Roasting a Turkey
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General Discussion
If at all possible have a second person responsible for the
gravy so you can tend to the potatoes, vegetables or what have you.
There are a number of procedures all of which will produce about the
same result if done correctly. The procedure given here is, I feel,
particularly reliable for persons who make gravy just once or twice a
year.
Thickeners other than flour based roux can be used, such as cornstarch,
but cornstarch tends to produce an overly shiny "cheap Chinese restaurant"
effect and isn't tolerant of reheating.
For complete details and procedures for roasting a turkey, see our page
Roasting a Turkey.
Equipment
You can make gravy with no equipment other than pots, pans and spoons
you already have, but a gravy separator is a huge convenience. It
is not only useful for gravy but can be used every time you make stock.
The separator you want is the 4-cup Oxo (illustrated). It has its
own strainer (though I never use that) and the rubber stopper (inserted
before pouring stuff in) prevents fat from getting into the spout as
happens with most separators. It's geometry is such that there's almost
no loss of liquid. It has one glaring flaw, there isn't a brush included
for cleaning the spout. You can buy a cheap bulb baster set to get a
brush that works fine.
Procedure
Final gravy making should begin the moment the turkey is set aside to
rest, but you should have prepared the previous day. Gravy should be
ready by the time you carve the turkey (25 to 40 minutes).
Ingredients
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4
3/4
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1
-
2
8
1
4
3
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6
4
4
1-1/2
tt
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oz
c
---
T
t
c
c
---
oz
oz
oz
c
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-- Roux
Butter
Flour, all purpose
-- Stock
Oil
Turkey Giblets (1)
Thyme, fresh
Parsley sprigs
Bay Leaf
Stock (2)
Water
-- Roast & Deglaze
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Wine, dry white
Salt & Pepper
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Notes
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Giblets: These should be in a bag
inside thee turkey. You may need to pour in a little warm water to
break them free if embeded in ice. They are supposed to be neck,
liver, heart and gizzard, but some packers are sloppy about exactly
how many of each go into the bag.
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Stock: Diners will expect a lot
more gravy than can be made with just the Giblets, even if you toss
in the wing tips too - so we need stock. If you don't have stock on
hand, toss in some chicken wings or whatever you may have to make
some. No vegetables, those come from the roasting pan. If nothing is
available, use water and three or four Chicken Bouillon Cubes.
- U.S. measure:
t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart,
oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch,
ar=as required tt=to taste
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Day Before - Make Roux and Stock
Roux: This will make plenty of roux to
guard against disasters - freeze what's left over for other thickening
jobs. Melt the Butter and bring it to frying temperature but do
not brown. Add Flour and fry slowly until flour tastes nutty and
cooked (but not browned). Careful with your tongue when tasting, this
stuff can burn.
- Put the Roux in a small bowl in the freezer compartment. As
it freezes break it up with a spoon so you end up with a bowl of small
to medium frozen lumps.
Stock: You need to end up with about 5 cups
of stock. This is a lot more than the Giblets alone will yield - See
Note-2 for solutions.
- Take the Giblets and Neck from the turkey, and the
Wing Tips (if you have elected to cut them off). Chop the neck
into several pieces (a sharp Chinese cleaver knife is perfect for this).
Cut the Heart, Gizzard and Liver in half. Also
cut up the Wing Tips and Tail if used.
- In a large sauce pan, put one tablespoon of Oil and fry the
Turkey Parts, stirring until lightly browned (about 5 minutes).
- Remove the Liver. It won't be used, so you can slice it
up and eat it now with a little lemon juice.
- Add Stock and enough Water to make 7 cups. Add herbs
and Simmer a couple hours, skimming off any foam.
- Strain Stock and use your gravy separator to defat it, then let stand
a bit and decant, leaving behind the debris that sinks to the bottom.
- Pick any recoverable meat off the neck bones and chop it and the
giblets quite fine.
- Refrigerate stock and chopped giblets (separately) until needed.
Turkey Day - Turkey is ready for the oven.
- Chop Vegetables (see ingredient list above) and put them in
the roasting pan under the rack. Add about 3 cups of water to keep
stuff from burning until the turkey starts dripping (rather late in
the process) Check periodically to make sure pan hasn't become too
dry. Vegies should become very well browned but not burned.
Turkey is Done and Resting
- Check the Roasting Pan to see if it needs more liquid to pour
properly. If so, add some of the stock you made yesterday to the pan.
Pour the liquid drippings from the roasting pan through a strainer
into your gravy separator. Squeeze the solids with a wooden spoon to
recover the liquid they retain. Return solids to the roasting pan.
- Let the drippings settle a few minutes, then pour the liquid into
your prepared stock, discarding the fat.
- Deglaze the pan: Place the roasting pan over two
burners on the stove top. Set the burners to medium and pour in the
1-1/2 cups of White Wine. When it comes to a fast simmer, scrape
up the browned bits (fond) stuck to the pan. Note: if you've
roasted the turkey by Method #2
(covered pan) there may be no fond to deglaze, just juice.
- Strain the pan juices into the stock, discarding the solids.
- Bring to a fast simmer off to one side of the burner so any scum that
rises concentrates in one place and can be easily skimmed off.
- Once skimmed, add in the Giblet pieces and start stirring in
lumps of frozen Roux. Note: you will end up with plenty
of roux left over so don't just dump it in. Keep stirring and adding
roux until the gravy has reached the thickness you desire (it should
coat a wooden spoon). Keep in mind that it'll thicken a bit more as
it cools.
- Give it a last skimming as needed. Season to taste with Salt
and Pepper and serve in a gravy boat.
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