within 1 or 2 days and turkey meat within 2 or 3 days. turkey meat can be frozen up to 3 weeks.