About
While it's good to be thankful year-round, there's nothing quite like the gratitude you experience when your table is surrounded by the ones you love most and it's overflowing with all of your favorite family recipes. It's quite a precious moment. To keep with the thought of tradition and heirloom, your main course needs to come from a special place, too. What could be better than The Original Thanksgiving Turkey? It's juicy, flavorful, tender, and fairly simple to make. It even allows you to indulge in a savory, smooth gravy alongside its traditional goodness. Your heart will flutter as you cut into this tasty turkey, and you create a picture-perfect thankful occasion that you will cherish for years and years. You'll be so grateful for The Original Thanksgiving Turkey, for more reasons than one!
Ingredients
- For the turkey:
- 1 (12-15-pound) turkey, thawed
- kosher salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 medium carrot, cut into 3 pieces
- 2 stalks celery, cut into large pieces
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 1 sprig plus 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 sprig plus 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1 sprig plus 1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more to taste
- For the gravy:
- 2-3 cups turkey or chicken stock
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- kosher salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Step 1 -Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 -Place a rack in a large roasting pan.
Step 3 -Pat the thawed turkey dry with paper towels.
Step 4 -Discard the innards of the turkey.
Step 5 -Place the turkey on the rack in the roasting pan and lightly sprinkle with the salt and the pepper to taste.
Step 6 -Rub the inside of the cavity in the turkey with more of the salt and add the carrot, the celery, the onion, 1 sprig of the rosemary, 1 sprig of the thyme, and 1 sprig of the sage.
Step 7 -Tuck the wings under the bird and tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine.
Step 8 -In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
Step 9 -Add the remaining rosemary, the remaining thyme, and the remaining sage to the melted butter and bring to a simmer.
Step 10 -Brush the turkey with the butter and herb mixture.
Step 11 -Place the herb-coated turkey in the oven and roast, about 1 hour 45 minutes.
Step 12 -Carefully place a foil tent over the turkey and continue roasting, basking every 20-30 minutes, until an instant thermometer inserted in the breast meat registers 156-160 degrees F and about 170 degrees F in the thickest part of the thigh, ensuring not to touch bone, about 1 hour-1 hour 30 minutes.
Step 13 -Transfer the turkey to a platter and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
Step 14 -While the turkey rests, pour the pan turkey drippings into a gravy separator and let stand until the fat rises to the top, about 2 minutes.
Step 15 -In a cup or a bowl, pour the defatted broth.
Step 16 -Set the defatted broth aside and measure 1/2 cup of the fat. If there isn't 1/2 cup of fat, add butter to make 1/2 cup.
Step 17 -Pour the fat into a saucepan and heat it over medium-low heat.
Step 18 -Add the flour to the hot fat and cook until it becomes a roux, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes.
Step 19 -Whisk in the reserved defatted broth along with 2 cups of the chicken stock.
Step 20 -Continue cooking the roux, constantly whisking, until the gravy is thickened. Add more stock to thin the gravy as desired.
Step 21 -Taste the gravy and season with the salt and the pepper as needed.
Step 22 -Strain the gravy, if desired.
Step 23 -Pour the gravy into a gravy boat or serving bowl.
Step 24 -Serve the turkey with the gravy.
