To help ease the load of Thanksgiving prep, we developed this recipe to simultaneously cook the turkey and stuffing in a single pan in just a couple of hours. The secret lies in spatchcocking, a clever and easy technique we’ve used to evenly cook the white and dark meat of chicken, and it works great for turkeys, too. As the Dijon-and-butter-coated meat roasts, a bed of butternut squash and bread cubes catches all the delicious pan juices to create a flavorful stuffing. While the roasted turkey rests, broil the stuffing right in the roasting pan to get some crispy surface bits. You won’t have drippings, but you can make this turkey gravy a few days ahead and rewarm it when you’re ready to eat.
- Yield: 8 servings
- Difficulty: Easy
- Total: 2 hrs 40 mins
Ingredients (14)
For the stuffing:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
- 4 medium celery stalks, medium dice
- 2 medium yellow onions, medium dice
- 2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (1-pound) loaf day-old unsliced bread, such as French or Italian, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 medium butternut squash (about 3 pounds), peeled and cut into large dice
For the turkey:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
- 1 (12- to 15-pound) natural turkey
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the lower third.
For the stuffing:
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a 16-by-13-inch roasting pan set across 2 burners. Add the celery, onion, and thyme, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 6 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the bread and butternut squash, and stir to combine; set aside.
For the turkey:
- In a small bowl, mix the butter, mustard, thyme, and measured salt and pepper until well combined; set aside.
- Remove the turkey’s giblets and neck, then rinse out the cavity and pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
- Place the turkey on a cutting board breast-side up with the …….
Source: https://greatist.com/eat/recipe/butterflied-roasted-turkey-with-butternut-squash-stuffing
