One thanksgiving, I vowed to minimize everything: time, number of ingredients, and, most of all, work. My goal was to buy all the food with one trip to the store and prepare the entire feast in the time it took to roast my twelve-pound turkey—less than three hours. The results are close to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner: Without using convenience foods—I made both the stuffing and the cranberry sauce from scratch, each in less than ten minutes—I prepared a full-fledged feast for twelve with more food than anyone could possibly finish. The stuffing was inspired by a clever recipe from the late great chef Pierre Franey; you can make it and stuff the bird in less time than it takes to preheat the oven. The gravy relies on pan drippings but is finished with nothing more than water, good-quality sherry, and butter; it’s made in ten minutes or so, while the turkey rests before carving.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 12 servings (with leftovers)
Ingredients
Fastest Bread Stuffing
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Rinse the turkey and remove the giblets; save the liver to make the stuffing. Loosely pack the turkey cavity with the stuffing, then tie the legs together to close the vent.
Step 2
Put the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan. Add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the pan along with the turkey neck, gizzard, and any other trimmings. Put in the oven, legs first.
Step 3
Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top begins to brown, then turn the heat down to 350°F. Continue to roast, checking every 30 minutes or so; if the top threatens to brown too much, lay a piece of aluminum foil directly onto it. If the bottom dries out, add water, about 1/2 cup at a time. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh measures 165°F. If, when the turkey is nearly done, the top is not browned enough, turn the heat back up to 425°F for the last 20 to 30 minutes of cooking.
Step 4
Remove the turkey from the oven. Take the bird off the rack and make Sherry Reduction Gravy (page 126) while the bird rests (let it sit for about 20 minutes before carving).
Fastest Bread Stuffing
Step 5
Chop together (by hand or in a small food processor) the butter, livers, and parsley; season to taste.
Step 6
Spread half of the mixture on 4 of the bread slices; use the remaining bread to make 4 sandwiches. Spread the remaining mixture on the outside of the sandwiches. Cut each of the sandwiches into 6 pieces.
Step 7
Stuff the turkey and roast as described in the preceding recipe.
Turkey Safety
Step 8
For safety, the USDA recommends roasting white-meat poultry to 170°F, at which point it will be unpalatably dry (especially when you consider that the internal temperature typically rises at least five degrees during the resting period). Should you choose to do this, I strongly recommend that you serve the turkey with plenty of gravy. I stop the cooking at a lower temperature and have never regretted it.
