Roast turkey from our Christmas dinner ^_^

This is my go to recipe for the last 5 years or so. Now that I am vegan but I know this is good and loved by my family, I did not want to try any new recipe this year as I wouldnt mess up dinner haha

Step 1: Stuffing

3/4 c unsalted butter

2 1/2 c chopped/sliced celery

2 c chopped onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 unpeeled apple, diced

4 tsp dried sage

1 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp salt

1 whole bag of whole wheat bread, cubed (my bag says 570 g)

1 c chopped coriander (or parsley if you would)

1 bag of mixed dried fruits and nuts (mine was Nature Mix as shown on picture, 250 g). You can subs this with just chopped toasted pecans. I love the sweetness in my stuffing so I used dried fruits too. This nature mix has peanuts, cashew, almond, sultana, golden raisin, dried cranberries in the bag.

Heat butter and saute chopped onion, garlic, celery and apple until soften.

In a big bowl (or pan as I did), mix cubed bread and the rest of the ingredients, then mix in soften onion mixture.

Step 2: Preparing Turkey

For this recipe, I use 15 lbs turkey (if yours frozen, thaw in the fridge for 2-3 days)

Remove giblets and inside of turkey, set aside

Wash clean turkey in and out, pat dry with paper towel.

Stuff turkey cavity from below and neck area with the prepared stuffing

In a bowl, mix 1/4 c butter with 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, 1/2 tsp dried sage, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. Rub this mixture all over turkey.

Wrap turkey with foil tightly on left and right ends, but loosely on the other two sides

Roast turkey at 325 F until meat thermometer reads 185 F on the thickest thigh (should read 165 F on the stuffing)

Basting Turkey

While roasting, every half hour take out turkey from the oven. Open foil, careful of the hot steam, and brush turkey or baste turkey with its melted juice in the pan.

The roasting would take about 5-6 H After 5 H roasting, take off aluminum foil and continue roasting for another 45-60 mins or until the juices run clear (and thermometer reads 185 F) Once cooked, let stand for 20 mins and make your gravy!

Gravy

For the gravy, all I did was boil the neck and other turkey parts with 4 1/2 c chicken broth, 1 1/2 c water, 1 onion (chopped), 1/2 c sliced celery, 1/2 c sliced carrots. Once boiled, turn down heat to low, skim off foam and simmer for 3 H. Strain then add enough water to make it 3 C.

Skim off fat from the roasting pan and pour the juice into another pan. Turn on heat to medium. Add 1/4 c flour and stir for a minute. Gradually whisk in the stock that you made from boiling the turkey parts, and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 mins (you can add sherry if you want! (like 1/4 c). Season with salt and pepper and strain. Serve with the turkey ^_^