Perfect Roast Turkey
Recipe Mari Loewen, Photography Ross Cornish
Perfect roast turkey
1 20-pound fresh whole turkey, giblets and neck removed and reserved
1 ½ cups butter, softened
1 750ml bottle dry white wine
2 tablespoons coarse salt
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
Cheesecloth, cut into 4 extra-large squares
Kitchen string
Giblet stock
Giblets and neck from turkey (discard liver)
4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk with leaves, chopped
1 small leek, chopped
1 bay leaf
Coarse salt and cracked black pepper
The Gravy
Pan juices
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups giblet stock (see below)
Preparation
For giblet stock, rinse giblets and neck; pat dry. In medium saucepan, cook onion, celery and leek with butter for about 10 minutes. Place in medium pot with 4 cups water, bay leaf, giblets, and neck, and bring to boil, then reduce to simmer about 45 minutes. Strain and set aside to use in gravy.
To prepare turkey, rinse with cool water, pat dry with paper towels, bring to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Place oven rack on lowest level. In large bowl, combine butter and white wine and place cheesecloth in bowl to soak.
Place turkey, breast side up, on rack of large roasting pan. Fold wing tips under turkey and season generously with salt and pepper, inside and out. Fill cavity with stuffing and tie legs together loosely with kitchen string. Fold neck flap under and rub turkey with butter and sprinkle with more salt and pepper.
Lift cheesecloth out of liquid, squeeze slightly and spread evenly over entire turkey, pushing sides in around the turkey into the pan, reserving liquid to use as basting liquid; set aside.
Place turkey, legs first in oven and cook 30 minutes. Remove and baste over the cheesecloth. Place back in oven and reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Cook 2 ½ more hours, basting every 30 minutes using up all basting liquid. Remove turkey from oven and discard cheesecloth, removing carefully so as not to remove skin. Baste turkey with pan juices and return to the oven, breast side first. Cook 1 more hour, basting with pan juices after 30 minutes. Remove turkey from oven, insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. The temperature should reach 180° and turkey should be golden brown. If not fully cooked, baste again and return to oven to cook another 20 to 30 minutes.
Reserving roasting pan for gravy, transfer turkey to serving platter and rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. Serves up to 10.
For gravy, over medium heat, place turkey roasting pan and add wine and stock, and whisk constantly until slightly thickened. Pour very hot gravy over rested sliced turkey to serve. Serves 10.
