Two Hour Turkey And Gravy Recipes

TWO-HOUR TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Put the onion, garlic, and rosemary, if using, into the empty turkey cavity. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan, breast side up, and brush with the butter or oil. Place in the oven, uncovered, and roast, unattended, for 1 hour. Carefully remove the turkey from the oven (close the door of the oven), watching out for steam. Brush the turkey with butter or its juices. Return to the oven quickly and reduce the heat to 400°F.Roast another 30 minutes, checking the pan juices occasionally. Cover with foil if the breast is too brown. Cook another 30 minutes, adding stock if the pan juices evaporate.
• The turkey is done when a meat thermometer inserted in its thigh registers 170°F and the juices run clear. Let rest 10 minutes (the temperature should rise 10 degrees in 10 minutes). Remove the turkey to a board or platter for carving. Carve. Discard the onions and garlic from inside the turkey. The turkey can be made a day ahead and refrigerated before reheating, carved, or it can be carved 10 minutes after resting.
• If you decide to roast and carve the turkey ahead of time or if you want to freeze a portion of the turkey for another occasion, place the carved turkey in a shallow baking dish, cover it with broth, then wrap with foil or place the dish in a plastic bag; refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month. When you are ready to serve, defrost, if necessary, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month. When you are ready to serve, defrost, if necessary, in the refrigerator, then bake in a 350°F. oven for 30 to 45 or until heated completely through (or heat in the microwave).
• While the turkey is resting, place the pan over medium-high heat. The skin, fat, and juices should be a beautiful dark bronze, not black. Remove all but 1/2 cup of the fat. Keep as much of the juices as possible. Whisk the flour into the fat and cook, stirring, until the flour turns light brown. Whisk in the rest of the broth, and boil until thick and flavorful, stirring occasionally. Strain if lumpy or any part is burned. Add water or canned broth or stock if a thinner gravy is desired. Add as much cream as desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

SAFEWAY'S TWO HOUR TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove and discard truss that holds turkey legs together. Pull or trim off and discard any excess fat in neck or body cavity. Remove giblets and neck.
• Rinse turkey inside and out with warm water. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Place the adjustable V-shaped rack in a 13 x 16 x 3-inch roasting pan (set rack sides so the bird is a minimum of 2 inches from pan bottom).
• Rub turkey skin generously all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set bird breast-side-up on rack. Pull wings away from body, then firmly twist them to push the wing tips under the bird.
• Using aluminum foil, form caps over the tips of the end of each drumstick. If any parts of the turkey extend beyond pan rim, fashion a foil collar underneath to make sure drippings flow back into pan. Do not tie legs together, add stuffing, or close body cavity.
• Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer near the center of the breast through thickest part until the tip touches bone, which is most accurate spot to check doneness.
• Verify oven temperature and set pan on the lowest rack in a 475° oven. Roast according to time chart:.
• 10-13 lb. 50min to 1 1/4 hrs.
• 13-16 lb., 1 1/4 hrs to 1 hr 50 mins.
• 16-19 lb., 1 1/4 hrs to 2 hrs.
• 19-22 lb., 1 1/2 hrs to 2 hrs.
• 22-24 lb., 1 1/2 hrs to 2 1/2 hrs.
• Continue to check as directed during cooking, until thermometer reaches 160°. Halfway through roasting time, rotate pan in oven to assure even cooking and browning (Tip C). If areas on turkey breast start to get browner than you like, lay a piece of foil over the dark areas.
• Remove pan from oven, set in a warm spot, and loosely cover pan with foil to keep it warm. Rearrange oven racks to accommodate potatoes and dressing. Decrease oven temperature to 400º. Let turkey rest 30 to 60 minutes. The resting period will allow the internal temperature to reach 165°, the USDA safe cooking temperature for poultry.
• Drain juices from body cavity (often plentiful in unstuffed birds) into roasting pan. Transfer turkey to a platter or rimmed cutting board. Set aside juices for gravy.
• Cut off turkey legs at thigh joint . If joint is red or pink, return legs to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes (at 300° to 475°) or heat in a microwave oven for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Carve the rest of the turkey. Carving juices may be clear to pink or rosy; both are fine. Save juices to pour into gravy if desired.
• Time Saving Tip. If you have a frozen turkey, place it in the refrigerator to thaw 4-6 days before Thanksgiving. Take it out an hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature.
• Helpful Hints.If there is any smoke, check pan and wings for drips into oven; adjust foil under wings, or slide roasting pan onto a larger shallow rimmed pan. Wipe drips from oven bottom.

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).

2-HOUR TURKEY

Steps:

• 1. PREHEAT OVEN TO 475 degrees F (240-250 degrees C). This is what you'll roast it at for the ENTIRE time. Since this employs the use of a VERY hot oven, make sure your oven is CLEAN before you start, AND put about 1 inch of water in the bottom of the roasting pan to reduce the risk of smoking your family out of the house. NOTE: Even WITH a pristine oven, I still smoked out my house last Thanksgiving... so a tip to cut down on the smoke issue is to add about an inch of water (or broth) to the roaster pan...and keep replenishing it as needed. By doing this, not only was the smoking problem eliminated, but I had terrific drippings for gravy! Place oven rack on LOWEST or SECOND-TO-LOWEST position in oven. The lowest position may be too hot in some ovens since it's directly above the heating elements.
• 2. Remove all giblets, neck, pop-up thermometer (if there is one), and any trussing (like the plastic thing that holds the legs together). Rinse turkey THOROUGHLY, inside and out with cool water, letting all water drain out of neck and body cavities. Pat dry, inside and out, with paper towels.
• 3. Place on V or U-shaped wire rack in roasting pan, so that turkey doesn't rest on the bottom of the pan. The first time I made this I didn't have a rack, so I just slapped it in my grandmother's old-fashioned blue-enamel roaster pan and it turned out FINE. If you don't have a rack...take a long piece of aluminum foil and wad it up into a long rope, then coil it in the bottom of the pan and rest your turkey on that. NOTE: I STRONGLY RECOMMEND KEEPING 1-2 INCHES OF WATER IN THE BOTTOM OF YOUR ROASTING PAN DURING COOKING. This will GREATLY reduce smoking (which can be brutal). The first year I made this, I didn't put water in the bottom of the pan...and I smoked out my house. The turkey was fabulous, but the house was SO smoky.
• 4. Rub the entire outside of dried-off turkey with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. I use Kosher salt because it has large, coarse grains.
• 5. Pull wing tips AWAY from the body, twist them and tuck them, backward, under the bird... up by its neck.
• 6. Using aluminum foil, form caps over the end of each drumstick. If any parts of the turkey extend beyond the pan rim, make a foil "collar" underneath to make sure drippings flow back into the pan. Do NOT tie legs together, do NOT add stuffing, do NOT close body cavity. It's probably okay to put a little seasoning in the cavity (herbs, lemon, onion) but don't fill up the cavity.
• 7. Pour 2 inches of water into the bottom of the pan.
• 8. Bake on the 2nd to lowest rack in the oven.
• 9. Halfway through cooking time, turn the roasting pan around 180 degrees to ensure even cooking. Do NOT flip the bird over.
• 10. It's done when the internal temp (in the thickest part of BOTH the THIGH and BREAST is 160 degrees. Make certain they are BOTH at temp. Sometimes the thighs take a bit longer. When done, remove from the oven. Approximate Cooking Timing: 10-13 lbs. = 50 minutes to 1 1/4 hrs. 13-16 lbs. = 1 1/4 hrs to 1 hour 50 minutes. 16-19 lbs. = 1 1/2 hrs to 2 hrs. 19-22 lbs. = 1 3/4 hrs to 2 1/4 hrs. 22-24 lbs. = 2 hrs to 2 1/2 hrs. 25+ lbs. = 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hrs...or a bit more depending on how humongous it is. Are you sure it's not an ostrich you're roasting? If not, call the Guinness Book of Records.
• 11. Cover completely with foil and let rest 30-45 minutes before carving. The internal temp will continue to rise to the recommended 165 degrees. After resting, transfer to a platter for carving. NOTE: There will likely be a lot of juices in the cavity. Drain them before transferring the bird to a platter. Save the juices to make gravy or moisten dressing.

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.