Old Fashioned Thanksgiving Butter Herb Turkey and Cornbread Dressing

Old Fashioned Thanksgiving recipes, including Baked Butter Herb Turkey, Southern Cornbread Dressing, and Southern Giblet Gravy! Whether this is your first time preparing a Thanksgiving meal or you are a seasoned cook, these recipes are easy to follow and sure to please any of your guests.

Old Fashioned Thanksgiving Turkey and Southern Cornbread Dressing with Giblet Gravy {Homemade from start to finish}

The countdown to Thanksgiving continues here at my house, starting with what will be on the menu.

As always, Turkey and Dressing, and Giblet Gravy are at the top of our menu list! Some call it stuffing, and some call it dressing. Here in the south, we call it dressing.

As I grew up and later married, I began to realize all the different ways people cook turkey and dressing and giblet gravy. I grew up eating baked turkey versus roast turkey.

Over the last few years, my daughters, daughter-in-law, and I started improving on an already delicious turkey we had been cooking for years.

I wanted to add fresh herbs but didn't want to overpower the natural flavor of a moist turkey we loved so much. So we came up with this recipe for Baked Herb Butter Turkey!

We use the method of stuffing fresh herbs with a stick of butter in the turkey's cavity and baking it at a low temperature, slow overnight.

This method produces all the succulent flavors you want in a Thanksgiving turkey, not to mention a gorgeous presentation. Don't forget to garnish your serving platter with some of those fresh herbs.

When I married my husband, he was used to eating stuffed turkey and a more moist dressing than I was used to eating.

So as the years went by, my husband and I met in the middle of making the dressing.

We do not stuff our turkey, but I adapted his Mother's recipe with my Mother's recipe, and we now have our own traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing recipe.

It is so funny, I loved my Mother's recipe and my Mother-in-law's recipe, but we couldn't have both, but now we have the best of both Mothers!

Talking about giblet gravy is interesting too. Most people, I have found, do not like giblet gravy---Horas!

We even have them in our family, and then we have some that absolutely love it! It just shows how different people really are.

There is one secret to making Southern Giblet Gravy superior to others. Do not boil the gravy after the milk is added.

Add the sliced boiled eggs just before it is served to ensure that the eggs are tender. Just a little tidbit there if you are a Southern Giblet Gravy fan!

Baked Herb Butter Turkey

1 roll of heavy duty aluminum foil
1 whole 10-22 lbs. turkey
liberal amounts of salt and pepper
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, one to put inside of the turkey and one to rub on the outside of the turkey
2-3 sprigs of fresh sage
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
4-8 cups of water

These two steps are essential to do before handling the turkey.
1. Line a big deep roaster (however size your turkey will fit in) pan going crosswise with heavy duty aluminum foil, making sure that it is tucked down in around the sides of the roaster and hanging off considerably to wrap the turkey once it is in the roaster. Repeat the same going lengthwise; then set it aside.

2. Set on the counter ready to reach: 1) your salt and pepper containers, 2) any herbs going in, and 3) have the butter opened and sitting on the paper wrapper ready to use. To keep from contaminating the salt and pepper containers, I wrap them with paper towels, put a rubber band around each of them, and use them this way until I am through handling the turkey. After I am through handling the turkey, I discard the paper towel and rubber band.

Method for preparing turkey:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

The method of preparing the turkey to bake is the same whether you have a 10 lb. Turkey or a 22 lb. Turkey.

Remove and wash giblets from the cavity and neck skin of the turkey; set them aside. Wash the turkey inside the cavity and outside really well and pat dry.

Sprinkle inside and on the back side (not the breast side yet) of the turkey liberally with salt and pepper.

Set the turkey backside down in the roasting pan. Insert 1 stick of butter in the cavity of the turkey.

Place sprigs of sage, thyme, and rosemary in the cavity.

How many sprigs you use varies according to the size of your turkey. For a 22 lb. Turkey, I use 3 sprigs of sage and thyme and 2 sprigs of rosemary.

Arrange the giblets (neck, gizzard, heart, and liver) around the turkey at the bottom of the roaster. I usually find there is more room around the neck.

Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper on the top and sides of the turkey.

Pull the second layer (the one that is lengthwise) of the foil up and around the turkey. Pull the first layer (the one that is crosswise) of foil up together and roll down, sealing the turnkey.

Gently pat the foil tight around the turkey.

Pour the water around the outside of the foil into the roasting pan. How much water you will use depend on your turkey size. For a 22 lb. turkey, I use 6-8 cups of water. The water needs to come up halfway in the pan.

Place in the oven and bake until the meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the turkey is 165 degrees. It usually takes 5-6 hours for a 22 lb. Turkey.

One hour before the turkey is done, open the foil, pull away from the turkey, and rub 1 stick of butter over the breast and around the legs until all is melted and bake for the remaining hour to get the golden brown color.

Lift the turkey out of the roasting pan and place it on a serving platter. Let rest before carving. Remove the giblets and reserve for the giblet gravy.

Reserve 2 cups of turkey broth for giblet gravy. Leave the remaining turkey broth in the roasting pan for the cornbread dressing.

Southern Cornbread Dressing

6-8 cups reserved turkey broth (or remaining broth left in the roasting pan)
2 pans of homemade cornbread
14 oz. herb seasoned stuffing mix (I prefer Pepperidge Farm)
4 cups celery, chopped
2 cups onion, chopped
8-10 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup butter
4 cups whole milk
6 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons ground sage

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, saute celery, onions, and green onions with butter until tender but not mushy; set aside.

In the roasting pan that the turkey was cooked in, crumble up the cornbread over the reserved turkey broth and mix with a large spoon or potato masher.

Add the herb seasoned mix and stir some more. Add celery and onion mixture; stir some more. Add milk and eggs; stir until eggs are mixed well.

Add salt and pepper, poultry season, and sage; stir until all is mixed well.

Pour mixture into individual baking dishes sprayed with a nonstick cooking spray, and bake for one hour and golden brown.

You can also bake the dressing in the roasting pan. Bake for 1 and half hours and golden brown or longer if needed.

Giblet Gravy

2 cups of reserved turkey broth
Giblets from the turkey, debone the neck and dice. Dice the heart, gizzard, and liver
2 cups of whole milk
2-3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
2 boiled eggs, sliced

In a large saucepan, heat the turkey broth to boiling.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the boiling broth, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a simmer.

Add milk, stirring constantly. Add giblets and stir until well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir until creamy and smooth.

Wait and add the sliced eggs just before serving.