Traditional Roasted Turkey and Gravy
Roasting turkey with the breast side down produces wonderfully moist breast meat, and the wine in the basting liquid and stock adds a deep flavor to the gravy. If you are making a large turkey (over 20 pounds), double the quantities for the rest of the ingredients and proceed normally.
Yield 8 servings
Ingredients
1 whole turkey, 12-14 pounds (½ pound per person)
1 750ml bottle of dry white wine
2 sticks butter
½ cup flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, halved, washed but not peeled
2 stalks celery
2 carrots, trimmed
1 clove garlic
Giblets from turkey
½ teaspoon sage
½ teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
| 1 | Preheat oven to 450°F. |
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| 2 | Prepare basting liquid: Pour 1 cup of wine into small saucepan and add 1 stick of butter. Heat until butter has melted. |
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| 3 | Place buttered rack in roasting pan,then brush all over with basting liquid. Position turkey breast-side down on rack. Pour 1 cup water into pan. Place roasting pan in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 325°F. Roast 15 minutes for each pound of turkey (10-12 minutes per pound for turkeys over 16 pounds). Baste every 20 minutes or so. One hour prior to expected finish time, remove pan from oven and carefully turn turkey breast side up. Return to oven and roast until thigh juices run clear when pierced with a fork. |
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| 4 | Meanwhile, make stock and roux. For roux, place flour in bowl and whisk in 1 to 1½ cups water. Mixture may be slightly lumpy, but by making ahead and whisking often throughout the day, the roux will be very smooth when needed for gravy. |
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| 5 | For stock, heat oil in large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and brown cut edges (the browning of the onion and using the peels in the stock will add color to your gravy). Add remaining wine, butter, vegetables, giblets, herbs and salt. Fill the wine bottle with water and add the water to pot. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer until turkey is done. Cover pot, but angle lid so that some steam can escape, allowing stock to somewhat reduce. Just before turkey is done, set colander in large bowl and strain stock into bowl. Rinse any large particles from pot then return stock to pot and heat to boiling. If giblet gravy is desired, chop heart and gizzard and add to stock. |
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| 6 | When turkey is done, remove from oven and transfer to platter, covering loosely with foil to keep warm. Add pan juices to stock, degreasing if necessary. |
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| 7 | Add roux to gravy, a little bit at a time, whisking constantly, until desired consistency. Add soy sauce and season with freshly ground pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. |
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notes
Wines that goes with roast turkey are pinot noir, shiraz, dry chenin blanc, and rose.
