Brown Turkey Stock For Double Stuffed Turkey Recipes

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.

HERB AND BUTTER ROASTED TURKEY WITH WHITE WINE PAN GRAVY.

Steps:

• 1. Remove the turkey from the fridge one hour before roasting. Remove the giblets + neck and allow to come to room temperature.2. Make the butter. In a medium bowl, combine the 1 stick butter, the sage, thyme, parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper. 3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan.4. Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper and fill the cavity with the, lemons, garlic and onion. Gently lift the skin of the turkey by using your fingers and going in between the skin and body of the bird. Rub the herb butter under the skin of the bird, spreading some of the butter on top of the skin as well. Take the remaining 1 stick butter and melt it over the low heat on the stove or in the microwave. Dampen your cheesecloth with warm water and squeeze dry. Submerge the cheesecloth in the melted butter, making sure all the cheese cloth has soaked up the butter. Lay the cheesecloth over the bird, covering most of the bird. Drizzle any remaining butter over the turkey.5. Pour 4 cups of chicken broth into the bottom of the roasting plan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and roast for 45 minutes at 450 degrees F. After 45 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and continue cooking for another 2 hours (until the turkey registers 160 F. on a meat thermometer), adding 1-2 cup of broth half way through roasting. I like to baste the turkey with the drippings 2 times throughout cooking and when doing so rotate the roasting pan.6. Remove the turkey from the oven and remove the cheesecloth, transfer the turkey to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil and let rest 20-30 minutes before slicing.7. Make the gravy. Strain the liquid from the roasting pan, skimming off most of the fat. I like to pour the broth into a 4 cup measuring cup and then place in the freezer for 10 minutes. This helps the fat rise to the top of the surface. Once you have skimmed the fat, add enough broth to equal about 4-5 cups total of drippings/broth.8. Place the roasting pan over two burners and add a splash of wine (about 1/2 cup) to deglaze the pan. You want to scrape up all those brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is throughly deglazed, add the butter and once melted, add the flour whisking to combine. Cook stirring constantly, until the mixture is golden, around 5 minutes.9. Increase heat to medium high and add the remaining 1/2 cup of white wine, whisking as you go to let the wine reduce down. Slowly add reserved broth, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the sage and cook, continuing to stir, until the gravy has thickened to your desired thickness, around 8 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm with the turkey.

BONED, ROLLED, AND TIED TURKEY

Steps:

• Bone the turkey: Place it on a work surface, breast side down. Slice skin along backbone from neck to tail. Cut and pull flesh and skin away from carcass. Cut flesh from saber-shaped bone near wing, and remove bone. Sever ball-and-socket wing joints so that they are separated from carcass but still attached to skin. Continue cutting breast meat away from bone up to the ridge of the breastbone. Turn turkey around, and repeat on other side. Pull gently to separate breastbone and carcass flesh (save carcass for homemade turkey stock). Cut off wing tip and middle section, leaving largest wing bone; save for stock. Holding outside of wing bone, cut through tendons; scrape meat from bone. Pull out bone, using knife to free it. Holding inside end of leg bone, cut through tendons attaching the flesh to the bone. Use knife to scrape meat from bone, pushing it away from end of bone. Cut bone free of skin. Cut out any sinews still remaining on leg. Repeat on other side, then push leg and wing skin side out. Butterfly breast so that meat completely covers skin. Cover with plastic wrap. Lightly pound meat until even.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the stuffing: Place a large skillet over medium heat; when it is hot, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, sage, and mustard. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and translucent but not brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside to cool. Add the ground turkey and pork, breadcrumbs, eggs, cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the bowl. Stir to combine.
• Lay turkey breast on a work surface, skin side down, and season with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary. Place stuffing in the middle of the turkey. Roll turkey up to form a long tube; use toothpicks or wooden skewers to hold in place. Tie every 2 inches with kitchen twine. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with remaining teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Tuck rosemary branches along the top of the roll under the twine. Place on roasting rack over a large pan.
• Roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 150 degrees, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove from oven. Brush with maple syrup. Return to oven, and roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees to 165 degrees, about 20 minutes more.
• Remove from oven, and let rest for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, remove twine, and cut crosswise into 1/2- to 1-inch-thick slices. Place slices on a platter, and garnish with watercress. Serve with cranberry compote.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY BREAST ROULADE WITH STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place a baking rack on a sheet pan or into a roasting pan.
• Pound out turkey: Lay the butterflied turkey breast between two large pieces of plastic wrap on clean work surface. Use a mallet (or rolling pin) to slightly pound turkey breast to an even ¾'' thickness. Remove plastic wrap and discard.
• Add stuffing: Sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper. Spread the stuffing mixture, in a ½'' thick layer, evenly over the turkey leaving a ¾-1'' border on all sides. Be careful not to overstuff the turkey or you will have a difficult time rolling it up. Transfer any remaining stuffing to a buttered baking dish and follow baking instructions below, adding it to the oven alongside of the turkey in the last hour of cooking.
• Roll the turkey: Starting at the shortest end of the turkey breast, skin removed side down, roll the turkey up and over the stuffing, jelly-roll style. Use your fingers to tuck in any stuffing that escapes on the sides as you roll. Firmly tie up the turkey roulade with kitchen twine every 2'' to form a compact cylinder.
• Season the roulade: Brush turkey with butter and season generously with salt and pepper.
• Brown the roulade: Heat oil in a large skillet, Dutch oven, or roasting pan (something large enough to hold the roulade) over medium high heat. Once hot, add turkey seam side down to pan. Sear roulade on all sides until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes total. Check the side you are searing every minute, depending on how hot your pan is. You want to brown it on all sides, not burn it.
• Roast: Transfer the turkey roulade, seam side down, to the rack insert. **Keep the pan you seared the turkey in, you will use the brown bits stuck to the bottom to make your gravy**. Roast for about 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 160 degrees (be sure to test internal temperature in a few places. My turkey roulade took 1 hour, 25 minutes to reach 160 degrees F).
• Rest: Remove the turkey from the oven and tent with aluminum foil. Allow the turkey to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before carving into ½- ¾'' thick slices.
• While Turkey is roasting, prepare the gravy: Make a sachet by laying a large piece of cheese cloth on a clean work surface. Place all sachet ingredients in the middle of the cloth, bring up the sides and tie the top with kitchen twine to form a small bag. (See picture included in blog above). Add chicken stock and sachet to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook until stock is reduced to 2 cups, about 25-30 minutes. Set aside.
• Place the pan you seared your turkey in over medium heat, add wine and vinegar. Cook until reduced by ½, scraping up brown bits left in the pan.
• Add the reduced stock and bring to a simmer. In a small mixing bowl combine potato starch with 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons of water to form a slurry. Whisk slurry mixture into stock. Continue simmering the gravy, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes, or until mixture has thickened to desired consistency. Season generously with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Turn heat down to low and stir in heavy cream. Keep gravy covered, over low heat and stir occasionally until ready to use.
• When ready to serve, remove the gravy from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Serve Roulade with gravy and extra stuffing on the side if using.

ROASTED TURKEY TWO WAYS

Steps:

• With a sharp knife, separate legs from the rest of turkey and cut off backbone. Reserve breast for roasting.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Debone turkey legs. Remove silver skin and all tendons. With skin side down, cover with plastic wrap and pound out evenly. Season inside with salt and pepper.
• Add 8 ounces of mushroom stuffing evenly across middle section. Roll into a tight cylinder. Tie with butcher's string and close ends with skewers. Season outside with salt and pepper. Heat a roasting pan and add olive oil. Sear meat until golden brown.
• Remove legs from roasting pan. Add carrots, celery, onion and rosemary and cook until brown. Deglaze with chicken stock. Bring to a boil and add turkey legs. Slowly braise the legs in the oven for about 2 hours until internal temperature is 130 degrees F.
• Remove foil and finish roasting to get color on the meat, until internal temperature is 140 degrees F.
• Remove legs and set aside on a platter. Cover with foil until ready to slice.
• Add 2 cups of pomegranate juice to the braising liquid. Simmer for 10 minutes then puree the sauce through a food mill. Carrots, onions and celery will thicken the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Let sit for about 30 minutes and with a small ladle, remove excess fat. Remove string and skewers. Slice into half-inch portions and serve with sauce.
• Render foie gras or chicken liver in saute pan. Remove and pour rendered fat over bread. Dice and reserve. (If you use chicken liver instead or foie gras, add 4 tablespoons of butter).
• Rinse dried porcini and soak in warm water. Drain and chop mushrooms, reserving liquid.
• Heat olive oil in saute pan over medium heat and add onions, celery and pancetta. Cook until vegetables become translucent. Combine dried mushrooms and fresh mushrooms and add reserved mushroom liquid and stock. Cook over medium heat and reduce until almost dry. Set aside.
• Place foie gras or chicken liver and dried bread crumbs in a large bowl. Add herbs, beaten eggs and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
• Fill legs of turkey according to recipe (or place stuffing in a buttered gratin dish and bake in preheated 350 degree F. oven for 30 minutes).
• Mix butter, rosemary, salt and pepper, to taste until nice and smooth. With your hands, carefully separate turkey skin from the breast meat. Spread rosemary butter evenly between skin and meat. Season turkey breast with salt and pepper and rub with olive oil.
• Place in roasting pan with a rack. If your oven is large enough, you can roast the turkey breast in the same oven while you braise the stuffed legs, which I prefer, because the steam from the braising liquid keeps the stuffing moist.
• Roast until internal temperature is 165 degrees F. Baste every 15 minutes with the pan drippings.
• When breast is done, cover with foil and let rest in a warm place until you are ready to carve.
• Yield: 12 servings