Roast Turkey With Best-Ever Gravy

 

by Roger Kimpton
August 22, 2009

 

Between his work with the nation’s largest poultry purveyor and Thanksgiving-dinner classes, Rick Rodgers has experimented with every conceivable cooking method from breast down to deep frying and this is the one he always comes back to. The secret to a plump juicy breast is protecting it with aluminum foil. This long, slow roast is especially useful with the leaner organic and heritage turkeys which are gaining popularity today.

 

Instructions here are for an 18-pound turkey, but the instructions can be expanded or reduced depending on the size of your bird.

18-pound fresh turkey
About 12 cups of your favorite stuffing
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 quarts homemade turkey stock (see recipe)
Melted unsalted butter, if needed
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup bourbon, port or dry sherry (optional)

 

1. Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

2. Reserve the turkey neck and giblets to use in gravy or stock. Pull out the pad of yellow fat on either side of the tail and reserve. (These are sometimes already removed by the processor, so don’t worry if they aren’t present.) If you wish, rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water. Pat the skin dry. Turn the turkey on its breast. Loosely fill the neck cavity with stuffing. Using a thin wooden or metal skewer, pin the turkey’s neck skin to the back. Fold the turkey’s wings akimbo behind the back (the tips will rest behind the turkey’s “shoulders”) or tie them to the body with kitchen string. Loosely fill the large body cavity with stuffing. Loosely cover the exposed stuffing with a piece of foil. Place any remaining stuffing in a lightly buttered casserole, cover, and refrigerate to prepare as a side dish. Place the drumsticks in the hook lock (if there is one on the turkey) or tie them together with kitchen string.

3. Rub the turkey all over with the softened butter. Season with salt and pepper. Tightly cover the turkey breast area with aluminum foil. Place the turkey breast-side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Place the reserved fat in the pan — it will melt during roasting and add to the drippings. Pour two cups of the turkey stock into the bottom of the pan.

4. Roast turkey, basting all over every 45 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan (lift up the foil to reach the breast area), until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh (but not touching the bone) reads 180 degrees and the stuffing is at least 160 degrees, about 4 1/2 hours. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add broth to moisten them, about 1 1/2 cups at a time. Remove the foil the last hour to allow the skin to brown.

5. Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter and let it stand for at least 20 minutes before carving. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Drizzle 1/2 cup turkey stock over the stuffing in the casserole, cover, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a heatproof glass bowl, measuring cup, or fat separator. Let stand for 5 minutes; then skim off and reserve the clear yellow fat that rises to the top (for a separator, pour off the drippings and reserve both drippings and fat). Measure 3/4 cup fat, adding melted butter if needed. Add enough turkey broth to make 8 cups total.

7. Place the roasting pan over two stove burners on low heat and add the turkey fat and the reserved drippings. Whisk in the flour, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the optional bourbon, port, or sherry. Simmer 2 minutes, or until the alcohol evaporates. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the gravy to a warmed gravy boat, straining the gravy, if desired, through a wire sieve. Carve the turkey and serve the gravy alongside.

 

Yield: Makes about 18 servings, with about 7 cups gravy.

Source: Grandparents

 

Editor’s Note: Roger Kimpton is a freelance journalist based in New York City. Previously, he worked for more than two decades in the film industry as a grip, and on television shows such as Law & Order and Law & Order Special Victims Unit.

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