1 Turkey
salt
pepper
1 stick butter
dressing, if desired, see below
Wash and dry turkey. Rub inside and out with salt. Fill with stuffing, if desired. Place in a 350 degree oven in a roaster, uncovered, for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, begin basting skin with butter every 10 minutes until brown. After the turkey browns, about 1 to 2 hours, place butter wrapper over the breast of the turkey, put lid on roaster and return to oven for approximately three hours or until done. Rule of thumb is 20 minutes per pound, but it varies according to size and whether or not the turkey has been frozen, and whether or not it is a Wilson turkey. Best way to test for doneness: Rotate leg and see if it moves easily or push on leg meat to see if it is flaky and separates when pushed. Another method: Remove tendon from leg. The tendon will not pull out unless the turkey is done.
DRESSING (for stuffing the turkey or for making dressing balls)
6 to 8 cups dry bread, crumbled, using a mixture of white, whole wheat and cornbread
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 stick butter
2 T poultry seasoning, or to taste
2 T sage, or to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
Turkey broth (from boiling the neck, heart, liver and gizzard)
3 T chopped fresh parsley, or 2 T dried
Cook celery and onion in butter until transparent. Add spices and parsley. Combine with the bread crumbs in a large bowl and toss with enough warm broth to moisten. If you plan to stuff the turkey, you need to cook the giblets ahead to have turkey broth. Stuff turkey cavities LOOSELY. If you don’t want to stuff the turkey, you can form the dressing into balls, dot with butter and bake until warm through, about 20 minutes at 400 degrees, or bake the dressing in a casserole, dotted with butter, until browned, at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.