Cherry-Pecan Stuffed Turkey

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup chopped onion
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 3 tablespoons sweet Marsala, dry sherry, or chicken broth
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 6 cups soft bread crumbs
  • 1 1/2 cups sliced celery
  • 1 cup dried tart cherries
  • 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1 (10- to 12-pound) turkey

Instructions

  1. For stuffing, in a medium skillet, cook onion in butter until tender but not brown. Stir in the Marsala, sherry or broth; salt; paprika; thyme; and white pepper. Transfer the ingredients to a large bowl. Add bread crumbs, celery, cherries, and pecans; toss to mix well. Drizzle with the chicken broth; toss. Spoon some of the stuffing into the neck cavity of the turkey; fasten the neck skin with a skewer. Lightly spoon the remaining stuffing into the body cavity. Tie the drumsticks to the tail.
  2. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh muscle. Roast the turkey, uncovered, in a 325 degree F oven for 3 to 3 3/4 hours or until the meat thermometer registers 180 to 185 degrees F (cut string between drumsticks when the bird is two-thirds done).
  3. Let roasted turkey stand, covered, 15 to 20 minutes before carving.