Name: Roast Turkey With Country Ham Stuffing and Giblet Gravy
Ingredients: 3 cups ½-inch cubes of day-old homemade-type white bread; 3 cups ½-inch cubes of day-old whole-wheat bread; ¾ pound boneless cooked or uncooked Smithfield or other country ham, cut into 1/4-inch dice; 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter; 2 onions, chopped; 4 ribs of celery, chopped; 2½ tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves or 2½ teaspoons crumbled dried sage; 1½ teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled; a 12- to 14-pound turkey, the neck and giblets (excluding the liver) reserved for making turkey giblet stock; 1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened; 2 cups water; 1 cup turkey giblet stock or chicken broth; 1 cup dry white wine; 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 4 cups turkey giblet stock , including the reserved cooked neck and giblets; fresh sage leaves for garnish

A roast turkey with ham stuffing on a platter with a carving set.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich

This Thanksgiving centerpiece from the 1991 November issue of Gourmet brings together two beloved holiday mains: ham and roast turkey. You’ll start the salty, textured stuffing by browning cubes of country ham until the edges have crisped and the fat has started to render, then softening onions, celery, sage, and thyme in that flavorful fat. This mixture lends its flavor to a hearty combo of half white bread and half whole wheat, all brought together with plenty of butter and giblet stock.

Roasting your turkey draped with a butter-soaked cheesecloth means that it will be continuously basted with butter, even though you’re not checking on it every five minutes to scoop up the melted fat from the corners of the pan. A little bit of water added to the roasting pan will ensure that your drippings don’t burn during the three or so hours of roasting (which means no climbing up a stepladder to turn off the smoke detector when you have potatoes to mash). Once the turkey’s out of the oven, whisk together a quick roux with the turkey drippings, deglaze with cognac and some heavy cream, add some stock, and you’ll have the perfect trio of turkey, stuffing, and gravy in the starring role of your ‘90s-themed Thanksgiving feast.

Cooks' Note

Looking for turkey-carving tips? We can help with that, too.

Ingredients

For the stuffing

3 cups ½-inch cubes of day-old homemade-type white bread

3 cups ½-inch cubes of day-old whole-wheat bread

¾ pound boneless cooked or uncooked Smithfield or other country ham, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter

2 onions, chopped

4 ribs of celery, chopped

2½ tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves or 2½ teaspoons crumbled dried sage

1½ teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled

a 12- to 14-pound turkey, the neck and giblets (excluding the liver) reserved for making turkey giblet stock

1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups water

1 cup turkey giblet stock or chicken broth

For the gravy

1 cup dry white wine

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups turkey giblet stock , including the reserved cooked neck and giblets

fresh sage leaves for garnish

Preparation

Make the stuffing:
Step 1
In a shallow baking pan arrange the bread cubes in one layer, bake them in a preheated 325°F. oven, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are golden, and transfer them to a large bowl. In a large skillet sauté the ham in the butter over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is deep red and the edges are crisp, and transfer it with a slotted spoon to the bowl. To the fat remaining in the skillet add the onions, the celery, the sage, and the thyme, cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring, until the onions are softened, and transfer it to a bowl. Toss the stuffing well, season it with salt and pepper and let it cool completely. The stuffing may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. (To prevent bacterial growth do not stuff the turkey cavities in advance.)
Step 2
Rinse the turkey, pat it dry, and season it inside and out with salt and pepper. Pack the neck cavity loosely with some of the stuffing, fold the neck skin under the body, and fasten it with a skewer. Pack the body cavity loosely with some of the remaining stuffing and truss the turkey. Transfer the remaining stuffing to a buttered 2-quart baking dish and reserve it, covered and chilled.
Step 3
Spread the turkey with ½ stick of the butter and roast it on a rack in a roasting pan in a preheated 425°F. oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F., baste the turkey with the pan juices, and drape it with a piece of cheesecloth, soaked in the remaining 1 stick butter, melted and cooled. Add the water to the pan and roast the turkey, basting it every 20 minutes, for 2½to 3 hours more, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the fleshy part of a thigh registers 180°F. and the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer. During the last 1½ hours of roasting, drizzle the reserved stuffing with the stock, bake it, covered, in the 325°F. oven for 1 hour, and bake it, uncovered, for ½ hour more. Discard the cheesecloth and string from the turkey, transfer the turkey to a heated platter, reserving the juices in the roasting pan, and keep it warm, covered loosely with foil.
Make the gravy:
Step 4
Skim all of the fat from the roasting pan juices, reserving ⅓ cup of the fat, add the wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan over moderately high heat, scraping up brown bits. Boil the mixture until it is reduced by half. In a saucepan combine the reserved fat and the flour and cook the roux over moderately low heat, whisking, for 3 minutes. Add the stock and the wine mixture in a stream, whisking, and simmer the gravy, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the reserved cooked giblets and neck meat, chopped, and salt and pepper to taste, simmer the gravy for 2 minutes, and transfer it to a heated sauceboat.
Step 5
Garnish the turkey with the sage leaves and serve it with the gravy and the stuffing.