Roast Heritage Turkey And Gravy Recipes

ROAST HERITAGE TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• A day ahead of roasting, remove neck and giblets from turkey. Mix cider, salt, lemons, bay leaves and 3 quarts water together in a large bowl or stockpot; stir to dissolve salt. Submerge turkey in the bowl or pot, cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours. Alternatively, put turkey and brine in two clean, unscented plastic garbage bags (one bag inside the other), tie well and place in a cooler with ice or ice packs.
• When you are ready to roast, heat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse turkey and pat dry. Stuff apple, onion, garlic and most of the thyme into turkey. Lift skin at neck and gently use your hand to separate skin from breast meat. Rub half the butter under skin and slip in remaining thyme and two rosemary sprigs. Use remaining butter to rub outside of bird, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Set a rack into a roasting pan and place four rosemary sprigs on top of the rack. Place bird on top of rosemary. Add turkey neck and giblets to bottom of pan. Take two pieces of heavy foil cut to the length of the pan. Fold the two together to create a single sheet to tent the bird.
• Transfer to oven and roast. Roasting time will be 3 to 3 1/2 hours for an 18-pound bird. Add 10 minutes per pound for larger birds. Subtract 10 minutes per pound for smaller birds. Midway through cooking time, remove giblets and neck and add wine and 1 cup water. Twenty minutes before roasting time is complete, begin to test for doneness with a digital probe thermometer inserted at the deepest part of the thigh. It is done when thigh registers 160 degrees. Remove bird from oven and transfer to a serving platter.
• Place roasting pan over low heat on the stovetop and add 2 1/2 cups stock. Scrape all the browned turkey bits from bottom of pan. Skim 2/3 of the fat from top of drippings and discard. Bring drippings to a boil; reduce to a simmer. You may wish to strain at this point to remove stray bits, but they add character to the finished gravy.
• Finely chop giblets and neck meat. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup stock. Add slurry to drippings, stirring constantly, until thickened. If gravy seems too thick, whisk in a bit more stock. Add chopped egg and giblets and neck meat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

ROASTED HERITAGE TURKEY

Steps:

• Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Transfer to a large roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack, and place breast side up. Bring to room temperature, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees, with rack in lowest position. Tuck wings under turkey. Gently separate skin from breast, and rub butter under the skin on each side. Season outside of turkey generously with salt and pepper. Fill cavity with herb sprigs, bay leaves, apple cores, and onion; tie legs together with kitchen twine. Scatter apples and celery around rack. Place neck and giblets in pan. Add water to pan.
• Roast turkey for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Baste with pan juices, and tent with foil. Roast, rotating pan, adding more water if pan is dry, and basting halfway through, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reaches 160 degrees, about 2 1/2 hours more. Let turkey stand for 30 minutes before transferring to a platter and carving. Reserve pan with contents if making gravy.

CHEF JOHN'S ROAST TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Mix 2 tablespoons salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper, and poultry seasoning in a small bowl. Tuck turkey wings under the bird, and season cavity with about 1 tablespoon of the poultry seasoning mixture. Reserve remaining poultry seasoning mix.
• Toss the onion, celery, and carrots together in a bowl. Stuff about 1/2 cup of the vegetable mixture, rosemary sprigs, and 1/2 bunch sage into the cavity of the turkey. Tie legs together with kitchen string. Loosen the skin on top of the turkey breast using fingers or a small spatula. Place about 2 tablespoons butter under the skin and spread evenly. Spread the remaining butter (about 2 tablespoons) all over the outside of the skin. Sprinkle the outside of the turkey with the remaining poultry seasoning mix.
• Spread the remaining onion, celery, and carrots into a large roasting pan. Place the turkey on top of the vegetables. Fill the pan with about 1/2 inch of water. Arrange a sheet of aluminum foil over the breast of the turkey.
• Roast the turkey in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 3 1/2 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 165 degrees F (75 degrees C). Remove the foil during the last hour of cooking. Baste the turkey with the pan juices.
• While the turkey is roasting, make stock: place neck, heart, and gizzards in a saucepan with the bay leaf and water. Simmer over medium heat for 2 hours. Strain the turkey giblets from the stock, and discard giblets. There should be at least 4 cups of stock.
• Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Pour the pan juices, about 3 cups, into a saucepan and set aside. Skim off the turkey fat from the pan juices, reserving about 2 tablespoons.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the turkey fat and 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Transfer the onion from the roasting pan into the skillet. Cook and stir until the onion is browned, about 5 minutes, then stir in the flour. Continue to cook and stir for about 5 minutes more; whisk in 4 cups of the skimmed turkey stock and the reserved pan juices until smooth; skim off any foam. Stir in the balsamic vinegar. Simmer until the gravy is thickened, whisking constantly, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of chopped sage, and season to taste with salt and black pepper.

ROAST HERITAGE TURKEY WITH BACON-HERB AND CIDER GRAVY

Steps:

• For bacon, dijon, and herb butter:
• Blend all ingredients in processor until bacon is finely chopped. Transfer to sheet of plastic wrap. Using plastic wrap as aid, roll butter mixture into 2-inch-diameter log; chill until firm. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• For cider gravy base:
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine turkey neck, 1/4 cup turkey fat, and turkey leg in heavy large ovenproof pot. Place in oven; roast uncovered until turkey parts are deep, dark brown, turning once, about 1 1/2 hours. Drain, reserving fat from pot. Reserve 1/4 cup fat for gravy; return 1 tablespoon fat to pot. Return turkey parts to pot; stir in celery, onions, thyme sprigs, and peppercorns. Return pot to oven; roast uncovered 10 minutes. Add apple cider and vinegar; roast 10 minutes longer. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Add 8 cups stock and sage to pot; cook in oven uncovered 1 1/2 hours. Strain gravy base through fine strainer; discard solids in strainer (there will be about 5 cups gravy base). DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.
• For turkey:
• Cut bacon butter into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry. Starting at neck end, carefully slide hand between skin and breast meat, then slide hand between skin and thigh meat. Carefully slide butter slices between skin and leg, thigh, and breast meat to cover (there will be a generous amount of butter mixture). Sprinkle 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1 teaspoon pepper over turkey, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in main cavity of turkey. Place turkey on rimmed baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap or foil; chill at least 1 day. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• Set rack at lowest position in oven; preheat to 350°F. Mix onions, celery, fennel, carrots, apples, oil, and bay leaves in large roasting pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place turkey atop vegetable mixture. Tuck wings under; tie legs together loosely to hold shape. Place turkey in oven; roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170°F, basting with pan drippings every 30 minutes and tenting loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 4 hours total. Transfer turkey to platter (internal temperature of turkey will increase 5 to 10 degrees).
• Pour vegetable mixture and pan drippings into large strainer set over large bowl; press on solids to extract liquid. Discard solids in strainer. Spoon off fat from pan drippings; discard (there will be a large amount of fat in pan drippings). Reserve degreased pan drippings for gravy (about 1 cup). Remove fat from surface of gravy base; reserve 1/4 cup fat. Rewarm cider gravy base.
• Melt reserved 1/4 cup fat in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; stir 3 minutes. Gradually add warm cider gravy base and degreased pan drippings. Simmer until smooth, thickened, and reduced to 51/2 cups, whisking frequently, about 5 minutes. Season gravy with salt and pepper.
• Serve turkey with gravy.

HERB-ROASTED HERITAGE TURKEY

Steps:

• Turkey:Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with rack on bottom. Mash together butter, grated zests, minced sage and thyme, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pat turkey dry. Loosen skin of breast and thighs; rub herb mixture under skin. Season inside cavity and outside with salt.
• Fill cavity and neck end lightly with stuffing. Transfer remaining stuffing to a 1-quart baking dish; cover with parchment-lined foil. Tie legs and tuck wing tips under. Transfer to a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Bring wine, orange juice, orange-zest strips, whole sage and thyme sprigs, and 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Dampen a piece of cheesecloth with wine mixture; drape over turkey. Pour remaining liquid into roasting pan.
• Roast turkey 30 minutes; baste with pan juices. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and roast 30 minutes more. Remove cheesecloth; baste. Continue roasting, basting bird and rotating pan every 30 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh (avoiding bone) registers 150 degrees to 155 degrees (for a conventional turkey, 165 degrees), about 1 hour, 30 minutes more, adding water to pan as needed to prevent scorching (if bird is browning too quickly, tent with foil). Transfer turkey to a platter; let stand 45 minutes. Reserve pan with drippings for gravy.
• Meanwhile, bake remaining stuffing 25 minutes. Uncover; bake until heated through and crunchy on top, about 20 minutes more. Carve turkey and serve, topped with more sage and thyme sprigs.
• Gravy:While turkey is resting, pour pan drippings into a fat separator; let stand until fat rises to surface. (Or use a large glass measuring cup and skim fat from top with a spoon.)
• Bring 1 1/2 cups stock to a boil in roasting pan over two burners, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Whisk together remaining 1 cup stock and flour; stir into pan. Boil until thickened and reduced, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in defatted pan juices; cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot, in a gravy boat.

OLD-FASHIONED ROASTED TURKEY WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Remove giblets and neck from turkey, and chill for gravy. Rinse turkey with cold water; pat dry with paper towels.
• Combine 1 teaspoons each mixed-up salt, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, sage, and pepper; sprinkle cavity and outside of turkey with mixture.
• Place turkey, breast side up, in a large roasting pan, tucking wingtips under. Pour 2 cans chicken broth into roasting pan; drizzle melted butter over turkey.
• Bake, uncovered at 450°F for 1 hour. reduce heat to 425°F, shield with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted in thigh registers 180F, basting every 45 minutes with pan drippings.
• Bring remaining 3 cans broth, neck, giblets, carrots, and next 3 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Remove turkey to a serving platter, reserving drippings in roasting pan. Skim excess fat from drippings in pan, if desired.
• Pour giblet mixture through a wire-mesh strainer into drippings in roasting pan, discarding solids. Bring to a boil in roasting pan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to loosen browned bits on bottom of pan.
• Stir together flour and 1/2 cup water until smooth; add to giblet mixture, and over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 10 minutes or until thickened. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoons each of mixed-up salt, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning. Serve with turkey. Garnish if desired.