Turkey and Dressing with Sausage and Chestnuts

🔪 Ingredients for Turkey and Dressing

This list is for the market; the exact measurements and step-by-step images are in the recipe card below. 👇

For the turkey

• Whole turkey, 12 to 14 pounds: fully thawed (here is how to time the thaw). Save the neck and giblets for the gravy. Skip kosher or pre-brined birds, which are already salted and will go over the edge with a dry brine.
• Kosher salt: flaky and dense kosher salts measure very differently by the spoon, so the recipe card gives an amount for each.
• Bell’s Seasoning: the poultry blend my family used at every holiday. It goes in the butter for the bird and again in the dressing.
• Unsalted butter: softened, so it spreads under the skin without tearing it.
• Lemon, onion and a head of garlic: halved and tucked into the cavity.
• Onion, celery, a second head of garlic and a bay leaf: these sit in the roasting pan and flavor the drippings that become your gravy.
• Chicken broth or homemade turkey stock: plan on 6 to 7 cups across the pan, the dressing, and the gravy. Turkey broth almost never shows up on grocery shelves, so store-bought chicken broth is the easy route. If you want the gravy to taste even more like the bird, make our Instant Pot turkey stock ahead.

For the dressing

• Sturdy white bread: cubed and dried overnight or toasted. This was also the one time of year my family bought the bag of Pepperidge Farm cubes, and that still works. A hearty sourdough, or whatever bread your family likes, works.
• Pork breakfast sausage: bulk, not links, so it crumbles as it browns.
• Roasted peeled chestnuts: jarred or vacuum-packed, roughly chopped.
• Onion and celery
• Fresh sage
• Eggs: they set the dressing so it scoops instead of crumbling.
• Turkey fat and pan juices: skimmed from the roasting pan while it rests. This is what makes the dressing taste like the bird.

For the giblet gravy

• Giblets and neck: the liver, heart, and gizzard from inside the bird. The heart and liver get blended back into the gravy; the neck and gizzard flavor the broth and then get tossed.
• Fresh thyme and rosemary: tied into a bundle so they come out in one piece.
• Butter and flour: cooked into a dark roux.
• Olive oil, onion, salt and black pepper

Equipment

• Roasting pan with a rack: keeps the bird above the drippings so the underside roasts instead of stewing.
• Probe thermometer: two probes is ideal, because the breast and thigh finish at different temperatures.
• Instant read thermometer: for the center of the dressing.
• Fat separator: splits the turkey fat from the pan juices in one pour.
• Kitchen twine: for trussing the turkey.
• Basting brush: faster and less messy than a bulb baster.
• Large skillet: for the sausage and vegetables.
• 9×13 baking dish: or any 3 quart dish.
• Medium saucepan and small saucepan: one for the giblets, one for the roux.
• Blender: to mince the heart and liver.
• Your largest mixing bowl and aluminum foil

📝 How to Make Turkey and Dressing

This is the whole Thanksgiving plate on one timeline: the bird, a sausage and chestnut dressing, and our giblet gravy built in the same roasting pan. For thaw dates and a Thanksgiving Day schedule, start with our Thanksgiving turkey guide. If you only need the bird, our oven roasted turkey walks through it on its own. If you want a sweeter, fruit-forward side instead, that is our apple sausage stuffing.

1. Dry brine, 1 to 2 days ahead. Pat the turkey dry. Salt it all over, under the breast skin, and inside the cavity. Refrigerate it uncovered on a rack until the skin looks dry and tight, 24 to 48 hours.
2. Make the butter. Heat the oven to 325°F. Mash the butter, Bell’s Seasoning, and pepper together until the herbs are evenly speckled through.
3. Butter under the skin. Slide your fingers between the skin and the meat over the breast and thighs. Push two-thirds of the butter underneath and smooth it from the outside so it spreads evenly. Rub the rest over the skin.
4. Aromatics in, then truss. Tuck the lemon halves, halved onion, and head of garlic into the cavity. Tuck the wing tips and truss the turkey so the legs sit snug against the breast.
5. Set up the pan. Put the quartered onion, celery, oiled head of garlic, bay leaf, and 1 cup broth in the roasting pan. Set the turkey breast side up on the rack and insert a probe into the thickest part of the breast.
6. Roast until the breast reads 165°F and the thigh 175°F, about 2¾ to 3¼ hours. Check every 30 to 45 minutes: add a splash of broth if the pan is running dry, and brush the bird with the pan juices while the door is open.
7. Cook the giblets while it roasts. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium. Brown the giblets and neck on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the minced onion and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Lower the heat and cook until the moisture is gone and the giblets are deeply browned, about 15 minutes. Add 1 cup broth, the herb bundle, salt and pepper, and simmer low for 30 minutes. Strain and keep the liquid. Discard the neck and gizzard, and pulse the heart and liver in a blender until finely minced.
8. Make the roux while it roasts. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking, until it turns a deep brown and smells nutty. Slowly whisk in 1 cup broth, a little at a time; it goes thick and pasty first, then loosens. Whisk in a second cup and simmer on low until it thickens again and coats a spoon. Set it aside.
9. Prep the dressing while it roasts. Brown the sausage in a large skillet, breaking it up, until no pink remains. Lift it out, add 4 tablespoons butter to the same pan, and soften the onion and celery until translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. In your largest bowl, toss the bread, sausage, vegetables, chestnuts, Bell’s Seasoning, sage, salt, and pepper. Hold the eggs and broth for now.
10. Rest the bird for 40 minutes. Carefully move the turkey to a cutting board and tent it loosely with foil. Raise the oven to 375°F (this is the hardest part of the whole recipe – who has the patience for the rest!).
11. Separate the drippings. Pour the liquid from the roasting pan into a fat separator, leaving the vegetables and browned bits in the pan. Set aside 4 tablespoons turkey fat and ½ cup defatted juices for the dressing, and pour the rest back into the roasting pan.
12. Bake the dressing during the rest. Whisk the eggs into 2 cups warm broth, pour it over the bread mixture, and toss gently until every cube is moist. Spread it in a buttered baking dish and spoon the turkey fat and juices evenly over the top. Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp and the center reads 165°F.
13. Finish the gravy while the dressing bakes. Set the roasting pan over two burners on medium. Add the reserved giblet liquid and scrape up the browned bits. Whisk in the roux mixture 1 cup at a time and simmer low for 20 minutes. Lift out the vegetables and bay leaf with a slotted spoon. Stir in the minced giblets, bring it back to a simmer, and season with salt and pepper. If it is thicker than you like, whisk in up to 1 more cup of broth.
14. Carve and serve. Carve the turkey, lay the slices over the dressing, and pass the giblet gravy alongside.

🍽️ What to Serve with Turkey and Dressing

• Cranberry sauce: the tart bite cuts the sausage, butter, and gravy.
• Roasted green beans: something green and crisp on a plate that is already rich.
• Smoked Brussels sprouts with bacon: if the smoker is free while the oven is full.
• Domino potatoes: crispy-edged potatoes that look rather fancy if you need to impress anyone at the table.
• Dutch oven mac and cheese: because somebody always asks, and on Thanksgiving the answer is yes.

🧊 Leftovers and Storage

• Turkey: carve it off the bone, store it airtight in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 4 months.
• Dressing: keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat it covered in a 350°F oven with a splash of broth until the center reaches 165°F, then uncover for the last few minutes to crisp the top again.
• Giblet gravy: refrigerate and use within 1 to 2 days, or freeze for 2 to 3 months. Reheat on the stove, whisking, and thin with broth.
• Save enough for round two: turn the turkey into a Hot Brown sandwich, a turkey salad or turkey carcass soup, and find the rest of our leftover turkey recipes here.

❓ Turkey and Dressing FAQs