Apple Bourbon Turkey And Gravy Food

APPLE-BOURBON TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Stir together apple juice, bourbon, and brown sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey, and rinse the turkey with cold water. Drain the cavity and pat dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Dip the cheesecloth into the apple juice mixture. Wring dry. Cover the turkey with the cheesecloth. Pour the apple juice mixture over the cheesecloth, coating completely. Cover and chill for 12 to 24 hours, basting occasionally with the marrinade.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove the turkey from the pan, discarding cheesecloth and reserving 3 cups of the marinade. Sprinkle the cavity with your desired amount of salt; rub into the cavity. Sprinkle your desired amount of salt and pepper on the skin. Rub it into the skin. Tie the legs together with string; tuck the wingtips underneath.
• Arrange the celery, carrots, apples, and onion in a single layer on a roasting pan. Place the turkey, breast side up on the celery mixture. Pour the reserved marinade over the turkey in the pan.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 3 hours and 15 minutes to 4 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the thigh reads 165 degrees, basting every 30 minutes with the pan juices and shielding with aluminum foil after 2 hours 30 minutes to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Remove from the oven, and let stand for 30 minutes.
• Transfer the turkey to a serving platter. Reserve 2 1/2 cups pan drippings. Pour the drippings through a fine wire mesh stainer into a large measuring cup, discarding solids.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Gradually add the drippings, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring the mixture occasionally, 5 minutes or until the gravy thickens. Add up to 1/2 cup chicken broth to achieve the desired consistency. Sir in salt and pepper to taste. Serve the turkey with the warm gravy.

MAPLE-WHISKEY TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Make the brine: Combine 2 quarts water, the whiskey, maple syrup, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, orange and apple peels and rosemary sprigs in a large pot. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring to dissolve the salt, then turn off the heat and cover. Allow to cool completely, then place in the fridge to chill.
• Brine the turkey: Remove the turkey from its packaging and remove the bags inside that hold the neck and giblets. Rinse the neck and giblets and put them in a plastic bag in the fridge; you'll need them for the gravy. Rinse the turkey thoroughly with cold water. Place the turkey in a large brining bag or pot. Pour in the maple-whiskey brine and refrigerate 16 to 18 hours so the brine can work its magic.
• Roast the turkey: Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. After the turkey has brined, remove it from the brining bag and rinse it thoroughly again, inside and out. Pat dry.
• Truss the turkey or tuck the legs and wings, whichever you like. Place breast-side up on a rack in a large shallow roasting pan. Cover the pan with heavy-duty foil so that it's well sealed. Roast 7 to 8 minutes per pound (about 1 hour 50 minutes for a 15-pound turkey and about 2 1/2 hours for a 20-pound turkey).
• Remove the turkey from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Remove the foil. (Put stuffing in the bird if you wish at this point.) Brush the butter all over the skin of the turkey, getting in the crevices. Insert a probe thermometer into the thigh, near the hip joint. Place the turkey, uncovered, back in the oven. Continue roasting, basting or brushing with the juices in the pan every 30 minutes, until the thermometer registers 165 degrees F and the juices are no longer pink. This will take about another 10 minutes per pound (about 2 1/2 hours for a 15-pound turkey and 3 to 3 1/2 hours for a 20-pound turkey). Remove the turkey from the oven and cover lightly with foil until you are ready to carve. Pour the pan drippings into a fat separator and set aside for gravy.
• Maple-Whiskey Gravy
• Place the giblets and neck in a small saucepan of water over medium heat and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium low and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the giblets are cooked. Remove the giblets, set aside and keep the water in the saucepan.
• In the turkey roasting pan (which should not have been cleaned!), add the turkey fat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk into the fat to form a paste. If the paste is too thick or clumpy, add a little more fat. If it's too greasy, sprinkle in more flour. Whisk and cook the roux over medium-low heat until it is deep golden brown.
• Pour in the chicken broth, whiskey and maple syrup, whisking the whole time. Allow the gravy to cook and thicken for several minutes, whisking occasionally. If it gets too thick or if it's too salty, thin it with a little giblet water. If the gravy is too thin, keep cooking it until it thickens up.
• Taste, then add salt and plenty of pepper. Chop the giblets and add them in, if you like. Remove as much of the neck meat as you can and add it to the gravy. Serve immediately!

ROAST TURKEY WITH APPLE-BRANDY GRAVY

Steps:

• Combine the salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and the sugar in a small bowl. Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey and reserve for the gravy (discard the liver). Transfer the turkey to a rimmed baking sheet and pat dry. Season the skin and inside the cavity with the salt mixture. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
• Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and rinse off the salt mixture; pat dry. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Place the apple, half of the onions, 2 garlic halves, the lemon and about 10 thyme sprigs in the cavity of the turkey; tie the legs together with twine and place breast-side up in a roasting pan. Melt 2 sticks butter with 6 thyme sprigs in a small saucepan over medium heat. Divide the melted butter in half. Brush the turkey with half of the melted butter and tent with foil. Transfer to the oven and roast 3 hours.
• Meanwhile, combine the chicken broth, bay leaves, reserved neck and giblets, and the remaining chopped onion, 2 garlic halves and 4 thyme sprigs in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until reduced to about 4 cups, about 1 hour. Strain into a clean saucepan; set aside for the gravy.
• Remove the turkey from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Divide the remaining melted butter in half (remelt if necessary). Uncover the turkey and brush with half of the melted butter. Return to the oven and continue roasting until browned and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees F, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Stir the honey into the remaining melted butter and brush all over the turkey; roast 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board and brush with any remaining honey butter; let rest 30 minutes before carving.
• Meanwhile, make the gravy: Pour out the fat from the roasting pan and discard. Set the roasting pan on 2 burners over medium-high heat; add the apple brandy and hard cider. Cook, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the reserved chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
• Mix the flour and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl to make a paste; whisk into the roasting pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until thickened, about 25 minutes. Strain and keep warm over low heat. Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.

ROAST TURKEY WITH BOURBON GRAVY

Steps:

• Make turkey:
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Pat turkey dry with paper towels and sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Spoon Corn Bread Succotash Stuffing loosely into neck cavity and main cavity of turkey. Tie legs together. Using small metal skewers, pin neck skin to enclose stuffing. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Place turkey, breast side up, on rack in large pan. Add reserved turkey fat and 2 cups Turkey Stock to pan. Cover turkey loosely with foil. Roast 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes with pan drippings.
• Remove foil. Add 3 cups water to pan. Roast turkey until thermometer inserted into thigh registers 180°F, basting occasionally with pan juices, about 2 1/2 hours longer. Transfer turkey to platter. Tent with foil. Let stand while making gravy.
• Make gravy:
• Strain juices from roasting pan into 8-cup glass measuring cup. Spoon fat off top of juices, returning 1/2 cup fat to roasting pan. Add enough remaining Turkey Stock to pan juices to measure 6 cups of broth mixture.
• Heat fat in roasting pan atop 2 burners over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Stir until mixture is golden, about 2 minutes. Whisk in broth mixture, then bourbon. Simmer until gravy thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve gravy with turkey.

BOURBON TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Pour roasting pan drippings in measuring cup and allow to separate.
• Reserve 3 tablespoons of the fat.
• Discard remaining fat and add drippings to turkey stock.
• Heat reserved fat in roasting pan over medium-high heat.
• Add garlic, shallot, rosemary, and bay leaf.
• Cook and stir until shallot is tender, about 5 minutes.
• Make a paste with butter and flour in a small bowl and reserve.
• Add broth to roasting pan and scrape up any brown bits from bottom of pan.
• Bring to boil.
• Slowly whisk in flour mixture, continuing to boil, until thickened.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Stir in one capful of good bourbon just before serving.