Best rustic stuffing

Teefus

I've been doing the Thanksgiving bird on the grille for nearly 30 years now and discovered a stuffing recipe a few years ago that never fails to please.

For a 12-18 pound turkey

 

3 boxes of wild rice

Chicken broth, qty. as recommended on the rice box.

One onion

Two Stalks Celery

Dried Morel Mushrooms. 2 or 3 packs should do.

3-4 strips of Bacon (or more) minced up in small pieces.

Chopped pecans

In a stock pot: 

Fry up the bacon to make bacon bits. The more the merrier. Leave the fat in the pot.

Add the chicken broth to the bacon and bring to a boil. Add the rice and simmer until done (an hour or so)

Drain any remaining liquid and use to re-hydrate the Morel mushrooms. Once hydrated, chop into fine pieces. Add the morels and any remaining liquid back to the rice.

Chop the onion and celery finely and add to the rice.

Add the pecans to the rice. Stir well to mix everything up.

Add additional spices to suit  your taste. I usually add some black pepper, salt, thyme, rosemary, and garlic.

Let cool. Overnight is best.

Stuff the bird and roast as you normally would.

Unless you have a huge bird, there will be some extra stuffing. I usually put it in a cake pan, cover with foil, and bake it. It makes a great side dish and as base for turkey hash. Just add minced up leftover turkey and gravy, then reheat like you would a casserole.