Classic Roast Turkey With Herbed Stuffing And Old Fashioned Gravy Recipe Epicuriouscom

Steps:

• Let the turkey sit at room temperature, 30 minutes. Position an oven rack in the lowest position (remove the other racks); preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey and set aside for the gravy. Pat the turkey very dry with paper towels and rub inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the onion, carrot, celery, and sage and thyme sprigs. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Put the turkey on a rack set in a large roasting pan and tuck the wings under the body.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat; whisk in the paprika and chopped sage and thyme. Let the paprika butter cool slightly, then brush all over the turkey. Transfer to the oven and roast 1 hour. Meanwhile, make Classic Gravy.
• After the turkey has roasted 1 hour, baste with the drippings. Continue roasting, basting every 30 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 2 more hours.
• Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest 30 minutes before carving; reserve the drippings for the gravy.
• Prepare the stock: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the turkey neck and giblets; cook, turning, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, carrot, celery, thyme and bay leaves; stir to coat. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the broth, reduce the heat to low and simmer about 1 hour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup; reserve the saucepan. You should have 7 cups stock-if you're short, add more broth.
• Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in the reserved saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the 7 cups stock; bring to a simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Set aside until the turkey is done.
• Pour the turkey pan drippings into a fat separator and let stand until the fat rises to the top. Discard the fat (or drizzle on your stuffing). Whisk the defatted drippings into the gravy; season with salt and pepper. Reheat before serving.

Steps:

• Make turkey giblet stock and herbed bread stuffing.
• Roast turkey:
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper inside and out. Loosely fill neck cavity with some of stuffing. Fold neck skin under body and fasten with a small skewer. Loosely fill body cavity with some stuffing and tie drumsticks together with kitchen string. Transfer remaining stuffing to a buttered 3-quart shallow baking dish and chill, covered. Secure wings to body with small skewers if desired for a nicer appearance.
• Put turkey on a rack set in a flameproof roasting pan. Roast turkey in middle of oven 30 minutes. Melt 1/2 stick butter. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and pour melted butter over turkey. Roast turkey, basting every 20 minutes, for 3 to 3 1/2 hours more, or until a thermometer inserted in center of stuffing in body cavity registers 165°F (thigh will be about 180°F). Transfer turkey to a heated platter and keep juices in pan. Remove skewers and discard string. Transfer stuffing from cavities to a serving dish and keep warm, covered. Let turkey stand at least 30 minutes and up to 45.
• Increase temperature to 375°F. Stir together chicken broth and water and drizzle over uncooked stuffing in baking dish. Dot stuffing with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and bake in middle of oven 40 minutes while turkey stands; for moist stuffing, bake covered entire time; for less moist stuffing with a slightly crisp top, uncover after 10 minutes.
• Make gravy:
• Skim fat from pan juices and reserve 1/4 cup fat. Add 1 cup giblet stock to roasting pan and deglaze over moderately high heat, scraping up brown bits. Add to remaining 3 cups stock and bring to a simmer. Whisk together reserved fat and flour in a large heavy saucepan and cook roux over moderately low heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Add hot stock to roux in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in additional juices from turkey platter and season gravy with salt and pepper.

Steps:

• Make turkey:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry. Place on rack in roasting pan. Sprinkle cavities with salt and pepper. If not stuffing turkey, place rosemary and sage sprigs in main cavity. If stuffing turkey, spoon stuffing loosely into main cavity. Melt butter in saucepan. Mix in chopped rosemary, sage, orange peel, pepper and salt. Brush herb butter over turkey. Tuck wing tips under turkey; tie legs together to hold shape. Roast turkey 1 hour. Baste with pan juices. Continue roasting turkey until thermometer inserted into thigh registers 180°F, basting every 20 minutes, about 2 3/4 hours longer if unstuffed or about 3 1/4 hours longer if stuffed.
• Meanwhile, prepare gravy:
• Combine turkey neck and giblets, 5 1/2 cups broth, quartered onion and bay leaf in saucepan. Simmer until reduced to 3 cups liquid, skimming occasionally, about 1 hour. Strain turkey stock.
• Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions; sauté 10 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon rosemary and 1 tablespoon sage and sauté until onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Add flour; stir 1 minute. Gradually whisk in turkey stock. Boil until gravy thickens, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon each rosemary and sage.
• Transfer turkey to platter. Tent with foil. Pour juices from pan into large glass measuring cup; spoon off fat. Add juices to gravy. Add vinegar to roasting pan. Bring vinegar to simmer over medium heat, scraping up browned bits. Pour mixture into heavy small saucepan. Boil until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes; add to gravy. Rewarm gravy; thin with more chicken broth, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.

Steps:

• Make the stuffing:
• In 2 shallow baking pans or jelly-roll pans arrange the bread cubes in one layer, bake them in a preheated 325°F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are golden, and transfer them to a large bowl. In a large skillet cook the bacon over moderately low heat, stirring, until it is crisp, transfer it with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, and pour off all but about 1/4 cup of the fat. In the fat remaining in the skillet cook the garlic, the onion, and the celery with the thyme and the sage over moderately low heat, stirring, until the vegetables are softened and transfer the mixture to the bowl. Add the parsley, the melted butter, the oysters, the bacon, and salt and pepper to taste, toss the stuffing well, and let if cool completely. The stuffing may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. (To prevent bacterial growth do not stuff the turkey cavities in advance.)
• Rinse the turkey, pat it dry, and season it inside and out with salt and pepper. Pack the neck cavity loosely with some of the stuffing, fold the neck skin under the body, and fasten it with a skewer. Pack the body cavity loosely with some of the remaining stuffing and truss the turkey. Transfer the remaining stuffing to a buttered 3-quart baking dish and reserve it, covered and chilled.
• Spread the turkey with 1/2 stick of the butter and roast it on a rack in a roasting pan in a preheated 425°F. oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325°F., baste the turkey with the pan juices, and drape it with a piece of cheesecloth, soaked in the remaining 1 stick butter, melted and cooled. Roast the turkey, basting it every 20 minutes, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours more, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the fleshy part of a thigh registers 180°F. and the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer. During the last 1 1/2 hours of roasting, drizzle the reserved stuffing with the stock, bake it, covered, in the 325°F. oven for 1 hour, and bake it, uncovered, for 30 minutes more. Discard the cheesecloth and string from the turkey, transfer the turkey to a heated platter, reserving the juices in the roasting pan, keep it warm, covered loosely with foil.
• Make the gravy:
• Skim all of the fat from the roasting pan juices, reserving 1/3 cup of the fat, and add the wine to the pan. Deglaze the pan over moderately high heat, scraping up the brown bits, and boil the mixture until it is reduced by half. In a saucepan combine the reserved fat and the flour and cook the roux over moderately low heat, whisking, for 3 minutes. Add the stock and the wine mixture in a stream, whisking, and simmer the gravy, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the reserved cooked giblets and neck meat, chopped, and salt and pepper to taste, simmer the gravy for 2 minutes, and transfer it to a heated sauceboat.
• Garnish the turkey with the parsley and thyme sprigs and serve it with the gravy and the stuffing.