Thanksgiving Herb Butter Roasted Turkey with White Wine Gravy
The main event for the big day! This turkey and gravy pairing is always a hit!
Ingredients
For the turkey:
- 15 lb turkey giblets and neck removed
- ½ - ¾ cup unsalted butter 1 – 1 ½ sticks, room temperature
- 8-10 fresh sage leaves very finely chopped
- 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme very finely chopped
- 2-3 fresh rosemary very finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic grated
- 1 large yellow onion cut into rounds with the skin left on
- 3 carrots chopped in thirds
- 3 celery stalks chopped in thirds
- Zest from ½ orange
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Veggies and herbs for the pan and for stuffing the turkey. I use onions garlic, carrots, apples, oranges slices, celery, and more of the fresh herbs
For the gravy
- Drippings from the turkey
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- ¾ cup dry white wine I used pinot grigio
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove the turkey from the fridge about an hour before roasting so it can lose most of its chill.
- Preheat the oven to 400F
- Add the sliced onions to the bottom of your roasting pan. Place the turkey right on top of the onions breast side up and thoroughly pat it dry. In a small bowl, mix together the room temperature butter, chopped sage, rosemary, thyme, grated garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the turkey with salt and pepper, including the cavity. Gently lift the skin of the turkey above the breast and place a generous dollop of the butter on each side. Use the remaining butter to coat the entire outside of the turkey. Add your veggies and herbs to the edges of the pan and the cavity of the turkey. Pour in your chicken broth and place in the oven for 1 hour.
- After an hour, lower the heat to 350F, baste the turkey, cover with aluminum and roast for another 2 hours, basting the turkey every 30-45 minutes during the cooking process. Remove the aluminum for the last 30 minutes of cooking. Once the internal temperature reads between 165-170, remove from the oven and let it rest covered with aluminum foil while you begin working on your gravy.
- Move the turkey from the roasting tray to a serving platter. Strain out all the drippings and broth into a bowl, this will be used to give the gravy tons of flavor. There should be about 4-5 cups of broth. Place it in the fridge (if it’s still hot from the oven, let it cool off first and place a towel or pot holder underneath it while in the fridge). This will help the fat rise to the top which we will use to create a roux for the gravy.
- Once the fat is separated, add it to a pan on medium high heat along with the 2 Tablespoons of butter and let it melt. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until the fat and butter completely soaks up the flour and it begins to cook down. Once the flour has cooked out for about 30 seconds, add in the wine and whisk again to fully incorporate.
- Slowly add in the drippings/broth from the turkey one ladleful at a time and continue whisking until your desired consistency. Remember that the gravy will thicken as it cools, so you can either reheat it or add more broth if you need to. Any remaining broth can be frozen or used for another meal.
- Carve the turkey, pour over the gravy and enjoy!