Best 4 Thanksgiving Turkey With Italian Meat Stuffing Recipes

SOUTHERN ITALIAN THANKSGIVING STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a deep 9x13 inch baking dish or roasting pan.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the sausage. Cook and stir until the sausage is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease. Place the browned sausage into a large mixing bowl.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pancetta begins to brown, stir in the onions and celery, and cook until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and cook another 3 minutes until the aroma of the garlic mellows.
• Scrape the onion mixture into the bowl with the crumbled sausage. Add the French bread, cornbread, dried sage, poultry seasoning, salt, and pine nuts; stir well. Pour in the chicken broth and mozzarella cheese; stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the bread and the stuffing is evenly mixed. Pack the stuffing into the prepared baking dish, and dot the butter overtop. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, then remove the foil, and continue baking until the top has turned golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Sprinkle with the fresh sage and shaved Parmesan cheese to serve.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY WITH ITALIAN MEAT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place the ground beef into a skillet, and cook and stir the meat until browned and crumbly, breaking it up into chunks as it cooks, about 10 minutes. Drain grease. Place the ground beef into a large mixing bowl.
• Tear the bread into rough chunks, and place into a bowl; soak bread in water until moistened, and squeeze the water out of the bread. Crumble the wet bread into the bowl with the ground beef. Mix in the onion, celery, mushrooms, 4 cloves of garlic, flat-leaf parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and black pepper.
• Rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly stuff the turkey with the ground beef mixture, and place into a roasting pan with a lid. Rub the turkey with olive oil, squeeze lemons over the turkey, and sprinkle 2 more cloves of garlic, the garlic powder, and more salt and black pepper over the bird.
• Roast the turkey uncovered in the preheated oven until the skin is browned, about 45 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees C (175 degrees C), and cover the turkey with the lid. Continue roasting until the juices run clear and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reads 180 degrees F (80 degrees C), about 5 more hours. Baste occasionally. If the bottom of the roasting pan looks dry, pour in water.

MY DAD'S ITALIAN-AMERICAN TURKEY STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook the vegetables: In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) of the butter. Add the onions and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables, over medium heat, until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the contents to a bowl. Set aside.
• Toast and season the bread: Arrange the bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast until light brown. Alternatively, brown them in a toaster. While the bread is still hot, lightly butter both sides of each piece with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Cut into 1-inch squares and transfer them to a large bowl. Toss with salt, pepper, the thyme, sage and rosemary. Mix to blend. Set aside.
• Cook the turkey innards and pepperoni: Heat a tablespoon of the butter and, in a large skillet, quickly saute the heart and gizzard pieces, 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and add it to the bowl of celery and onions. Stir to blend. In the same large skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the butter and saute the pepperoni pieces over high heat until crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.
• Make the mix: Combine the celery and onion mixture, the cooked breakfast sausage, the mozzarella and the pepperoni in the bowl containing the toasted bread. Mix to blend and add the cup of chicken stock to moisten all of the ingredients.
• Pour the mixture into a large baking dish and cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking until golden brown, about 20 more minutes.

MY FAMILY'S MEAT STUFFING FOR A TURKEY

Steps:

• First, have a very large bowl or pot close to stove top so you can put ingredients in as they are cooked.
• Second, you need a good sized fry pan, preferabley with deep, straight sides.
• Third, a good pair of tongs and spoonula.
• Fourth, are the ingredients. These are estimations, I don't really measure.
• Fifth, you might want to do the prep ahead so as to be able to cook and stuff all at once. Or not!
• *you could use just ground pork but the sausage gives a better taste.
• Heat fry pan and oil lightly with a pat of butter.
• Fry 1/2 the beef and 1/2 the sausage together. Make sure to break it all up and mix it well until all is cooked. Dump it all into the pot/bowl you have waiting. Juices and all.
• Do the same to the rest of the beef and sausage. Mix thoroughly.
• Melt 1/4 cup (4 Tbs) butter in fry pan and saute the celery until almost cooked. Dump it all into the pot/bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Melt 1/4 cup (4 Tbs) butter in fry pan and saute the onion until wilted, but not brown. Dump all into the pot/bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Add seasonings at this point. Use the amount that is to your liking. Mix very well.
• If it seems too dry at this point, melt more butter in the fry pan and add to the mix.
• Finally, add the 1 box of croutons and mix several times over the next 15-20 minutes.
• There should be little or no liquid in the bottom of the pot/bowl after this time. The croutons should have absorbed it. If not, add more croutons and repeat.
• Now you can either put the stuffing in a casserole dish, roaster or other baking pan , and cook separately from the turkey.
• I stuff my turkey, both neck and cavity immediately, while the stuffing is hot, and put it into the oven to roast. The extra stuffing goes in a separate pan to cook along side the turkey.
• If you use a spearate casserole to do cook the stuffing, you may want to use some pan drippings to mix into the casserole and give it more flavor.
• With this we serve mashed potatoes, peas, my special turnip/carrot mash, cranberry sauce, and Polish rye or sisal bread. Of course, the gravy, too!