Recipe: Roast Turkey with Corn Bread Stuffing (using apple and bacon, Saveur magazine)

ROAST TURKEY WITH CORN BREAD STUFFING

Thanksgiving is not a time for culinary experimentation. "Everybody just wants a taste of tradition that day," says Memphis caterer Anne Scott Coleman. "If we served something different, the family wouldn't eat it."

1 (10-12 lb.) fresh turkey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE STUFFING:
4 cups crumbled corn bread
2 strips bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 medium tart apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried savory
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Rinse turkey well, pat dry with paper towels, and season inside and out with salt and pepper.

TO MAKE THE STUFFING:
Spread crumbled corn bread on a cookie sheet and bake until golden, 20-30 minutes. Cool slightly, then transfer to a large bowl.

Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp, 8-10 minutes. Add bacon and drippings to corn bread.

Melt butter in same skillet, add onions and celery, and cook for 5 minutes. Add to corn bread mixture. Stir in apple, bay leaf, savory, sage, marjoram, thyme, and basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

TO ROAST THE TURKEY:
Fill cavity of turkey with stuffing. Tuck wings under back, tie legs together with kitchen string, and rub skin with butter. Place turkey in a large roasting pan, breast side up.

Roast until turkey and stuffing reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, 10-12 minutes per pound. Allow turkey to rest 20 minutes, then remove stuffing and carve.

Makes 10-12 servings
Source: Saveur Cooks Authentic American by Colman Andrews and Dorothy Kalins