Recipe

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Step 2. Make the stuffing: In a large skillet, melt 2 tbsp of the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a bowl. Wipe the pan clean.

Step 3. Arrange the bread slices in a single layer on 2 baking sheets and toast on both sides until light brown, 8 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, brown them in a toaster.) While the bread is still hot, lightly butter both sides of each piece using 4 to 6 tbsp of the butter. Cut into 1?2″ squares and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with salt, pepper, the thyme, sage, and rosemary.

Step 4. In a small skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the butter over high heat. Quickly saute? the heart and gizzard pieces for 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and add them to the bowl of celery and onions. Stir to blend. Use the same pan to cook the pork sausage. Set a large skillet over medium heat, crumble in the sausage meat, and allow it to cook over medium heat until brown and fully cooked, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the sausage and any cooking juices to the bowl with the onion mixture.

Step 5. Wipe the skillet clean and set it over high heat. Add the remaining 1 tbsp butter. Add the pepperoni pieces and cook, stirring, over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.

Step 6. Add the pepperoni, onion mixture, and mozzarella to the bowl containing the toasted bread. Mix to blend and add just enough chicken broth to moisten all of the ingredients.

Step 7. Stuff the bird: Put the turkey on a flat surface, season generously with salt and pepper inside and out, and stuff the cavity with the stuffing. Wrap any remaining stuffing in foil, making a package like a large envelope, and refrigerate. Tie the turkey’s legs closed with a strong piece of kitchen twine or string by wrapping them around and around the drumsticks and pulling them closed like you’re tying a shoe. Transfer the turkey breast side up to a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack.

Step 8. Roast the bird: Soak a large double-layered piece of cheesecloth large enough to cover the turkey in the butter and cover the breasts with the cheesecloth to prevent the top skin from burning before it is cooked. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and put the roasting pan in the oven. Roast, basting periodically, for about 12 minutes per pound of turkey, or 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours 15 minutes for a 14- to 16-pound bird.

Step 9. After the turkey has been in the oven for about 2 hours, remove the roasting pan from the oven, remove the cheesecloth from the top of the breasts, and return the turkey to the oven. Add the foil package of stuffing to the oven, too, and let it heat up for about 45 minutes.

Step 10. Start the gravy: Meanwhile, about 30 minutes before the turkey is done, combine the neck and broth in a saucepan and simmer gently on top of the stove as the turkey finishes cooking. The broth should reduce by about half. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Step 11. test the bird: The temperature of the thigh (where the meat is thickest and takes the longest time to cook) should register 155° to 160°F. As a precaution, take the temperature of the stuffing as well. It should register a similar temperature to the meat. If the bird is fully cooked and the stuffing a little lower, you can remove the stuffing from the cavity and cook it more while you carve the turkey and make the gravy. Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer to a cutting board or serving platter, and allow it to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

Step 12. Make the gravy: If the bottom of the roasting pan is burned, wipe away the burned bits. Remove any excess grease. Put the roasting pan over the burners of the stove over low heat, add the mustard and Marsala to the pan and scrape the bottom to get the drippings and tasty bits as the Marsala simmers and reduces. Pull the neck out of the hot broth and pour about 1?2 cup into a small bowl. Whisk the flour into the bowl, taking care there are no lumps. Once the Marsala has almost completely evaporated, about 8 to 12 minutes, pour the hot broth and the flour mixture into the roasting pan. Whisk to blend. Taste for seasoning. Reduce until the mixture thickens to a gravy consistency, 30 to 35 minutes.

Step 13. Serve the bird: Remove the stuffing from the turkey and combine with the foil package of stuffing in a large serving bowl. Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy on top or on the side and a bowl of cranberry sauce.

Serves 12 – 14.

Reprinted with permission from Old School Comfort Food (2013, Clarkson Potter Publishers.)

See more recipes from Old School Comfort Food.