Modernized Slow Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey With Gravy Recipes

SIMPLE ROAST TURKEY WITH RICH TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Make turkey:
• Put oven rack in lowest position and preheat oven to 450°F. Rinse turkey inside and out, then pat dry. Sprinkle turkey cavities and skin with salt and pepper. Fold neck skin under body and secure with metal skewers, then tie drumsticks together with kitchen string and tuck wings under body.
• Put turkey on rack in roasting pan. Add 1 cup water to pan and roast without basting, rotating pan halfway through roasting, until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of thighs (test both thighs; do not touch bones) registers 170°F, 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours.
• Carefully tilt turkey so any juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan, then transfer turkey to a platter, reserving juices in roasting pan. Let turkey stand, uncovered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F).
• Make gravy while turkey stands:
• Pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into measuring cup (do not clean roasting pan), then skim off and discard fat. (If using a fat separator, pour pan juices through sieve into separator and let stand until fat rises to top, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully pour pan juices from separator into measure, discarding fat.)
• Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add remaining cup water and deglaze roasting pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Pour through sieve into measuring cup containing pan juices. Add enough turkey stock to pan juices to bring total to 8 cups (if stock is congealed, heat to liquefy).
• Melt butter in a 4-quart heavy pot and stir in flour. Cook roux over moderate heat, whisking, 5 minutes. Add stock mixture in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Stir in any turkey juices accumulated on platter and simmer 5 minutes. Season gravy with salt and pepper, then stir in cider vinegar (to taste).

SLOW-ROASTED TURKEY BREAST WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Adjust your oven rack to the lowest position. Preheat oven to 250°F.
• Rinse and dry the turkey breast. Even when I purchase a brined turkey breast, I still like to lightly salt the turkey breast under the skin. You, of course, do not have to. If the turkey breast that you purchase has NOT been brined or koshered, liberally salt the breast under the skin.
• Heat a large pot over medium-high heat with the oil. When hot, add the turkey, breast-side down. Add the onion around the edges of the bird. Add the garlic on top of the onions. Cook several minutes or until the skin has browned. Flip the bird over so that the breast is facing upward. Stir the onions and garlic. Cook a couple minutes longer. If you have a probe thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the breast - making sure the probe is not sticking up in the air in a way that would impede your covering the turkey breast with a lid. Cover the pot with aluminum foil and top with a tight-fitting lid. Crimp the foil around the seam of the pot to ensure steam does not escape. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 160F - roughly 2 1/2 hours.
• When the turkey is done, remove it from the oven and flip the bird over so that the breast is submerged in the accumulated juices. Cover and let rest 15 minutes. During this time, the internal temperature will increase to at least 170°F.
• Remove the turkey from the pot and place it on a large platter. Keep it tented so it stays warm. Strain the liquid and solids from the pot into a large bowl. Use the back of a ladle to make sure you smash the onion/garlic to extract all of the juices. Discard the vegetable solids. Skim some or most of the fat that settles on top of the broth and discard any unwanted fat. Measure how much turkey broth you have. If you do not have at least 4 cups, add some chicken stock to come up to a total of 4 cups of liquid. If you like particularly thin gravy, you can add an extra 1/4 to 1/2 cups of turkey/chicken broth. If you like thicker gravy, reduce the liquid by 1/4 to 1/2 cup.
• To make the gravy, heat a saucepan over medium heat with three tablespoons of butter. After the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk to combine. Cook the butter/flour mixture for about 5 minutes or until it is brown in color. Add the turkey broth and whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Bring to a boil then simmer about 5 minutes. Too thin? Simmer another few minutes or until the gravy is your desired thickness. Too thick? Add more turkey broth, chicken broth, or even water. When the gravy is your desired level of thickness, taste it and add some salt and pepper, if needed. You'll probably need at least some salt.
• Serve the turkey breast and gravy with some mashed potatoes.

SLOW-ROASTED TURKEY WITH APPLE GRAVY

Steps:

• Brine the turkey: Tear the bay leaves to release their natural oils. Place in a large bowl with the buttermilk, sugar, salt, black pepper and cayenne, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Place the turkey in a brining bag or clean unscented garbage bag, pour in the buttermilk mixture and tightly tie the bag closed. Place in a pot or bowl that holds it snugly, making sure the legs are fully immersed in the brine, and refrigerate for at least 48 hours and up to 72 hours.
• Make the turkey: Position a rack at the bottom of the oven and heat oven (not convection) to 450 degrees. Tear the bay leaves to release their natural oils. Spread the apples, fennel, onions, 12 bay leaves and half of the thyme, ginger, garlic and orange across the bottom of a large roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and the whole peppercorns.
• Drain the turkey and wipe dry. (Discard the brine.) Place the turkey in the pan breast side up, and rub its cavity with salt and ground pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon and the remaining bay leaves, thyme, ginger, garlic and orange. Tuck the wings underneath and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Sprinkle the turkey with salt and ground pepper, and drizzle everything with oil. Drizzle more oil all over the turkey and rub to generously and evenly coat the skin. Transfer to the oven and roast until browned in spots all over but not burned, 20 to 40 minutes. (Ovens vary widely in how quickly they brown such a large bird, so start checking at 20 minutes and keep going until it's spotted all over.)
• Pour 2 cups water into the pan, cover the turkey with foil and loosely crimp around the edges of the pan. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and slide the pan back into the oven. Slow-roast until the turkey is almost cooked through (a meat thermometer will register 150 degrees in the thickest part of the breast and 160 degrees in the thigh), about 4 hours.
• Uncover, baste all over with the pan juices and roast uncovered until the skin is more evenly browned and the meat registers 155 degrees in the breast and 165 degrees in the thigh, 30 to 45 minutes. The internal temperature will continue to rise as the turkey rests. Let cool slightly in the pan, then transfer the turkey to a serving platter.
• Make the gravy: Smash the fruits and vegetables in the roasting pan. Set a colander with small holes or a medium-mesh strainer over a bowl or pot, and pour in everything from the pan, working in batches if needed. Press hard on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible along with fruit and vegetable pulp. Discard the solids in the colander; scrape any strained pulp into the bowl. Skim and discard fat from the strained juices.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk until deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. While whisking, add the defatted pan juices a little at a time, whisking until smooth, then stir in the brandy. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Keep warm over low.
• When ready to serve, season the gravy to taste with salt and pepper. Carve the turkey and serve with the hot gravy.