Herb Butter-Roasted Turkey And Gravy (ATK)

• hidangan: 10-12

Bahan-bahan

Turkey

1 (12- to 14-pound) frozen Butterball turkey (see note), thawed

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons dried herbes de Provence (see "Many Herbs, One Bottle" below)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1½ teaspoons chicken bouillon (see note)

1 teaspoon pepper

2 onions, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup white wine

Herb Gravy

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper

Arahan

1. For the turkey: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pat turkey dry inside and out with paper towels. Using fork, beat butter, herbs, garlic, zest, bouillon, and pepper until combined.

2. Following photos on page 10 (attached), spoon half of butter mixture under skin of turkey. Rub remaining butter mixture over outside of turkey and inside of cavity.

3. Scatter vegetables in bottom of large roasting pan, then add broth and wine. Tuck wings behind back and arrange turkey on V-rack set inside roasting pan. Roast until internal temperature of breast registers 165 degrees and thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees, 2½ to 3 hours. Transfer turkey to cutting board and let rest 30 minutes.

4. For the gravy: Carefully strain contents of pan into large measuring cup. Let liquid settle so that fat separates, then skim (if necessary, add enough water to measure 4 cups). Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk constantly until honey-colored, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in strained juices. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in herbs and season with salt and pepper. Carve turkey and serve with herb gravy.

Nota

Rubbing the holiday bird with herb butter sounds like a promising way to add flavor. Unfortunately, every recipe I tried proved that while the butter does help to season and color the bird, the flavor of the fresh herbs withers to nothing in the heat of the oven. I'd have to start from scratch. Following the test kitchen's standard technique, I set my oven to 400 degrees and got out my roasting pan and V- rack. While we typically flip the turkey one or more times to promote even cooking, in this case flipping caused the melted butter to drain out of the turkey. What's more, the relatively high roasting temperature caused the butter to burn rather than brown, leaving the turkey nearly blackened. Fortunately, roasting the turkey at a lower temperature solved both issues. The perfect temperature turned out to be 325 degrees: The gentler heat helped the turkey cook more evenly without flipping and allowed the butter to brown without scorching. Turning my attention to the herb flavor, I started by folding different combinations of fresh minced herbs into a stick of softened butter. I rubbed the butter under the skin, in the cavity, and over the exterior of the turkey before roasting. I quickly realized that leafy herbs, like parsley and basil, weren't going to work; their flavor dissipated over the course of cooking. Sturdier woody herbs, like thyme and rosemary, are drier and held their flavor better-too well, in fact, as they were too strong. Although it felt odd to try dried herbs in a recipe so defined by its herb flavor, the dried herbs retained their flavor without any of the unpleasant pungency. I didn't need to purchase multiple dried herbs to get complex flavor, because herbes de Provence, a French herb blend containing rosemary, marjoram, thyme, lavender, and fennel (among others), did the job. To brighten up the herb- butter mixture even more, I added grated lemon zest. But even after adding good pinches of salt and pepper, something was still missing. Common additions like Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and Marsala wine overwhelmed the herb flavor. I finally hit upon the solution when I replaced the salt with packaged chicken bouillon, which enhanced the poultry and herb flavors. With all the buttery, herbed turkey drippings in the bottom of the roasting pan, it was time to start making the gravy. To build flavor, I added chicken broth, white wine, and aromatic vegetables to the roasting pan; as the bird cooked, the drippings fell into the broth mixture and infused it with intense flavor. After thickening the gravy with flour, I finally found a place for fresh herbs. Added just before the gravy came off the stove, fresh parsley, thyme, and rosemary packed a vibrant, foral punch that perfectly complemented the deep herbal taste of the turkey. -Jeremy Sauer

We recommend using a frozen Butterball turkey-they are injected with a salt solution that helps them stay moist-but kosher or brined "natural" turkeys also work well (for information on brining, see page 31). Any chicken bouillon will work here, but Better Than Bouillon, a concentrated paste, is our favorite. To read the results of our bouillon tasting, see page 30.

Cooks country 2007 October/ November