- 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
- 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. 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 degrees F. to 185 degrees F. (cut string between drumsticks when the bird is two-thirds done). Let roasted turkey stand, covered, 15 to 20 minutes before carving.