Roasted Turkey with Sausage Stuffing

Step 1

Rinse and pat dry a thawed or fresh turkey. Stuff main and secondary cavity of Turkey with Sausage dressing.Sausage Dressing.Brown Sausage meat slowly in pan. Do not allow to burn or dry out. Remove from heat.In large bowl, combine bread, parsley, onion, sage, celery and eggs. Mix well with your hands. Stuff into the turkeyWith a sharp paring knife, gently cut and lift breast skin. Gently lay herbs between the skin and breast meat. Rub outer skin with butter. Season with salt, pepper and season salt. Place turkey, breast up on a flat rack in a shallow pan, 2 to 2-1/2 inches deep. Insert oven-safe meat thermometer deep into the lower part of the thigh muscle, but not touching the bone. When thigh is up to temperature, move thermometer to center of stuffing for stuffing temperature. Place in a preheated 325°F oven. When the turkey is about two-thirds done, loosely cover the breast and top of drumsticks with a piece of lightweight foil to prevent overcooking the breast. Use this roasting schedule as a guideline; start checking for doneness 1/2 hour before recommended end times: Net Weight (in pounds) Stuffed (in hours) 10 to 18 3-3/4 to 4-1/2 18 to 22 4-1/2 to 5 22 to 24 5 to 5-1/2 24 to 30 5-1/2 to 6-1/4 The turkey is done when the meat thermometer reaches the following temperature:The thermometer in the center of stuffing to reads a temperature of 160 degrees (F) and the thigh reads 180 degrees (F). The juices should be clear, not reddish pink when thigh muscle is pierced deeply. Before removing stuffing and carving, let turkey stand 15 minutes to allow juices to set and stuffing temperature to rise to 165°F.Brush or rub skin with oil to prevent the skin from drying and to enhance the golden color.