Thanksgiving in January. There's nothing wrong with that. I'll eat turkey dinner any day! I might be a few months late, but I finally got around to cooking the holiday feast I'd been dreaming about. Not that our Thanksgiving with my family wasn't spectacular- it was! I just wanted to repeat it on my own! Except, admittedly, I went a little bit gourmet. Herb-rubbed roasted turkey, balsamic jeweled potatoes, sausage, apple, and cranberry stuffing, and a butterscotch pear pie. I'm already longing for it next year!
Gourmet doesn't necessarily mean complicated. And in this case, it really couldn't be simpler. This turkey only takes a few minutes to prepare. You stuff the cavity full of earthy aromatics and rub fresh chopped herbs over and under the skin to infuse during roasting. Before and during cooking you drench the skin in melted butter. This, in combination with a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and black pepper, results an irresistibly crisp skin and unbelievably moist meat.
Then there's the gravy. I didn't think I could do it. Gravy scared me silly. So much so that I almost didn't even try. But what is turkey and potatoes without gravy? So at the last minute I decided to attempt something simple. I knew our bird (being so small) wouldn't produce an excessive amount of drippings. But I did have frozen turkey stock (left from our real Thanksgiving). So I made a roux with equal parts butter and flour (classic thickening method), stirred in the drippings and stock, brought it to a boil, and cooked it "till thick. It worked! It was wonderful! (Full of flavor- highlighted by the fresh herbs that collected in the juices.) And so easy. I'm no longer afraid of gravy. Phew!
Really, you don't have to wait until the end of November to make such a meal. You could buy a bone-in turkey breast instead of a whole bird. In that case, you can skip stuffing the cavity (since there won't be one). Remember to save the bones and carcass of your devoured bird to make rich turkey broth when you're done. Homemade broth/stock can be frozen for months and defrosted when the need arises. It is worth it's weight in gold.
INGREDIENTS
10 lb. turkey
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, quartered
1 head garlic, halved
several sprigs of fresh herbs (I used parsley, rosemary, thyme, and sage)
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
1 Tbsp. each fresh parsley, rosemary, thyme, and sage, chopped
Turkey Gravy:
turkey drippings (from above 10 lb. roasted turkey)
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2-3 cups turkey stock/broth
salt and pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Adjust rack to lowest position in oven. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Remove turkey parts from cavities and pat the bird dry with a paper towel. Stuff the cavity with the onion, head of garlic, sprigs of herbs, and bay leaves. In a small bowl, combine the chopped fresh herbs. Rub the herbs all over the surface of the turkey, making sure to rub underneath the skin on the breast. Place the turkey breast side up on a roasting rack and brush with half of the melted butter. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Tent with foil and roast in the preheated oven for 2 hours. Remove the foil and baste with the remaining butter. Raise oven temperature to 425 F and continue roasting until the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 F in the thigh (about 45-60 minutes more). Re-cover with foil if it is browning too fast. When done, remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.
5. To make the gravy, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly to form a roux. After about 1 minute, pour in the drippings from the turkey as well as the turkey stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5-10 minutes, until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more or less stock according to desired taste and consistency (and amount of drippings you had).
Serves 4-6.
(Adapted from Food Network)
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