Perfectly Roasted Turkey

Ingredients

1 14-16 pound turkey
1T dried sage
3 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
3 slices bacon, cut in half
fresh thyme & sage leaves
olive oil
3 cups chicken stock

1. Wash the turkey inside and out, removing the little bag of goodies.

2. Pat the turkey dry.

3. In a small bowl, combine the dry sage, salt and pepper

4. Using your fingers, separate the skin from the breast meat. Sprinkle with spice blend. Place 3 half slices of bacon, thyme, and sage leaves under the skin of each breast.

5. Rub the bird with olive oil, then rub with spice `mixture.

6. Let stand on the counter for 1 hour.

7. Preheat oven to 425° F.

8. Loosely stuff the cavity of the turkey with stuffing, not too stuffed.

9. Place the stuffed turkey on the rack in a roasting pan, and then pour the stock into the pan.

10. Place uncovered turkey in a preheated 425º F oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, cover the roasting pan with foil. Using potholders, crimp and press the foil into the edges of the pan making a tight seal and return to oven and reduce the heat to 350º F and continue roasting for 3-3½ more hours.

11. Check the internal temperature; it should be 160-165º F deep in breast. If it is not 165º F, recover with the foil and continue cooking, checking every 30 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160-165º F.

12. Remove foil; baste with pan drippings, if necessary place back in oven and brown an additional 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven.

13. Rest the turkey at least 30 minutes before carving. The turkey will remain warm for about 1½ hours

14. To carve the turkey, remove the stuffing, then use a carving knife; remove the leg and thigh. Then separate the leg from the thigh. Remove the meat from the bones and slice into bite-size chunks and place on platter. Repeat with other leg.

15. Cut down the breastbone to remove the breast meat from the bone. Remove the bacon and herbs from under the skin. Slice into slices of the desired thickness and place on platter. Repeat with other side. Enjoy!

TIPS & TRICKS

• I wash the turkey (step #2) the night before then place in a clean garbage bag.

• On Thanksgiving Day, 6 hours before serving, I take the turkey out of the refrigerator and start the recipe from step #3. This allows the turkey to sit an hour on the counter. Then 4 hours to roast and an additional hour in case it needs longer roasting time and time to rest before carving.

• The cooked turkey can sit up 1½ hour before carving. The meat will still be warm. Serve with plenty of hot gravy.

Perfect Thanksgiving Gravy

Ingredients

4T butter
5T flour
4 cups pan dripping or stock or combination of both
1T flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

1.    Pour the pan dripping into a fat separator. Allow it to sit for a few minutes then pass through a strainer. If you do not have 4 cups of liquid add stock to make 4 cups.

2.    In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter; add the   flour and stir constantly.  Cook until light brown and smells like toast, approximately 2-3 minutes.

3.    Add the pan drippings while stirring. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook until slightly reduced and gravy has thickened, approximately another 4-6 minutes. 

4.    Season with salt and pepper to taste; add parsley.
5.    Serve with turkey and side dishes.

TIPS & TRICKS

•    This gravy is a little on the thin side. I like it this way so you can put it on top of everything!
•     If you wish it thicker gravy, simply take 1 tablespoon flour and mix it with 1 tablespoon soft butter until it forms a paste. Add just a marble size piece of the paste to the hot gravy then whisk till combine. Allow the gravy to cook a minute. Continue adding the butter mixture a little at a time until you reach your desired thickness. It should thicken up very quickly so add the mixture slowly. 

Perfectly Roasted Turkey

Ingredients

1 14-16 pound turkey
1T dried sage
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

3 slices bacon, cut in half
fresh thyme & sage leaves
olive oil
3 cups chicken stock

1.    Preheat oven to 425° F.

2.    Wash the turkey inside and out, removing the little bag of goodies.
 

3.    Pat the turkey dry.
4.    In a small bowl, combine the dry sage, salt and pepper
 

5.    Using your fingers, separate the skin from the breast meat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place 3 half slices of bacon, thyme, and sage leaves under the skin of each breast.
 

6.    Rub the bird with olive oil, then rub with sage, salt and pepper mixture.
7.    Let stand on the counter for 1 hour.

8.    Stuff the cavity of the turkey with stuffing, not too stuffed.

9.    Place the stuffed turkey on the rack in a roasting pan, and then pour the stock into the pan.

10.    Place uncovered turkey in a preheated 425º F oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, cover the roasting pan with foil. Using potholders, crimp and press the foil into the edges of the pan making a tight seal and return to oven and reduce the heat to 350º F and continue roasting for 3½ more hours.

11.    Check the internal temperature; it should be 160-165º F deep in breast.  If it is not 165º F, recover with the foil and continue cooking, checking every 30 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160-165º F.
 

12.    Remove foil; baste with pan drippings, and brown an additional 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven.

13.    Rest the turkey at least 30 minutes before carving.

14.    To carve the turkey use a carving knife remove the leg and thigh. Then separate the leg from the thigh. Remove the meat from the bones and slice into chunks and place on platter. Repeat with other leg. 

15.    Remove the wings.

16.    Cut down the breastbone to remove the breast meat from the bone. Remove the bacon and herbs from under the skin. Slice into chunks and place on platter. Repeat with other side. Enjoy!

TIPS & TRICKS

•    I wash the turkey (step #2) the night before and then place it in a clean garbage bag. 
•    On Thanksgiving Day 6 hours before serving I take the turkey out of the refrigerator and start the recipe from step #3. This allows the turkey to sit an hour on the counter. Then it gives the bird 4 hours to roast. That leaves an additional hour to spare in case it needs longer roasting time and time to rest before carving.
•    The cooked turkey can sit up 1½ hour before carving. The meat will still be warm. Serve with plenty of hot gravy.