The Star of The Show - The Turkey ....and some gravy too

The first time I made a turkey was 5 years ago. I was so nervous about making a whole turkey because I never made one before and last thing I wanted to do was screw it up. But its really not as hard as I feared it would be. I followed some advice from my mom, plus looked at a few recipes and managed to come up with a pretty decent turkey each year.

My Turkey


Ingredients
1 turkey (I generally get an 18-20 pound turkey to feed 17 people)
2 - 32 oz containers of chicken broth
1-2 sticks of butter melted (if your turkey is under 14 pounds, 1 stick should do) The following seasonings & herbs: Accent, salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, poultry seasoning, ground sage
For Brining (optional but I recommend it for great flavor): Gallon of water & 1 cup kosher salt
Optional "Aromatics": fresh sprigs of rosemary, chopped onions, carrots, apple slices, celery sticks, cinnamon sticks & fresh sage leaves

First off, if you buy a frozen turkey, be sure to a lot enough time for it to fully thaw - if you're planning to brine the turkey, you'll need it thawed 24 hours before Thanksgiving. I generally take my 18-20 pounder out Sunday morning, leave it on the counter until bedtime, then put it in the fridge until the following morning - again taking it out Monday morning and sticking it back in the fridge Monday night - and again the same thing on Tuesday. By Tuesday night it should be completely thawed. Make sure to place a roasting pan beneath it or you'll end up with a mess on your counter and floor as it thaws out.

If your bringing it, Wednesday afternoon or evening, remove the turkey from its packaging. If your not planning to brine, you can do this Thursday morning instead. Remove neckbones & giblets packet (if your planning to make homemade gravy, keep refrigerated until ready to use) and the plastic or metal piece holding down the drumsticks. Wash turkey inside and out under cold water.

Brining Process: You'll need a very large bowl to do this - if you can't find a large enough bowl, one of those Rubbermaid Plastic Sink Basins will work. Start by making a salt water solution out of 1 gallon of water and 1 cup of kosher salt. Place turkey in bowl, pour solution over turkey. Soak overnight in the fridge.

Early Thanksgiving morning, take the turkey out of the fridge, spill out the brine and allow the turkey to get to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400F. Place turkey in roasting pan. Bend wings behind turkey. Tie drumsticks together with butcher's twine. Mix melted butter with 2 cups of the chicken broth. Pour over turkey and pour some inside of turkey cavity. Season with Accent, salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, poultry seasoning, & ground sage. Be sure to sprinkle inside the turkey cavity.

If you are choosing to stuff the turkey with aromatics, place them inside of the turkey at this point. I've only done this my first year making the turkey, these aromatics add a wonderful aroma, and you can reuse them in homemade gravy.

Pour additional chicken broth in the bottom of the roasting pan (make sure the broth reaches about 3/4 of an inch high - you may need to add more later to insure the turkey doesn't dry out while roasting.

Place turkey in oven. Bake for 1/2 hour. Baste turkey. Reduce heat to 325F. For a 14 pound turkey, it should take about 3 - 3 1/2 hours to cook, for a 18 pound turkey it will take about 4 1/2 hours, when the turkey registers 165F on a meat thermometer, take it out of the oven. The turkey temperature will continue to rise to 180F. Make sure to baste the turkey every half hour to prevent it from drying out, when the pan drippings evaporate, add more brother to the pan.

Before carving, be sure to remove aromatics, set them aside in a container if your planning to reuse them for gravy. And make sure to allow turkey to cool for a half hour before carving.

The Gravy: Version 1
Ingredients:
2 cups chicken broth
turkey giblets & neck bone
carrots, onions & celery from turkey aromatics - chop them up very finely or use 2 raw carrots, 1 rib of celery & 2 large shallots, all chopped finely
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 cups cold water
1/4 cup turkey drippings
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granulates
pepper to taste Directions:
Pace giblets, neck bone, broth, & vegetables in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 1/4 hours. Strain and discard giblets, neck bone and veggies; set aside cooking juices. In another lage saucepan, combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir in the drippings and bouillon until smooth. Gradually stir in the reserved cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Season with pepper. Yield: 4 cups.

The gravy recipe above, I only used my very first year cooking a turkey, it took much too long to prepare. Instead I come up with my own recipe, which is quicker and very tasty.

My Gravy
Ingredients
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 cups of pan drippings or chicken broth (or combo of both)
salt & pepper to taste
1 stick of butter
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder or dried onion flakes
1/4 teaspoon celery seed (optional)
Melt butter in a 2 quart saucepan. Add flour and mix until thick. Gradually add pan drippings or broth whisking the mixture the entire time. Once all the liquid is added, season with salt, pepper, onion powder/or dried onion flakes & celery seed. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce head to medium-low, and simmer stirring often until thickened.