Roast Turkey With Pear And Port Gravy Recipes

PERFECT ROAST TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Twelve to 24 hours before cooking the turkey, remove the giblets and dry the turkey inside and out with paper towels. Rub the Dry Brine on all sides of the turkey, completely seasoning the exterior as well as the interior cavity. Place the turkey in a pan inside the refrigerator overnight.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• When ready to cook, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels. Cut one of the onions into quarters. Place the onion quarters, herbs and one head of the garlic inside the turkey. Tie the legs together with a single piece of string and tuck the wings under the body.
• Chop the remaining onion. Combine the chopped onion, carrots, celery and remaining garlic in a large roasting pan. Place the turkey on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan.
• Brush the entire surface of the turkey with the melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt. Pour any remaining melted butter over the vegetables in the base of the pan. Place the turkey in the oven to roast on the center rack with the legs towards the back wall of the oven.
• After 45 minutes, remove the turkey from the oven and set on the stovetop. Carefully tilt the pan to one side and use a ladle to baste the butter over the breast of the turkey. Return the turkey to the oven, this time with the breast toward the back wall of the oven. Continue basting and rotating the turkey every 45 minutes until done. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F, 2 1/2 to 3 hours total. If at any point during the cooking the skin of the breast becomes too dark, cover the breast with aluminum foil and continue cooking to doneness.
• When the turkey is done, remove to a cooling rack to rest for 30 to 45 minutes.
• To make the gravy, place the roasting pan on the stovetop. Turn the heat beneath the roasting pan to medium. Cook the vegetables, stirring constantly, until the butter remaining in the pan is translucent, up to 6 minutes. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the butter, if necessary. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until a thick paste forms. Pour in the wine, stirring well and scraping the bottom of the pan to release any brown bits that remain stuck to the pan. Add the chicken stock and continue stirring until the stock reaches a simmer. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until flavorful and thickened to your liking.
• Transfer the entire gravy mixture to a saucepot and bring back to a simmer. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper and strain the gravy into a serving container. Serve with the carved turkey.
• Combine the salt, sugar, garlic powder, pepper, fennel and sage in an airtight container and shake to thoroughly combine. Keeps for up to 6 months.

CHEF JOHN'S ROAST TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Mix 2 tablespoons salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper, and poultry seasoning in a small bowl. Tuck turkey wings under the bird, and season cavity with about 1 tablespoon of the poultry seasoning mixture. Reserve remaining poultry seasoning mix.
• Toss the onion, celery, and carrots together in a bowl. Stuff about 1/2 cup of the vegetable mixture, rosemary sprigs, and 1/2 bunch sage into the cavity of the turkey. Tie legs together with kitchen string. Loosen the skin on top of the turkey breast using fingers or a small spatula. Place about 2 tablespoons butter under the skin and spread evenly. Spread the remaining butter (about 2 tablespoons) all over the outside of the skin. Sprinkle the outside of the turkey with the remaining poultry seasoning mix.
• Spread the remaining onion, celery, and carrots into a large roasting pan. Place the turkey on top of the vegetables. Fill the pan with about 1/2 inch of water. Arrange a sheet of aluminum foil over the breast of the turkey.
• Roast the turkey in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 3 1/2 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 165 degrees F (75 degrees C). Remove the foil during the last hour of cooking. Baste the turkey with the pan juices.
• While the turkey is roasting, make stock: place neck, heart, and gizzards in a saucepan with the bay leaf and water. Simmer over medium heat for 2 hours. Strain the turkey giblets from the stock, and discard giblets. There should be at least 4 cups of stock.
• Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Pour the pan juices, about 3 cups, into a saucepan and set aside. Skim off the turkey fat from the pan juices, reserving about 2 tablespoons.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the turkey fat and 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Transfer the onion from the roasting pan into the skillet. Cook and stir until the onion is browned, about 5 minutes, then stir in the flour. Continue to cook and stir for about 5 minutes more; whisk in 4 cups of the skimmed turkey stock and the reserved pan juices until smooth; skim off any foam. Stir in the balsamic vinegar. Simmer until the gravy is thickened, whisking constantly, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of chopped sage, and season to taste with salt and black pepper.

ROAST TURKEY WITH PORT GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Rinse turkey and pat dry inside and out. Season turkey inside and out with salt and pepper and pack neck cavity loosely with some stuffing. Fold neck and skin under body and fasten with a skewer. Fill body cavity loosely with some remaining and truss turkey. Transfer remaining to a buttered 3-quart baking dish and reserve it, covered and chilled.
• Spread turkey with butter and on a rack in a roasting pan in oven 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. and baste turkey with pan juices. Add water to pan and roast, basting every 20 minutes, 2 1/2 to 3 hours more, or until a meat thermometer in fleshy part of thigh registers 180°F., and juices run clear when thigh is pierced.
• During last 1 1/2 hours of roasting, drizzle reserved stuffing with stock or broth and bake, covered, in 325°F. oven 1 hour. Bake stuffing uncovered, 30 minutes more. Transfer turkey to a heated platter, reserving juices in roasting pan, and discard string. Keep turkey warm, covered loosely with foil.
• Make gravy:
• Skim fat from roasting pan juices, reserving 1/4 cup fat, and deglaze pan with Port over moderately high heat, scraping up brown bits. Bring Port to a boil and remove pan from heat. In a saucepan whisk together reserved fat and flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Add Port mixture and stock or broth in a stream, whisking, and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste and transfer gravy to a heated gravy boat.
• Garnish turkey and stuffing with herbs and apple slices.

ROAST TURKEY WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and remove the other racks. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey. Discard the liver, set the others aside. Dry the turkey inside and out with paper towels. Season the breast cavity with salt and pepper. Slice the onions and halve the garlic head crosswise. Stuff all the garlic and half the onions inside the turkey along with some of the herbs and 1 bay leaf. Halve the carrots and celery lengthwise; put them in the center of roasting pan and set the turkey, breast side up, on top of the vegetables.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, and brush about half of it all over the bird, season the skin with salt and pepper. Tent turkey with aluminum foil and roast for 2 hours. Set aside about 3 tablespoons of the butter for basting the bird.
• Cook the rest of the onion, neck and giblets in the remaining butter in the saucepan, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until browned, about 15 minutes. Add the broth, remaining herbs, and bay leaf; cover and simmer over medium-low heat while the turkey roasts, about 2 hours. Discard the giblets if desired, or reserve for giblets gravy. After 2 hours, remove the foil from the turkey and use a pastry brush or bulb baster to baste turkey with the reserved butter and some of the pan drippings. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer stuck in the thigh registers between 170 and 180 degrees F, about 1 hour more. Transfer turkey to a cutting board and let rest 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
• For the Gravy: Pour all the turkey pan drippings into a liquid measuring cup and discard the vegetables. Ladle off 1/2 cup of the fat from the top of the drippings, and transfer to a saucepan. (Put measuring cup with remaining drippings and fat in the freezer for a few minutes to separate.) Heat fat over medium heat, scatter the flour evenly on top and cook, stirring constantly, with a wooden spoon until the flour browns slightly and smells toasty, about 4 minutes. Switch to a whisk; then gradually and carefully ladle the hot broth into the flour mixture while whisking constantly. Bring the gravy to a boil; adjust the heat so it simmers gently. Skim and discard any excess fat from the remaining drippings, and add the pan juices to the gravy. Continue to simmer, whisking occasionally, until the gravy is thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with the Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Remove and discard onion, garlic, herbs, and bay leaf from the turkey cavity. Pour any juices that have accumulated into the gravy, Carve the turkey.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a shallow 3-quart casserole.
• Cut or tear bread into bite-size pieces. Lay bread pieces in a single layer on 1 or 2 baking sheets. Bake until slightly dry and crisp, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool.
• Peel, core, and coarsely chop the apple. Coarsely chop the onion, celery, and apricots. Chop the parsley.
• Melt the 6 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apple, onion, celery, apricots, cranberries, thyme, salt, and fennel seeds; cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.
• Beat the egg in a large bowl. Add the toasted bread and the onion and fruit mixture; toss until evenly moistened. Loosely pack the dressing into the prepared pan. Bake, uncovered, until the top is crusty, about 40 minutes. Drizzle the pan drippings or melted butter over the top. Cook until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more.

PERFECT ROAST TURKEY WITH BEST-EVER GRAVY

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lowest position of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Reserve the turkey neck and giblets to use in gravy or stock. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water. Pat the turkey skin dry. Turn the turkey on its breast. Loosely fill the neck cavity with stuffing. Using a thin wooden or metal skewer, pin the neck skin to the back. Fold the turkey's wings akimbo behind the back or tie to the body with kitchen string. Loosely fill the large body cavity with stuffing. Place any remaining stuffing in a lightly buttered casserole, cover and refrigerate to bake as a side dish. Place the drumsticks in the hock lock or tie together with kitchen string.
• Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Rub all over with the softened butter. Season with salt and pepper. Tightly cover the breast area with aluminum foil. Pour 2 cups of the turkey stock into the bottom of the pan.
• Roast the turkey, basting all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan (lift up the foil to reach the breast area), until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh (but not touching the bone) reads 180 degrees and the stuffing is at least 160 degrees, about 4 1/2 hours. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 1/2 cups at a time. Remove the foil during the last hour to allow the skin to brown.
• Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter and let it stand for at least 20 minutes before carving. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Drizzle 1/2 cup turkey stock over the stuffing in the casserole, cover, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a heatproof glass bowl or large measuring cup. Let stand for 5 minutes, then skim off and reserve the clear yellow fat that has risen to the top. Measure 3/4 cup fat, adding melted butter if needed. Add enough turkey stock to the skimmed drippings to make 8 cups total.
• Place the roasting pan on two stove burners over low heat and add the turkey fat. Whisk in the flour, scraping up browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the turkey stock and the optional bourbon. Cook, whisking often, until the gravy has thickened and no trace of raw flour remains, about 5 minutes. Transfer the gravy to a warmed gravy boat. Carve the turkey and serve the gravy and the stuffing alongside

PORT-BASTED ROAST TURKEY WITH PAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Pat turkey dry. Place turkey on rack set in large roasting pan. Rub turkey breast with 2 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold 2-foot-square piece of cheesecloth in half twice, forming 12-inch square. Dip cloth into water; squeeze out excess moisture. Drape cloth over turkey breast, tucking cloth under at sides. Roast 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring 1 1/2 cups broth, Port and 4 tablespoons butter to simmer in heavy medium saucepan, stirring until butter melts. Baste turkey with 3/4 cup Port mixture. Roast turkey 1 hour 10 minutes, basting twice with remaining Port mixture.
• Add water, onion, carrot and apple to roasting pan; stir to coat vegetables with pan juices. Baste turkey with pan juices. Roast 20 minutes. Remove cheesecloth. Roast turkey until skin browns and meat thermometer inserted into innermost part of thigh registers 180°F, basting occasionally with pan juices, about 50 minutes. Transfer turkey to platter; tent with foil.
• Place roasting pan over medium-high heat. Bring pan juices and vegetables to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add Gravy Base and boil uncovered 5 minutes. Scrape mixture into strainer set over large measuring cup, pressing on solids with back of spoon. Spoon fat off top of pan juices. Add enough additional broth to cup to measure 3 cups liquid if necessary, or transfer pan juices to saucepan and boil until reduced to 3 cups if necessary. Bring pan juices to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Mix 3 tablespoons butter and flour in small bowl to form paste. Add paste to pan juices; bring to boil, whisking constantly. Boil until sauce thickens, whisking occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve turkey, passing gravy separately.

ROAST HERITAGE TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• A day ahead of roasting, remove neck and giblets from turkey. Mix cider, salt, lemons, bay leaves and 3 quarts water together in a large bowl or stockpot; stir to dissolve salt. Submerge turkey in the bowl or pot, cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours. Alternatively, put turkey and brine in two clean, unscented plastic garbage bags (one bag inside the other), tie well and place in a cooler with ice or ice packs.
• When you are ready to roast, heat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse turkey and pat dry. Stuff apple, onion, garlic and most of the thyme into turkey. Lift skin at neck and gently use your hand to separate skin from breast meat. Rub half the butter under skin and slip in remaining thyme and two rosemary sprigs. Use remaining butter to rub outside of bird, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Set a rack into a roasting pan and place four rosemary sprigs on top of the rack. Place bird on top of rosemary. Add turkey neck and giblets to bottom of pan. Take two pieces of heavy foil cut to the length of the pan. Fold the two together to create a single sheet to tent the bird.
• Transfer to oven and roast. Roasting time will be 3 to 3 1/2 hours for an 18-pound bird. Add 10 minutes per pound for larger birds. Subtract 10 minutes per pound for smaller birds. Midway through cooking time, remove giblets and neck and add wine and 1 cup water. Twenty minutes before roasting time is complete, begin to test for doneness with a digital probe thermometer inserted at the deepest part of the thigh. It is done when thigh registers 160 degrees. Remove bird from oven and transfer to a serving platter.
• Place roasting pan over low heat on the stovetop and add 2 1/2 cups stock. Scrape all the browned turkey bits from bottom of pan. Skim 2/3 of the fat from top of drippings and discard. Bring drippings to a boil; reduce to a simmer. You may wish to strain at this point to remove stray bits, but they add character to the finished gravy.
• Finely chop giblets and neck meat. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup stock. Add slurry to drippings, stirring constantly, until thickened. If gravy seems too thick, whisk in a bit more stock. Add chopped egg and giblets and neck meat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.