Roasted Turkey (brine, roasting herbs, gravy)

This recipe was in our local paper this year, and I'm going to try it!
Jill Dorrough

Brine Recipe  • 1 cup kosher salt  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar • 1/2 gallon vegetable stock • 1 Tbs. black peppercorns • 1 sprig fresh rosemary • 4 fresh sage leaves • 1 1/2 gallons iced water  NOTE: Brining is not necessary; however, it will give you a more tender bird while adding flavor. Roasting ingredients: • 12- to 14-pound turkey  • 3 cored apples, (Michele favors Jona gold and gala) • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary • 3 sprigs fresh thyme • 3 small stems fresh sage  • 3 garlic cloves, smashed • 3 celery ribs, sliced lengthwise • 1 onion sliced thick • 2 quarts chicken stock • 1-1/4 cup butter • salt and pepper Turkey Gravy • 4 cups turkey drippings/chicken broth. (If there is not enough turkey drippings, make up the difference with chicken broth.)  • 4 Tbs. butter  • 4 Tbs. flour  • 2 clove garlic, smashed • 1 sprig rosemary • 1 sprig thyme • 4 sage leaves • 1/ 2 medium onion, quartered • salt and pepper to taste Directions: Roasted Turkey: Fill container with ice then add water, bringing level to 1-1/2 gallon. Thaw and clean turkey, removing neck and gizzards.  Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve then remove from heat, cool and refrigerate until chilled. Add brine and iced water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place breast side down in brine, cover and refrigerate or place in a cold area, for example garage, outside, basement, etc. for six hours or longer. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.  Roasting ingredients and instructions: Do not stuff turkey with breadcrumbs – the stuffing will absorb all the moisture, which makes for a dry bird and takes longer to cook. Bake stuffing in a casserole dish using chicken broth instead of water. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Remove turkey from brine, rinse inside and out thoroughly with cold water, pat dry with paper towel. If skipping brining method, just rinse and pat dry the turkey. Fill cored apples with 1 sprig each of rosemary, thyme and sage. Place two herbed apples, two garlic cloves and 1/2 cup of butter in cavity; place one herbed apple, one garlic clove and 1/4 cup of butter in neck. Melt 1/2 cup of butter, coat whole bird, then salt and pepper generously. Loosely tie drumsticks together with kitchen string. Layer sliced onion and celery in bottom of roasting pan (the vegetables will raise your turkey and add flavor to the broth). Place turkey, breast side down, in roasting pan on top of vegetables. (Cooking the turkey, breast side down, will produce extremely moist white meat, due to all of the juices flowing down into the breast while cooking). Add chicken stock. Roast turkey uncovered on lowest rack of the oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce cooking temperature to 350 degrees, cover entire pan with foil (spray inside top of foil with pan coating to prevent sticking) and cut 6 1/2- inch slits on top. Continue cooking turkey approximately 2 hours until meat thermometer registers 150 degrees. (insert thermometer into the largest section of thigh, avoiding the bone). When turkey reaches 150 degrees, remove foil (save foil for cooling period), flip turkey to breast side up (this will brown the outside of the breast) and continue cooking until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees (approximately 15 to 30 minutes) Remove from oven, tent with foil for half an hour, then carve. (The internal temperature will rise to 175 degrees, giving you a perfect turkey.) Turkey Gravy Remove turkey from pan. Skim or drain fat from turkey drippings. Add fresh herbs and vegetables to drippings. Deglaze roasting pan (see directions below). In a saucepan melt butter and add flour to make a roux. Drain stock through a colander removing vegetables and herbs. Pour the liquid into roux, bring to a boil and simmer stirring frequently until thickened. For extra or thicker gravy add additional roux (1 Tbs. butter and 1 Tbs. flour per cup of liquid)  If you wish to save time and make your gravy the day before, follow the recipe using turkey or chicken broth, omitting turkey drippings and deglazing. Reheat on stove top at medium heat for 30 minutes before serving. If gravy is too thick, dilute with turkey drippings or water. • Deglazing – There will be little pieces of caramelized droppings from the meat in the bottom of the pan. These droppings are packed with flavor and only need liquid to release their flavors. Place the roasting pan over 2 burners add liquid, cook over medium high heat, scraping the bottom of the pan with a whisk or wooden spoon stirring vigorously. Boil only a few seconds to release the particles from the bottom of the pan. Add this liquid to your gravy.