Chicken or Turkey and Dressing

Boil a hen or fryer until tender but watch to see that is not overcooked because it will fall off the bone if you are not careful. Take the liver and gizzard and neck and cut it up in the broth from the hen (about a pint). Take the rest of the broth and set aside for use later. Set aside the giblets too.

For the dressing:

Crumble:

• 1/2 loaf stale bread at least one day old
• 1 batch of cornbread

Add:

• 6 eggs, hard boiled and chopped (8-12 makes it richer and better)
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 small or 1 large bunch of green onions or very large white onion, chopped
• plenty of black pepper
• 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp. sage
• more salt if necessary, but be careful

Take bottom half of broth and add 1/2 stick of butter to it. Then add broth to dressing (add butter to broth usually when you use a fryer. A hen usually makes enough of its own fat). If dressing is not moist enough, and it should be very wet, add enough hot water to make it moist enough.

Stuff the hen and put the rest of the dressing around the hen and cook slowly at 300 to 350° F until the chicken is done.

For the giblet gravy:

Recipe 1. - Dissolve 1 heaping tbl. of flour in water and pour into the broth with the cut up giblets in it. (makes a white gravy)

Recipe 2. - Brown 1 heaping tbl. of flour in 2 tbls. of butter. Use half of chicken broth to thin down flour and make gravy. (makes a brown gravy)

Recipe 3. - Boil giblets separately from the rest of the chicken (you might want to just bake the chicken in salted water). When giblets are tender, they are done. Remove from broth, cool and cut up and return to broth.

Now then, if you want to bake your turkey or chicken and make your dressing separately ...

It is better to rub salt and pepper into the skin of the turkey or chicken inside and out, and let it set in the refrigerator overnight, but if you can't find the time, just salt and pepper it as it thaws if it is frozen...or thoroughly before you cook it. Rub butter that is very soft all over the bird...inside and outside...until the bird is just caked with it. Wrap and seal tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil and cook at 300° F and never over 350° F. Turkey is done when you can move the leg joints easily and the flesh of the legs and breast are soft.

For a chicken or turkey that is:

• 4-5 lbs. cook 2-1/2 to 3 hours
• 6-12 lbs. cook 3-1/2 to 5 hours
• 12-16 lbs. cook 5 to 6 hrs
• 16-20 lbs. cook 6 to 7-1/2 hours
• 20-24 lbs. cook 7-1/2 to 9 hours

Remove the foil from the turkey during the last 30-45 minutes to let it brown.

For your dressing, use 2 or 3 cans of chicken consommé (instead of broth from boiled bird) and hot water if not moist enough. Bake like you would the dressing recipe above.

You can baste your turkey with butter as it bakes and cover it with cheese cloth but as far as I am concerned, that method is strictly for the birds, although it does bake a beautiful bird. You'll just have to learn to cook a turkey like that from your Uncle Jim for he is a master at it.