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Thanksgiving Turkey with Italian meat stuffing

By: travelrose 
"Each Thanksgiving we all looked forward to my Mom's delicious turkey with Italian meat stuffing. When she got older and could no longer cook, I took over the Thanksgiving dinners. She is no longer with us but each year members of my family continue to ask for Grandma's recipe so they can make it for their own family. I would now like to pass it on to you."

This Kitchen Approved Recipe has an average star rating of 5.0 Rate/Review | Read Reviews (3)

Prep Time:
20 Min
Cook Time:
6 Hrs 10 Min
Ready In:
6 Hrs 30 Min

Servings  (Help)

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Original Recipe Yield 1 whole stuffed turkey
 

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 (1 pound) loaf day-old Italian bread
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 large stalks celery with leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms (optional)
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped, or more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1 large egg
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 (15 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 lemons, cut in half
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped, or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder, or to taste
  • 1 cup water (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 612 | Total Fat: 29.1g | Cholesterol: 227mg Powered by ESHA Nutrient Database

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The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 5.0 star rating.
Reviewed on Dec. 2, 2011 by layla13   view full review
growing up my mom made this stuffing except we didn't stuff the bird, but used turkey broth to...
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 5.0 star rating.
Reviewed on Nov. 27, 2011 by Oesi   view full review
Fine recipe! Thanks so much. Wonderful flavour. It's a keeper.
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 5.0 star rating.
Reviewed on Feb. 23, 2012 by mikellya Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)  view full review
Thank you for sharing your special family recipe. It is these kinds of recipes that make his...

 

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