Turkey With Sausage, Apricot, And Sage Stuffing
- 1 (12-pound) fresh or frozen turkey, thawed
- 1 pound sweet turkey Italian sausage (about 4 links)
- 2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
- 1 cup chopped celery (about 4 stalks)
- 1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped dried apricots
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1 (14-ounce) package country-style stuffing mix (such as Pepperidge Farm)
- Cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 3 cups water, divided
- Preheat oven to 325u0b0.
- Remove and discard giblets and neck from turkey. Trim excess fat. Do not trim excess skin around neck.
- Remove casings from sausage. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion and celery. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
- Place sausage mixture in a large bowl. Add apricots, parsley, sage, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and stuffing mix. Drizzle with hot Roasted Turkey Stock; toss well. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under turkey. Stuff 2 cups sausage mixture into neck cavity. Fold skin over sausage mixture, and loosely secure with several wooden picks. Stuff 3 cups sausage mixture into body cavity. Spoon remaining sausage mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover dish with foil, and refrigerate until ready to bake. Tie legs together with kitchen string. Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Brush turkey with oil; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover breast with foil. Pour 2 cups water into pan.
- Bake at 325u0b0 for 2 hours; remove foil, and baste turkey with pan juices. Add remaining 1 cup water to pan, if needed. Bake an additional 2 hours or until thermometer inserted in meaty part of thigh registers 165u0b0, basting every 30 minutes. Remove turkey from oven; let stand at least 30 minutes before carving.
- Increase oven temperature to 350u0b0. Bake the remaining stuffing, covered, 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Discard wooden picks.
sausage, onion, celery, apricots, parsley, fresh sage, salt, freshly ground black pepper, cooking spray, canola oil, water
Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/turkey-with-sausage-apricot-sage-stuffing (may not work)