Lyons/Potter Family Recipe – Turkey with Oyster Dressing and Gravy.
This recipe was originally passed to us from my Grandmother Evalee Potter, before that it came from my ancestors, the Brown and Miller families and has been the tradition in our family for over sixty five years or longer. The only change during this period is canned biscuits instead of fresh. Feel free to make your biscuits from scratch if you prefer. Fresh oysters are SOOO MUCH BETTER!
1 Turkey – 12 to 15 pounds washed and salted or soaked overnight in brine
3 dozen oysters shucked fresh or 3 cans in liquid
½ pound of bacon diced
3 or 4 eggs
2 medium sized yellow onions chopped
1 bunch of celery chopped
1 recipe of homemade cornbread – recipe follows.
2 cans of buttermilk biscuits prepared
2 cartons of chicken broth
1 package of fresh sage
5 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of corn starch
Salt and pepper to taste
In the morning before you start, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let sit in the brine bag (recipe follows). The goal is to have everything mixed and ready to go into to oven when the turkey reaches room temperature.
The night before is when I personally prepare the biscuits and cornbread and I leave them out in the oven all night to dry slightly. However if you are an early riser, then you can prepare them in the morning.
Preheat a skillet to medium high heat and add the bacon. As soon as it starts to cook slightly, add the celery, onions, half of the garlic chopped and ¼ of the sage chopped. Cook until the celery and onions start to become clear or partially caramelized.
Break the biscuits and cornbread into small chunks into a large mixing bowl and add the eggs, one half of the remaining sage, the remaining garlic chopped, oysters with liquid, and the bacon celery onions mixture you just cooked. Mix well adding the chicken broth till it is a slightly stiff mixture. Set aside covered with plastic.
Remove the turkey from the brine bag and give it a quick rinse with clean water. Butter the entire bird with soft butter inside and out. Add black pepper and salt to taste. (Be careful, the canned biscuits and bacon contain sodium. You can always add salt at the table.) Put the turkey in a large roaster and stuff it. This will make more stuffing than will fit into the bird; add the remaining around the sides. Sprinkle the remaining sage on the bird and stuffing. Place in preheated 325 degree oven and cook for 15 minutes per pound of turkey. Baste with butter every 30 minutes after first hour of cooking. If the top of the breast starts to become too brown or dry, make a tent from aluminum foil and put on top of the bird for the remaining cook time. During the cooking process, broth will build up on top of the stuffing. Remove with a suction baster and add to giblet gravy as it cooks. (Recipe follows)
Giblet Gravy
When you place the turkey in the oven, put the remaining chicken broth in a sauce pot and simmer on low heat. Add the turkey neck and other giblets except for the liver. Liver will make the gravy bitter. Allow to cook till done (about 1 hour) and remove from broth. Let them cool slightly and finely chop. Remove all bones from neck before chopping meat. Add back to the broth and continue simmering and adding excess broth from the cooking turkey till serving time. About 20 minutes before the meal is served, add the 2 tablespoons of corn starch and whisk till smooth. Continue to simmer till it is thick. Flour the liver and fry in butter. It makes a good snack for you or the puppy dogs.
CORN BREAD - Southern Style
1-1/4 Cup of flour
3/4 Cup of Corn Meal
1/4 Cup of Sugar
1/4 Cup of Vegetable Oil
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Cup Butter Milk or any kind of milk.
1 Egg
Salt to taste
Oil the pan and sprinkle a little corn meal in it before pouring in batter to prevent sticking. Oven at 400 for 20 to 30 minutes. When the top becomes just a little brown or it cracks, it is done.
BRINE - Optional
1 cup of salt
1 cup of brown sugar
½ lemon sliced
Garlic powder
Sage
You will need a large enough zip-lock bag to handle the turkey. Place all ingredients in the bag except for the turkey and add enough water to mix. Shake well and add the turkey. Then add enough water to submerge the turkey when all of the air is removed. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking. Flip every 6 hours during this period.
This will easily serve six to eight people. If you have a bigger group then get a bigger turkey and double the stuffing recipe. Over the years, I have tried variations such as using one can of biscuits and half a loaf of sour dough bread. It is good but not the original.
Wishing you and your family the very best Thanksgiving possible.
Frank Thomas Lyons
