Reciepes

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, corn flour, sugar, baking powder and Vegetable Magic; mix well, breaking up any lumps. In a separate bowl combine the milk, butter and egg and add to the dry ingredients; blend just until mixed and large lumps are dissolved. Do not overbeat. Pour the mixture into a lightly oiled baking pan and bake at 350° until golden brown, about 40-55 minutes. Remove from pan, cool and break into crumbs (not too fine, and leave some coarser chunks for texture).

STEP 2. De-bone the Turkey, Chicken and Duck

NOTES ON DE-BONING:

It’s helpful to keep the following in mind:

· · Your goal is to end up with one large piece of essentially boneless turkey meat; the finished product will contain only the tip end of each leg bone and the first two joints of each wing. You will end up with one piece of completely boneless duck meat and one piece of completely boneless chicken meat.

· · Be careful not to pierce the skin except for the initial slits. (Cuts in the skin tend to enlarge during cooking and make the end result less attractive as well as drier.)

· · Allow yourself plenty of time, especially if you’re a beginner. And even if you are experienced, approach the de-boning procedure with a gentle, careful touch - - the meat is not tough and you want to end up with as much of it as possible.

· · De-bone one side of each bird - - either the left or right - - before doing the other side.

· · Use a sharp knife and use mainly the tip; stay close to the bone at all times with the knife.

· · It’s worth the time and effort!

TO DE-BONE THE TURKEY

Place the turkey, breast down, on a flat surface. Make an incision the entire length of the spine through the skin and flesh. Starting from the neck end and using the tip of the knife, follow as close to the bone as you can cut, carefully teasing the skin and meat away from the frame. Toward the neck end, cut through the meat to expose the shoulder blade (feel for it first and cut through small amounts of meat at a time if you have trouble locating it); cut the meat away from around the bone and sever the bone at the joint so you can remove the blade.

Disjoint the wing between the second and third joint; free the heavy drumstick of the wing and remove it, being careful to leave the skin intact. Continue teasing the meat away from the backbone, heading toward the thighbone and being careful to keep the “oyster” (pocket of meat on the back) attached to the skin instead of leaving it with the bone.

Cut through the ball-and-socket joint to release the thighbone from the carcass; you should now be able to open up the bird more in order to better see what bones are still left to deal with. Continue teasing the meat away from the carcass until you reach the center front of the breastbone. Then, very carefully separate the skin from the breastbone at the midline without piercing the skin (go slowly because the skin is very thin at this point).

Repeat the same de-boning procedure on the other side (left or right) of the turkey, with the turkey still breast down. When both sides are finished, carefully remove the carcass. Then remove the thighbone and leg bone on each side as follows. Being careful not to break through the skin, use a small hammer to break the leg bone completely across, about two inches from the tip end. Then manipulate both ends of the bone with your hands to be sure the break is complete. Leave the tip of the bone in, but remove the leg bone and thighbone as one unit. To do this, cut the meat away from around the thighbone first, using the knife tip; then, holding the thighbone up with one hand, use the other hand to carefully cut the meat away from around the leg-thigh joint. (Don’t cut through this joint, and don’t worry if it seems as if you’re leaving a lot of meat around the joint - - it can’t be helped and, besides, it will add flavor when you make the stock with the bones!) Then use the blade of the knife to scrape the meat away from the leg bone; remove the leg-thigh bone. With your hands or the knife, one by one remove as many pin bones from the leg meat as possible; then, if necessary, pull the tip of the leg bone to turn the meat to the inside (so the skin is on the outside and it looks like a turkey again). Lay the de-boned turkey on a sheet pan and immediately place in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Reserve the bones and neck for making the Poultry Stock. Reserve and refrigerate the giblets for making the Cornbread Dressing.

TO DE-BONE THE DUCK

Place the duck, breast down, on a flat surface and follow the same procedure as you did to de-bone the turkey, except this time you will remove all the bones, instead of leaving in part of the wing and leg bones. To de-bone each wing, cut off the first two joints of the wing (and save for stock), leaving the wing’s drumstick; cut the meat from around the drumstick and remove this bone. When you reach the thigh, follow the thigh-leg bone with the knife blade to release the bone as one unit, again being careful not to cut through the skin. Lay the de-boned duck on a sheet pan and immediately place in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Reserve the bones and neck for making the Poultry Stock. Reserve and refrigerate the giblets for making the Cornbread Dressing.

TO DE-BONE THE CHICKEN

Use precisely the same procedure to de-bone the chicken as you used to de-bone the duck. Lay the de-boned chicken on a sheet pan and immediately place in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Reserve the bones and neck for making the Poultry Stock. Reserve and refrigerate the giblets for making the Cornbread Dressing.

STEP 3. Bring the Water to Simmer and Prepare the Poultry Stock

POULTRY STOCK
Makes about 1 gallon

The reserved carcasses from the turkey, chicken and duck

2 gallons water (at a simmer)

In a stockpot, or other large pot, bring 2 gallons of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, reduce the heat to a slow simmer. (The water will be used for making the Poultry Stock).

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Place the reserved bones and necks in a roasting pan. Place in the oven and roast until the bones are a rich golden brown, about 30 minutes. As soon as the carcasses are browned, place them in the pot. Simmer until the stock has reduced by half and has a rich poultry flavor, about 2 - 3 hours. Strain and refrigerate until ready to use.

*Note: You will have extra stock at the end of the recipe should you need it to thin out the Sweet Potato Eggplant Gravy.

STEP 4. Roast the Vegetables for the Sweet Potato Eggplant Gravy

NOTE: If you are not using andouille, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic^® for a fuller flavor. Magic Seasoning Blends’ Andouille Smoked Sausage is available by calling (800) 457-2857. Overnight or 2^nd day shipping required.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 5-quart pot over high heat. When the butter is melted, add the ground andouille. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom frequently to prevent sticking, until the andouille is beginning to brown and the oil is beginning to render from the andouille, about 6 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are faded and translucent, but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the celery, bell peppers and garlic. Continue to cook, stirring and scraping frequently, until the celery and bell peppers are faded in color, about 4 minutes. Add the Magic Pepper Sauce and Meat Magic. Stir and scrape until mixed in well and the brown crust on the bottom of the pot is dissolved. Remove the pot from the heat and add the remaining butter. Stir until the butter is melted. Fold in half of the breadcrumbs, using a bottom to top folding motion. When mixed in well, fold in the remaining breadcrumbs. Continue to fold until the breadcrumbs are evenly moistened but still somewhat dry and cakey.

Remove from heat and spread on a sheet pan as thinly as possible. Refrigerate sheet pan in the coldest part of the refrigerator until dressing is very cold. (Note: The goal is to chill the dressing as quickly as possible. Spreading the dressing in a thin layer on a sheet pan allows it to cool very quickly. In our refrigerator, this took a little over 1 hour).

STEP 6. Prepare the Cornbread Dressing

CORNBREAD DRESSING
Makes about 12 cups

Process the eggs and milk together in a blender at medium speed until fully combined, about 20 seconds. Set aside.

Spread the crumbled cornbread (from STEP 1) on a sheet pan and bake in a 300° oven until the crumbs are dry and a touch of brown is showing on the larger pieces, about 30 minutes.

In a 5-quart pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter together with the bay leaves. Add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are beginning to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers, celery, garlic, Poultry Magic and Magic Pepper Sauce. Cook, stirring and scraping frequently, until the onions are beginning to brown and the celery and bell peppers are faded in color, about 4 minutes. Add the giblets. Stir until the giblets are fully cooked, but not browned, and the seasoning has a rich high flavor, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and remove from the heat. Stir well until butter is melted. Remove bay leaves.

Put the baked crumbled cornbread in a large mixing bowl. Fold in the milk/egg mixture, then fold in the vegetable mixture until evenly mixed.

Spread the dressing on a sheet pan as thinly as possible. Refrigerate sheet pan in the coldest part of the refrigerator until dressing is very cold. (Note: The goal is to chill the dressing as quickly as possible. Spreading the dressing in a thin layer on a sheet pan allows it to cool very quickly. In our refrigerator, this took a little over 1 hour).

Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a 5-quart pot together with the bay leaves over high heat. When butter is melted, add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are beginning to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the celery, bell peppers, garlic, and Seafood Magic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the celery and bell peppers are faded in color, about 4 minutes. Add the shrimp and stir in well. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and stir until butter is melted. Add half of the breadcrumbs. Cook, stirring constantly, until the breadcrumbs are fully moistened and blended in, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining breadcrumbs and continue to stir until all the breadcrumbs are mixed in, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, pull out bay leaves and stir in the stock. The dressing should be bound and thick but not wet.

TURKEY: Spread the turkey, skin down, on a sheet pan exposing as much meat as possible. Sprinkle the meat generously and evenly with a total of about 4 tablespoons of the Meat Magic, patting it in with your hands. (Be sure to turn the leg, thigh and wing meat to the outside so you can season it also).

Stuff each leg cavity with about 1½ cups of the Cornbread Dressing

, pressing it into the cavities with your fingers or the round handle of a wooden spoon. Pack each cavity well, but not too tightly. (If too tightly packed, it may cause the skin to burst open during cooking).

Stuff each wing cavity with about 1 cup of the Cornbread Dressing

, pressing it in as before.

Fill the center of the breast cleavage with about 1 cup of the cornbread dressing. Shape the dressing with your hands to fit the space and smooth it so that it is level with the rest of the breast meat. Shape 2-3 cups of the dressing into an even layer over the remaining exposed meat

, about ¾-inch thick. (Do not put any dressing over the exposed skin flap at the neck). You should use about 8 - 9 cups dressing. Return the stuffed bird to the refrigerator.

Place the remaining dressing in a baking pan. Cover with plastic or foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.

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