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Herb Roasted Turkey With Gravy

List of Ingredients




1 16-18 pound turkey (Reserve the neck, gizzard and heart for the gravy.
Fresh thyme sprigs
Fresh sage leaves
6 large cloves garlic, peeled
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, or 2 teaspoons dried
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, or 2 teaspoons rubbed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dry red wine
Turkey broth for basting

The Gravy

Reserved turkey neck, gizzard and heart
Approximately 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I prefer to make my own several days ahead. See notes below.)
1 whole onion, peeled
1 whole carrot, peeled
1 stalk celery, peeled
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon rubbed
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Water to make a paste


Recipe



To prepare the turkey: Preheat oven to 325° F. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cool water; pat dry. Place the thyme sprig, sage leaves and garlic cloves in the cavity. (If fresh thyme and sage is unavailable sprinkle with dried. If stuffing the bird, fill cavity loosely with cooled stuffing. Place additional stuffing in casserole.) Loosen the skin over the breast by inserting fingers and gently moving back and forth until skin is loose all over. Mix together the butter, chopped thyme and sage. Using hand, spread some of the butter mixture under the skin. Spread additional butter all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on rack of shallow roasting pan. Pour the cup of wine over all. Roast, basting about every 20 minutes with broth until there are sufficient pan juices, for about 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until a thermometer inserted in thigh registers 180° F. (Stuffed turkey will need about an additional 30 minutes roasting time.) Tent loosely with foil if turkey gets too brown. Remove from pan; cover with foil and heavy towel. Let rest at least 20 minutes before carving. If stuffed, remove all of stuffing before carving.

To prepare the gravy: While roasting the turkey, cook the neck, gizzard, heart, vegetables, garlic and herbs in broth in large pot until turkey parts are very tender. Strain the broth. When turkey is done, place roasting pan on burner over medium heat. Add the 1/2 cup wine to pan and deglaze, getting up all the browned bits. Add the remaining broth. Bring to a simmer. Mix the flour and water into a paste. Gradually add to the broth, stirring or whisking to prevent lumping and stopping occasionally to allow to thicken. Continue until desired thickness, but not too thick.

Notes: I prefer to make my own chicken broth. This can be done several days before use and refrigerated or several weeks before and frozen. Brown chicken parts or whole chicken in large pot. Add enough water and/or chicken broth to cover. Add 1 medium onion, 1 medium carrot, 1 stalk celery, 4 large cloves garlic, 1 bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until chicken is very tender, about 1 hour. Remove the chicken and vegetables from the broth and strain. Cool; skim fat off top. Use for gravy, adding water or additional broth as needed. If you use this stock, you can omit the vegetables, garlic and bay leaf when cooking the turkey parts.