Herb Turkey Stuffing

[Anonymous]

Savory Herb
Turkey Stuffing


The rule for figuring out the proper amount of stuffing is easy to remember — approximately 1 cup per pound of bird. This works very well unless you want stuffing for only one meal, in which case this quantity is excessive. So, starting from the maximum, reduce the among of stuffing to suit your needs.

No more than 4 days or less than 2 days ahead of time, you will need to bake a pan of the Low Carbohydrate "Corn" Bread and a loaf of either Keto French Loaf machine Bread*or Gabi's World-Famous Bread recipe *. These will need to be dried and cubed - see "BREAD NOTES" below.

Ingredients:
8 bacon slices
1/2 pound (or more) butter
1 cup finely chopped shallots or onions
8 cups (approximately) bread crumbs*
1 Tablespoon fresh tarragon (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
2 cups chopped celery
1 Tablespoon salt, or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
1 Tablespoon dried thyme
1 1/2 cups pecans or hazelnuts - toasted; coarsely chopped
2 cups canned chicken or turkey broth or fresh stock
3 large eggs, beaten to blend

Preheat oven to 325°F.
If preparing stuffing to bake in dish, butter 8x8x2-inch baking dish.
Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 6 minutes. Using tongs, transfer bacon to paper towels; reserve 1/4 cup bacon drippings in skillet. Cool bacon and crumble.

Add butter to bacon drippings in skillet and melt over medium-high heat. Add onions or shallots and celery; sauté just until pale golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in sage, thyme, parsley, and tarragon. Add to bread mix cubes in bowl. Mix in pecans and crumbled bacon. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Stir 1 1/2 cups chicken broth into stuffing. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in eggs. Reserve 9 cups stuffing for turkey. Moisten remaining stuffing with remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth. Transfer to prepared dish. Bake stuffing in covered dish alongside turkey for 1 hour. Uncover stuffing and bake until top begins to crisp, about 5 minutes longer.

Serves 12-14. Approximately 4.5 carbs per serving, but since serving size and optional ingredients vary, you might wish to make adjustments according to your actual ingredients and serving size preferences.

BREAD NOTES:
This recipe works best when you use a mix of the faux cornbread and a dense plain bread like Keto Bread. The breads will need to be dried, but because they are low-carb (with no sugar or chemicals to preserve them), special care must be given. When completely cool, slice loaf bread down the middle lengthwise twice making long bread strips. Allow them a shelf in your refrigerator for them to stay laid out flat to "dry" (on a cookie sheet or two paper plates) over at least 2 days. Do the same with the faux cornbread, but cut into thin squares and let dry refrigerated. The day you'll make the stuffing, let the breads sit at room temperature for a few hours. (If they have not dried out sufficiently to resemble "stale" bread, put them in a 200°F warm oven to finish drying out after the cubing step described next.) On a flat surface - preferably a wooden board - cut each of the bread pieces into 3/4-inch cubes and dry in oven if necessary. They're ready to be used in your stuffing!

TIP:
It's a good idea to keep a little high gluten flour on hand in case your stuffing is too wet. Just sprinkle in a bit and mix. It's a great binder and very low in carbs.