The Original Thanksgiving Turkey

Time :4

Yield :8 servings

Recipe Background

While it's good to be thankful year-round, there's nothing quite like the gratitude you experience when your table is surrounded by the ones you love most and it's overflowing with all of your favorite family recipes. It's quite a precious moment. To keep with the thought of tradition and heirloom, your main course needs to come from a special place, too. What could be better than The Original Thanksgiving Turkey? It's juicy, flavorful, tender, and fairly simple to make. It even allows you to indulge in a savory, smooth gravy alongside its traditional goodness. Your heart will flutter as you cut into this tasty turkey, and you create a picture-perfect thankful occasion that you will cherish for years and years. You'll be so grateful for The Original Thanksgiving Turkey, for more reasons than one!

Ingredients

For the turkey:

1 (12-15-pound) turkey thawed
kosher salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 medium carrot cut into 3 pieces
2 stalks celery cut into large pieces
1 medium onion quartered
1 sprig plus 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
1 sprig plus 1 teaspoon fresh thyme finely chopped
1 sprig plus 1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter plus more to taste

For the gravy:

2-3 cups turkey or chicken stock
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
kosher salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place a rack in a large roasting pan.
Pat the thawed turkey dry with paper towels.
Discard the innards of the turkey.
Place the turkey on the rack in the roasting pan and lightly sprinkle with the salt and the pepper to taste.
Rub the inside of the cavity in the turkey with more of the salt and add the carrot, the celery, the onion, 1 sprig of the rosemary, 1 sprig of the thyme, and 1 sprig of the sage.
Tuck the wings under the bird and tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
Add the remaining rosemary, the remaining thyme, and the remaining sage to the melted butter and bring to a simmer.
Brush the turkey with the butter and herb mixture.
Place the herb-coated turkey in the oven and roast, about 1 hour 45 minutes.
Carefully place a foil tent over the turkey and continue roasting, basking every 20-30 minutes, until an instant thermometer inserted in the breast meat registers 156-160 degrees F and about 170 degrees F in the thickest part of the thigh, ensuring not to touch bone, about 1 hour-1 hour 30 minutes.
Transfer the turkey to a platter and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
While the turkey rests, pour the pan turkey drippings into a gravy separator and let stand until the fat rises to the top, about 2 minutes.
In a cup or a bowl, pour the defatted broth.
Set the defatted broth aside and measure 1/2 cup of the fat. If there isn't 1/2 cup of fat, add butter to make 1/2 cup.
Pour the fat into a saucepan and heat it over medium-low heat.
Add the flour to the hot fat and cook until it becomes a roux, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes.
Whisk in the reserved defatted broth along with 2 cups of the chicken stock.
Continue cooking the roux, constantly whisking, until the gravy is thickened. Add more stock to thin the gravy as desired.
Taste the gravy and season with the salt and the pepper as needed.
Strain the gravy, if desired.
Pour the gravy into a gravy boat or serving bowl.
Serve the turkey with the gravy.