Roast Wild Turkey with Blue Cornbread-Shrimp Stuffing

Ingredients

• 10 servings pepper black freshly ground to taste
• 0.3 cup carrots diced
• 0.3 cup celery diced
• 2 teaspoons cilantro leaves chopped
• 8 cups cornbread 
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon sage minced
• 10 servings salt to taste
• 4  serrano chiles minced seeded
• 1 pound shrimp shelled deveined
• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves minced
• 1  turkey wild
• 0.5 cup chicken stock see 
• 10 servings butter unsalted at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 0.3 cup irish whiskey 

Equipment

• frying pan
• oven
• roasting pan
• aluminum foil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. To make the stuffing, heat the vegetable oil in a skillet and sauté the shrimp over medium heat until cooked through, about 1 minute.
3. Let cool, dice, and set aside.
4. In a large skillet, melt the butter and sauté the onions, celery, carrot, serranos, garlic and chayote over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Deglaze the vegetables with the bourbon and continue cooking over high heat for 1 minute or until the liquid evaporates.
5. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the thyme, sage, cilantro, shrimp, and crumbled blue corn sticks. Moisten with the stock and season with salt. Stir to combine.
6. Wash the turkey well and season the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey and truss with a needle and string. Rub the turkey generously with the softened butter and season the outside of the turkey with more salt and pepper.
7. Place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, cover tightly with foil, and roast in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. Baste well with butter periodically
8. Remove the foil in the last hour of cooking to allow the turkey to brown. When done, transfer the turkey to a platter and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
9. Remove the string and serve the turkey with the stuffing and a gravy made from the giblets.
10. Reprinted with permission from The New Texas Cuisine by Stephan Pyles. © 1993 Doubleday