Because I care...
I interrupt our regularly-themed (revenue management) blogposts for one that surpasses just about everything else important to me... Gravy.
If you've known me for any length of time, you'll know that my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving and that the primary reason is the gravy. Don't get me wrong; I love my family and friends and all those with whom I typically spend the holiday, but if no one were to show up but me, I would still be super excited for the gravy.
In my automatic OOO (Out of Office) email every year, I have always put my turkey recipe in it as I believe everyone should experience this gravy once in their life... But I doubt that getting it the day before Thanksgiving (or after the holiday if their email comes in before I go back to work after the weekend) is really of much use to them as they've probably already decided on their recipe. ANYWAY -
That's why I'm posting this now... A whole week BEFORE Thanksgiving. The gravy that comes from the turkey recipe below is AMAZING. In fact, I'm going with "divine" - and I'm not even worried about that being blasphemous. You need to use milk to increase it once you've used the broth to start it - otherwise you won't get that amazing creamy goodness. I kind of think that if you try it once, you won't go back. I know that deep fried turkeys are great and a lot of people swear by them (and I've had them and agree they're wonderful), but if you do that, you can't get this gravy, so as long as I'm living and in charge of the bird, we'll do turkey in the oven. So without further ado, here you go:
Roasted Turkey
10-12 lb. Turkey
10 T. Butter, divided, unsalted, at room temperature
2 T. Molasses
¼ c. Kosher Salt
¼ c. Black Pepper
2 t. Lemon Juice, fresh
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare turkey – remove giblets, make broth with neck (use for stuffing), rinse turkey, pat dry, and place in roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine 8 T. butter, molasses, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Carefully spread butter mixture evenly under skin, reaching in as far as possible without ripping it. Place any remaining molasses butter mixture in cavity. Rub remaining 2 T. butter on top of skin. Add 1 c. of water or broth to bottom of pan and roast uncovered until browned; about 45 minutes. Stuff bird and cover loosely with foil and continue to roast until done (165 degrees - both meat and stuffing). Let stand at least 30 minutes before carving.
Now for those of you who have never made gravy, read on for what I do once the turkey is done:
1. Once you remove the bird from the oven and take the rack out of the pan, scoop out any large chunks and put the pan right back on the stove.
2. To the pan of drippings, add about a quarter cup of flour. Whisk until smooth, taking care to whisk up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add about a cup of the reserved broth from the turkey and whisk until smooth.
3. Add a couple cups of milk, whisking constantly. Add flour to thicken as desired.
With a whole pan of drippings, you can make a TON of gravy - just keep adding broth/milk and flour until you have the amount you want (note: I only use broth to start - I use milk to continue increasing). I think the general rule of thumb is 2 Tablespoons of drippings for one cup of gravy... I use the whole pan, so that gives you an idea of how much gravy it will produce, but ultimately, it's to taste, so don't get tripped up by silly "rule of thumb" things. Plus, I never make enough. This gravy is amazeballs on the turkey, mashed potatoes, and the stuffing... Oooh, the cornbread stuffing with this gravy is baller.
So I wish you all a fantastic Thanksgiving, no matter what recipe you use... But I highly recommend this one. Try it sometime (maybe not this year if you've already planned); I don't think you'll regret it. And if you do, please don't break my heart by telling me.
-Sarah
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