Roast Turkey Secrets

     

    
This is the first Thanksgiving in many years that I will not cook Thanksgiving dinner and that makes me sad.  I love to cook on all the holidays and have recipes and menus for each.  My Thanksgiving menu is traditional with Roast Turkey, Gravy, Sausage and Apple Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans with Slivered Almonds, and Cranberry Sauce.  Although, I am more than happy to share the table with guests who bring their own favorites including oyster stuffing, sweet potatoes (with marshmellows), braised pearl onions, etc.  I love to entertain, strengthening bonds over the giving and sharing of a meal, and holidays can be the pinnacle of that experience.  While I am not cooking this year, I would like to share my keys to roasting a Thanksgiving turkey.  Hopefully, buried in the past that dry bird roasted for hours in low heat until every drop of moisture is drained from its flesh.  Modern cooking techniques are not just fads, but a better understanding and sharing of cooking recipes to allow fine dining at home.  When it comes to turkeys, the two keys are brining and a period of high heat.  Brining allows the turkey meat to soak in and retain moisture that will stay throughout the cooking process.  Likewise, a period of high heat browns the skin and shortens the cooking time allowing less time for the bird to dry out.  The last key is to ignore the little plastic pop out indicator that comes with many birds.  That thing might as well have been made by lawyers, because it will only pop out when its temperature reaches 185 degrees F.  This is way too warm for breast meat, especially since the bird will continue to cook after it is removed from the oven.  The result is a turkey guaranteed to be absolutely cooked, but also quite likely dry.  The brining recipe below is from Emeril Lagasse, but all brining recipes are essentially the same:  salt, brown sugar, citrus, vegetables and herbs.  It doesn't really matter which one you use, just make sure you do. 

Ingredients:
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
3 oranges
2 lemons
8 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs rosemary
1 10 to 12 pound fresh or completely thawed turkey
8 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
2 yellow onions
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
3 bay leaves
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup flour
salt/pepper

Directions:
To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container, such as a plastic bucket.  Add 2 oranges and the lemons quartered, 6 sprigs of thyme and the rosemary.  Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the turkey and rinse the turkey inside and out with cold running water.  Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
For the turkey, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water.  Pat dry with paper towels inside and out.  Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper.  Stuff the turkey with 1 onion and orange each cut into 8ths, 1 stalk celery and carrot each cut into 1-inch peices, 2 bay leaves and 2 sprigs thyme.  Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.  Tuck the wings under the breast and coat the bird liberally with 4 tbsp melted butter. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, begin the turkey broth gravy recipe below.  After 30 minutes of turkey roasting time, baste the turkey with 1/2 cup chicken stock, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and continue roasting for another approximately 2 hours until a thermometer stuck in the thigh meat (without touching bone) registers 165 degrees F.  Baste the turkey every half hour with a 1/2 cup chicken stock and begin testing its temperature towards the end.   When done, remove the turkey and place on a platter to rest while the gravy is finished.
For the turkey broth gravy, heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add the turkey neck and saute until beginning to brown, a few minutes.   Chop the remaining vegetables and add along with the bay leaf.  Soften for a few minutes.  Add 3 cups of stock and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour.  Strain the stock and reserve until the turkey is finished roasting.  When the turkey is out of the roasting pan, pour off the juices to a glass separating cup.  Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat and deglaze with the wine, scraping up the browned bits.  Pour the mixture into the pot with the turkey stock.  Pour the separated turkey juice into the stock.  In a separate heavy sauce pan, melt 4 tbsp butter over medium heat.  Stir in the flour to make a roux and cook for 2 minutes more.  Add the stock, increase the heat to high and stir to remove lumps until the mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes to form the gravy.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve.