HAPPY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING!
Though I currently call Ohio home, I am in fact a Canadian citizen. I am Canadian-born, and American-raised, so while my family does our full
Thanksgiving celebration in November, we like to do a smaller tribute to our
Canadian roots in October. I’m going to be honest, I decided against making a
fully stuffed turkey or chicken this week. I can’t handle that much food by
myself and with roommates all on different schedules and cramming for midterms,
I wasn’t sure I’d get it all eaten in a timely manner. I have however made this
recipe many times in the past, as it is one of my favorite thanksgiving
activities. It is better cooked inside poultry (chicken or turkey), but we
always have some left over that just goes in a covered casserole pan with the giblets, so you don’t need
a whole bird to make this recipe.
(According to my mum, the smaller
amount (as in 1 stalk celery vs. 3 stalks) is enough to stuff a large roasting
chicken, and the larger amount is enough for a small ~ 13lb turkey.)
Ingredients
Group
1
1-3 stalks celery, chopped
½ sm.- 1 lg. yellow onion, chopped
1-3 T. cooking oil
Group
2
1-3 t. dried thyme*
½ -1 ½ t. dried sage*
*Also according to mother again, “you can use fresh minced
herbs from the garden. In the northern hemisphere, any herbs that are still
growing in your garden at this time of year will taste good in this dish, but
you will have to remove leaves from woody stems, mince finely and use more than
you would dried (because dehydrated herbs are more concentrated due to the lack
of water).”
pepper to taste (probably 1/2 – 1 ½ t.)
2-6 t. sea salt
1/8 – 1/2 c. olive oil
¼ - ¾ c. water
Group
3
1 sm.-lg. bunch fresh parsley, chopped
2- 4 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (not the quick kind)
4-8 slices whole wheat bread* (diced roughly into about ¾-1
inch squares and including the crusts)
* Another helpful hint from Mum, “If you are gluten intolerant
you can use an equivalent amount of gluten-free bread. We like “Food for Life”
brand bread made with brown rice and without sugar or casein. Remember that the slices are smaller and
thinner so use more slices.”
Preparation
- Sauté the Group 1 ingredients gently until transparent and
tender, then remove from heat
- Add
Group 2 ingredients to Group 1
-Combine
Group 3 ingredients in a separate large bowl
-Stir the wet mixture into the dry oat/bread mixture to
lightly dress everything (It might seem like too much to fit into the cavity of
the bird but it compresses quite a bit)
-Place
the bird in your roasting pan to unwrap and to stuff it. Remove the giblets
from the cavity of the bird, un-wrap them, and place them in the casserole.
-Whatever
dressing doesn’t fit in the cavities of the bird can be placed in the oiled,
lidded casserole with the giblets and cooked in the oven at the same time as
the turkey. The stuffed bird and the extra dressing and giblets should be
placed in the oven to roast as soon as you are finished preparing them.
*Food
safety bit:
-To
minimize the chance of food contamination, adjust your oven racks and have your
oven preheating and your equipment set out before you begin handling the
poultry. Have a trash container nearby for the poultry packaging, and lay out
your roasting pan as well as an oiled casserole dish.
-Wash
your hands thoroughly with warm soapy water and wipe down all surfaces and wash
all equipment/utensils/bowls.
-Launder
dish cloths etc.
-Dispose
of trash. When the chicken or turkey is ready to eat (hip joints will be loose-internal temperature 165F)
remove all of the dressing to a serving bowl, separate from the meat. Do not
store leftover dressing with the meat.
celery
1 yellow onion
cooking oil
dried thyme
dried sage
pepper
sea salt
olive oil
1 bunch fresh parsley
old-fashioned rolled oats (not the quick kind)
whole
wheat or gluten free bread
*optional:
whole chicken or turkey :)
