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Thanksgiving: Roast Turkey with Citrus Pan Gravy

Source of Recipe

From "Williams-Sonoma: Thanksgiving" by Chuck Williams


List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 fresh 12-pound turkey, neck, heart, and gizzard used to make turkey stock
â—¦ Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the rosemary-orange butter:
â—¦ ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
â—¦ 2 tablespoons minced orange zest
â—¦ 4 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
â—¦ Salt and freshly ground pepper
â—¦ 1 yellow onion, quartered
â—¦ 1 orange, quartered
â—¦ 3 carrots, unpeeled , coarsely chopped


Recipe

Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for up to 2 hours to take off the chill.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325° F. Rinse the turkey inside and out and pat dry. Trim off and discard excess fat. Fold the wings underneath the back of the turkey to prevent their overbrowning. Lightly salt and pepper the turkey inside and out. Stuff and truss the turkey if desired.

To make the rosemary-orange butter, mash together the butter, zest, rosemary, and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a bowl.
Working from the tail end of the turkey, gently slide your fingers between the skin and flesh on the breast, legs, and as much of the thighs as you can. Next, slide your fingers between the skin and breast of the turkey from the neck end. Spread about half of the rosemary-orange butter under the skin and over the meat on the turkey breast, legs, and thighs. Spread the remaining butter all over the outside of the skin.

Place the turkey on a rack in a flameproof roasting pan just large enough to hold the turkey. Place the pan in the oven and roast the turkey, rotating the pan's position on the oven rack from front to back several times, for 1 ¾ hours. Add the onion, orange, and carrots to the pan and continue to roast, stirring the vegetables every 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the turkey thigh away from the bone registers 175° F, about 1 ¼ hours longer (for a total roasting time of about 3 hours).

Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and cover it loosely with aluminum foil while you make the gravy.
Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.

Makes 8 to 10 servings



Citrus Pan Gravy:

â—¦ 7 cups turkey stock, prepared using dry sherry
â—¦ ¼ cup fresh orange juice
â—¦ ¼ cup cornstarch
â—¦ Salt and freshly ground pepper

To make the gravy, place the roasting pan with the pan juices, orange, and vegetables over 2 burners and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the turkey stock to the roasting pan and bring to a brisk simmer. Stir to deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, about 5 minutes.

Pour the contents of the pan through a sieve over a large bowl, pressing hard on the vegetables with the back of a large spoon to extract all the liquid; discard the solids. Spoon off as much of the fat as possible from the liquid, or pour it into a fat separator and pour off the liquid. Transfer the liquid to a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and simmer briskly for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir the orange juice into the cornstarch to make a slurry. Gradually stir the slurry into the simmering gravy. Cook until the gravy thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Season the gravy with salt and pepper.