Roasted And Braised Turkey With Cognac Gravy Recipes

ROASTED TURKEY WITH BLACK-TRUFFLE BUTTER AND COGNAC GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. In a medium bowl, combine the truffle butter, shallots, salt, and pepper, mixing with a wooden spoon until smooth. Separate the turkey skin from breast by sliding your hand beneath the skin. Do your best to separate some of the skin around the thigh as well. Smear most of the truffle butter mixture under the skin, onto the meat. Smear remaining butter mixture onto the outside of the bird. Use your hands to massage the bird to even out the butter mixture under the skin.
• Place garlic in the cavity and tie the legs together using kitchen twine. In a large roasting pan, scatter the celery and onions. Place a roasting rack on top of the vegetables, and set the turkey on the rack. Pour 1 1/2 cups broth into the pan. Place in the center of the oven and roast until starting to brown, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and continue to roast, basting hourly, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add 1/4 cup of broth if the pan looks too dry. You don't want the drippings to burn, but you do want them to brown, so add broth accordingly. Tent with foil if turkey is browning too quickly.
• While the turkey is roasting, start the gravy. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add the turkey neck, giblets, and heart (if using) and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add celery, carrots, and onion and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add peppercorns, bay leaf, parsley stems, thyme, and 6 cups water and bring to a simmer. Cook 2 hours. Strain stock into a smaller saucepan and set aside. You should have about 1 3/4 cups. Shred some of the neck meat and set aside.
• When turkey is done, carefully remove it from the roasting pan, still on the rack, to a sheet pan. Cover loosely with foil and let rest in a warm place. Pour off or blot the excess fat and discard. Set the roasting pan over 2 burners on the stove. Pour in the cognac (from a cup, not the bottle) into the roasting pan, and turn the burners on to medium heat. Carefully ignite the cognac using a long lighter or match. When the flames die down, use a wooden spoon to scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Strain the contents of the roasting pan into the saucepan with the turkey stock. Simmer to reduce slightly. Add the turkey neck meat.
• Knead the butter and flour together using a spoon or your fingers. Bring the stock mixture to a boil, then add the butter mixture by tablespoonfuls to the stock until the desired thickness is reached. Allow the gravy to simmer for a minute before adding additional butter mixture and continue to simmer until reduced to desired consistency. Season to taste and serve in a warm gravy boat alongside the turkey.

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 WITH HERB GRAVY

Steps:

• The day before cooking, sprinkle the turkey very generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate.
• Remove turkey from refrigerator at least 1 hour prior to cooking to allow it to come to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Rub the skin of the bird with butter. Stuff the carrot, celery, onion and thyme bunch inside the cavity. Arrange the turkey on a roasting rack set into a roasting pan. Add the chicken stock to the pan. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 160 degrees F, about 4 hours.
• Remove the turkey to a cutting board, tent lightly with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
• Meanwhile, set the roasting pan over medium-heat high, add the flour and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, then stir in the sage and 3 tablespoons thyme. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer to a gravy boat to serve with the turkey.

HERB ROASTED AND BRAISED TURKEY

Steps:

• For the turkey: Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting.
• Combine the butter, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme and in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Sprinkle the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper and fill the cavity with half the carrots, celery and onions. Rub the entire turkey with the herb butter and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Put 4 cups of the chicken stock in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
• Place the remaining vegetables on the bottom of a large roasting pan. Put the turkey on top of the vegetables, put in the oven and roast until lightly golden brown, about 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue roasting, basting with the warm chicken stock every 15 minutes, 2 to 2 hours 15 minutes hours longer. (An instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh should register 160 degrees F.)
• Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer to baking sheet, tent loosely with foil and let rest 30 minutes before slicing. Remove the legs for braising. Strain the drippings into a bowl and discard the solids. Add enough stock to make 4 cups liquid.
• Bring the liquid to a simmer, transfer to a roasting pan, add the legs, cover with foil and braise until tender in a 350 F degree oven about 1 hour.
• For the gravy: Melt the butter in a medium pan over high heat. Add the roasted garlic and cook for a minute. Whisk in the flour and cook until lightly golden brown. Slowly whisk the drippings into the flour mixture, bring to a boil and whisk until the mixture begins to thicken and the flour taste has been cooked out, about 5 minutes. Add a splash of the white wine if desired and cook for 1 minute longer. Fold in fresh herbs if desired and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.