Roast Turkey With Gravy Recipes

ROAST TURKEYS WITH RICH PAN GRAVY

Steps:

• The night before roasting, dissolve salt and sugar in 3 gallons of cold water in a large, clean ice chest or similar container in a cold spot, such as an unheated basement or garage. For those in warm climates, add ice packs to keep turkeys cool. Add turkeys, breast-side down; cover and let stand about 12 hours. (This brining keeps the turkey from drying out and seasons it right down to the bone.) Drain. Rinse turkeys and pat dry.
• About five hours before serving, set oven to 425 degrees and adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Place turkey No. 1 breast-side down and cut out the back with kitchen shears. Open up turkey and turn it breast-side up, pressing on it with your palms so it lies flat. Place turkey, skin-side up, on a lipped cookie sheet over a bed of half the chopped vegetables. Brush turkey with butter.
• Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 175 degrees, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Watch vegetables and pan drippings throughout - they should be kept dry enough to brown and produce the rich brown goo with which to brush Turkey No. 2 and make a rich gravy, but moist enough to keep from burning. So add water as needed throughout the cooking.
• Remove pan from oven and transfer turkey to a cutting board; reserve vegetables and pan juices for Turkey No. 2. Let the bird rest 30 minutes to 1 hour before carving, to allow the meat to firm up. Carve, transferring slices to an ovenproof serving platter or baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Refrigerate or set in a cool spot (below 40 degrees) until mealtime. Gently rewarm, covered, on platter or baking pan.
• Immediately after removing the first turkey, lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees and adjust oven rack to lowest position. Scrape vegetables and pan drippings from Turkey No. 1 into a roasting pan. Set a V-rack in the pan. Place remaining raw vegetables in the cavity of Turkey No. 2, then tie legs together with kitchen string for a nicer presentation. Set turkey, breast-side down, on rack. Brush with pan drippings from Turkey No. 1.
• Roast 1 hour. Remove from oven; baste back and sides with pan drippings. Using two wads of paper towels, carefully turn breast-side up and baste. Keep roasting until a thermometer inserted into the leg registers 175 degrees, 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer. Again, watch vegetables and drippings throughout and add water as needed. Transfer turkey to a platter for display (and then for seconds and leftovers).
• For gravy: Set roasting pan over 2 burners on medium-high heat. Add wine and, using a wooden spoon, stir to loosen brown bits. Strain contents of pan through a large strainer into a saucepan. Add broth and bring to a boil. Whisk cornstarch with 1/2 cup water (or 1/2 cup flour with 1 cup water), then gradually whisk into pan juices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened. Serve immediately.

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 TURKEY BREAST WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Rub the turkey all over with the butter, including the cavity of the breast. Season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter the vegetables on the bottom of a roasting pan just large enough to hold the turkey. Set the turkey breast-side up in the pan. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast registers 160 degrees F, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil for 30 minutes. (The breast temperature will continue to rise to 170 degrees F as it rests.)
• Pour any pan drippings into a fat separator or small bowl. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the fat; discard the rest or the fat. Add the pan juices to the broth. Add the reserved fat to the roasting pan and place on a burner over medium-high heat. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the broth and continue to stir. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Strain the gravy, discarding the vegetables, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Carve the breast and serve with the gravy.

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 TURKEY IN PARCHMENT WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Let turkey stand at room temperature 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees with rack in lower third. Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Fill body cavity with about 6 cups stuffing. Fill neck cavity; capacity varies, requires 11/2-4 cups stuffing. Bake any remaining stuffing separately. Secure skin flaps with toothpicks or skewers. Spread 6 tablespoons butter over top of turkey, then season generously with salt and pepper. Tie drumsticks together with kitchen twine. Tuck wings under turkey.
• Place a 40-inch sheet of parchment on a work surface and spread with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Place turkey on top, with a short side of bird facing you. Gather ends, wrapping turkey. Fold overlapping ends of parchment over turkey and secure with staples. Place a 48-inch sheet of parchment on work surface, place turkey on top, and rotate 90 degrees. Fold short parchment sides over turkey and secure with staples. Rotate bird another 90 degrees and repeat process with another 40-inch sheet of parchment. Secure all paper flaps with staples.
• Place turkey in parchment on a flat (not V-shaped) rack set inside a roasting pan. Roast turkey 2 hours, 45 minutes. Remove from oven; cut open parchment with scissors. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. While holding drumsticks, slide parchment out from under turkey and discard. Return turkey to oven. Continue to roast turkey until golden brown and a thermometer inserted in breast reads 165 degrees, about 45 minutes more. Transfer to a carving board and let rest at least 45 minutes and up to 1 hour before carving.
• Meanwhile, remove stuffing from both cavities; transfer to an 8-inch-square baking dish and bake until thermometer inserted in center of stuffing reads at least 165 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. Using drippings in pan, make turkey gravy.

SIMPLE ROAST TURKEY WITH RICH TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Make turkey:
• Put oven rack in lowest position and preheat oven to 450°F. Rinse turkey inside and out, then pat dry. Sprinkle turkey cavities and skin with salt and pepper. Fold neck skin under body and secure with metal skewers, then tie drumsticks together with kitchen string and tuck wings under body.
• Put turkey on rack in roasting pan. Add 1 cup water to pan and roast without basting, rotating pan halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of thighs (test both thighs; do not touch bones) registers 170°F, 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours.
• Carefully tilt turkey so any juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan, then transfer turkey to a platter, reserving juices in roasting pan. Let turkey stand, uncovered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F).
• Make gravy while turkey stands:
• Pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into measuring cup (do not clean roasting pan), then skim off and discard fat. (If using a fat separator, pour pan juices through sieve into separator and let stand until fat rises to top, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully pour pan juices from separator into measure, discarding fat.)
• Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add remaining cup water and deglaze roasting pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Pour through sieve into measuring cup containing pan juices. Add enough turkey stock to pan juices to bring total to 8 cups (if stock is congealed, heat to liquefy).
• Melt butter in a 4-quart heavy pot and stir in flour. Cook roux over moderate heat, whisking, 5 minutes. Add stock mixture in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Stir in any turkey juices accumulated on platter and simmer 5 minutes. Season gravy with salt and pepper, then stir in cider vinegar (to taste).

ROAST TURKEY WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and remove the other racks. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey. Discard the liver, set the others aside. Dry the turkey inside and out with paper towels. Season the breast cavity with salt and pepper. Slice the onions and halve the garlic head crosswise. Stuff all the garlic and half the onions inside the turkey along with some of the herbs and 1 bay leaf. Halve the carrots and celery lengthwise; put them in the center of roasting pan and set the turkey, breast side up, on top of the vegetables.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, and brush about half of it all over the bird, season the skin with salt and pepper. Tent turkey with aluminum foil and roast for 2 hours. Set aside about 3 tablespoons of the butter for basting the bird.
• Cook the rest of the onion, neck and giblets in the remaining butter in the saucepan, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until browned, about 15 minutes. Add the broth, remaining herbs, and bay leaf; cover and simmer over medium-low heat while the turkey roasts, about 2 hours. Discard the giblets if desired, or reserve for giblets gravy. After 2 hours, remove the foil from the turkey and use a pastry brush or bulb baster to baste turkey with the reserved butter and some of the pan drippings. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer stuck in the thigh registers between 170 and 180 degrees F, about 1 hour more. Transfer turkey to a cutting board and let rest 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
• For the Gravy: Pour all the turkey pan drippings into a liquid measuring cup and discard the vegetables. Ladle off 1/2 cup of the fat from the top of the drippings, and transfer to a saucepan. (Put measuring cup with remaining drippings and fat in the freezer for a few minutes to separate.) Heat fat over medium heat, scatter the flour evenly on top and cook, stirring constantly, with a wooden spoon until the flour browns slightly and smells toasty, about 4 minutes. Switch to a whisk; then gradually and carefully ladle the hot broth into the flour mixture while whisking constantly. Bring the gravy to a boil; adjust the heat so it simmers gently. Skim and discard any excess fat from the remaining drippings, and add the pan juices to the gravy. Continue to simmer, whisking occasionally, until the gravy is thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with the Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Remove and discard onion, garlic, herbs, and bay leaf from the turkey cavity. Pour any juices that have accumulated into the gravy, Carve the turkey.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a shallow 3-quart casserole.
• Cut or tear bread into bite-size pieces. Lay bread pieces in a single layer on 1 or 2 baking sheets. Bake until slightly dry and crisp, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool.
• Peel, core, and coarsely chop the apple. Coarsely chop the onion, celery, and apricots. Chop the parsley.
• Melt the 6 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apple, onion, celery, apricots, cranberries, thyme, salt, and fennel seeds; cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.
• Beat the egg in a large bowl. Add the toasted bread and the onion and fruit mixture; toss until evenly moistened. Loosely pack the dressing into the prepared pan. Bake, uncovered, until the top is crusty, about 40 minutes. Drizzle the pan drippings or melted butter over the top. Cook until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more.

THE BEST SIMPLE ROAST TURKEY WITH GRAVY RECIPE

Steps:

• While turkey is roasting, chop reserved turkey neck into 1-inch chunks with a cleaver. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add turkey neck, onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 10 minutes total. Add stock, bay leaves, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer. You should have a little over 1 quart of fortified stock; if not, add water or more chicken stock to equal 1 quart. Discard solids and set stock aside.
• Finely chop turkey gizzard and liver (if desired). Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped giblets and cook, stirring frequently, until just cooked through, about 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Whisking constantly, add fortified broth in a thin, steady stream. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until thickened and reduced to about 3 cups. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Carve turkey and serve with gravy.

ROAST TURKEY WITH SIMPLE GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Salt and pepper the turkey and the cavity.
• Fill the cavity with carrots, celery, appple, orange and garlic; tie the legs with kitchen twine.
• In a large roasting pan, spread the ingredients for "under the bird" in a stack about the same size as the turkey.
• Place the turkey onto of the bed of vegetables and herbs.
• Put butter on turkey.
• Place the turkey in the oven and roast 45 minutes.
• Pour half the chicken stock over the turkey; roast 45 more minutes.
• Pour remaining stock over turkey and roast 45 more minutes. It will start getting golden brown.
• Baste with pan juices, cover loosely with foil and roast an additional 45 minutes.
• When the turkey has reached an internal temperature of 165 to 175 degrees, remove from oven, keep covered, and let rest at least 15 minutes before carving.
• Strain the contents of the roasting pan into a bowl, keeping the solids in the strainer to use for the gravy. Remove the herbs and bay leaves.
• Measure out 3 cups of pan juices and 1 cup of strained vegetables. Puree with a hand blender or in a standard blender. Add more vegetables until gravy is the desired thickness, or more juices if too thick.
• Pour through a mesh striner again to make a smooth gravy.
• Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat and serve with the sliced turkey.
• I suggest that you make more than the 4 cups of gravy if you have enough juice and vegetables in your pan. It will be great on leftovers or to store in your freezer.

ROAST TURKEY BREAST WITH ROSEMARY GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Arrange apples and leeks in a roasting pan; add 1 cup broth. Place turkey breast over apple mixture. In a small bowl, combine oil and 1-1/2 teaspoons rosemary. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from the turkey breast; rub rosemary mixture under the skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks., Bake, uncovered, 1-3/4 to 2-1/4 hours or until a thermometer reads 170°, basting every 30 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly. Remove turkey from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 15 minutes before carving, reserving 1/4 cup pan juices. Discard apples and leeks., In a small saucepan, melt butter; add flour and remaining rosemary until blended, stirring constantly. Gradually add pan juices and remaining broth to saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Serve with turkey.

SIMPLE BUT PERFECT ROASTED TURKEY WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degrees C) with the rack in the lowest position. (if you have not brined your turkey you will need to remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels).
• Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan. Stuff the cavity loosely, allowing about 1/2 to 3/4 cup stuffing per pound of turkey.
• Combine butter, salt and pepper and rub mixture over the top of the turkey, lifting the skin on the breast slightly to push some of the butter under the skin.
• Place the pan in the oven and pour 3 cups of the chicken broth into the bottom of the roasting pan.
• Cover loosely with a foil tent.
• Baste the turkey about every 30 minutes. After about 2-1/2 - 3 hours of roasting (2-1/2 hours for smaller birds, 3 hours for larger ones), remove the foil tent to brown the skin. Once the foil tent is removed, do not baste to allow the skin to become crispy and evenly brown. If the drippings evaporate at any time, add more chicken broth to the bottom of the pan, about 1 to 2 cups at a time.
• Roast until the thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), A 10 - 18 lb turkey will take between 4 - 5 hours to get to temperature, a little less if you have brined your turkey.
• Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
• Make gravy while turkey stands: Strain juices from the bottom of the roasting pan through a fine strainer.
• Melt butter in a heavy pot and stir in flour.
• Add stock mixture in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Simmer 5 minutes. Season gravy with salt and additional pepper to taste.

ROAST TURKEY BREAST AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse turkey breast; pat dry. Rub breast with salt and pepper.
• Strew roasting pan with onions, carrots, and celery; set turkey over vegetables. Roast until breast is cooked through, about 1 1/2 hours; interior temperature should be about 170 degrees.
• Cut breast in half; transfer one half to a cutting board, tent with foil to warm, and set aside. Reserve other half for later use.
• Place roasting pan over two medium-hot burners on range. Sprinkle cooked vegetables and drippings with flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until flour forms a golden-brown film over bottom of roasting pan and vegetables are completely coated with film and turkey drippings, 2 to 3 minutes. Do not let pan get too hot, or drippings will burn.
• Pour Madeira slowly into pan, and cook, scraping up film from pan with a wooden spoon until a thin paste forms, about 1 minute. Slowly add stock, stirring, until paste thins to a thick liquid. Continue adding stock, stirring, until gravy is desired consistency. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a splash more Madeira, if desired. Strain gravy, pressing down on solids with a rubber spatula to extract juices and flavor. Discard solids; transfer gravy to the top of a double boiler to keep warm, or let cool and refrigerate.

ROAST TURKEY WITH CREAM GRAVY

Steps:

• Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Put turkey on rack in roasting pan and season inside and out with 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper. Fold neck skin under body, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with string. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lower third.
• Add 1 cup water to pan and roast, without basting, rotating pan halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (test both; do not touch bone) registers 165 to 170°F, 1 3/4 to 2 hours total.
• Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into pan. Transfer turkey to a platter (reserve juices in roasting pan) and let rest, uncovered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 170 to 175°F). Discard string.
• Make gravy while turkey rests:
• Strain pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into 2-quart measure and skim off fat (or use a fat separator), reserving fat. Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add remaining 1 1/2 cups water and deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Strain through sieve into measuring cup containing pan juices. Add enough turkey giblet stock to pan juices to bring total to 5 cups.
• Put 5 tablespoons reserved fat (if there is less, add melted butter) in a 4-quart heavy saucepan and whisk in flour. Cook roux over medium heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Add stock mixture in a fast stream, whisking constantly, then add cream, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring to a boil, whisking, then stir in any turkey juices from platter and simmer 5 minutes.
• Serve turkey with gravy.
• What to drink:
• Lagier Meredith Mount Veeder Napa Valley Syrah '06