It takes more than 3 hours in the oven, but this recipe for a whole holiday turkey rewards with crispy skin and supremely juicy meat.
What’s more classic than a whole, roasted turkey for the holidays? The company perhaps most closely associated with these big birds provides many how-tos and recipes on its Butterball.com website – including pickle-brined, maple-mustard glazed, smoked and even java coffee-rubbed. But it’s hard to go wrong with the classic Holiday Turkey with Giblet Gravy, which combines crispy skin with juicy meat and a rich gravy made with aromatics like parsley and onion.
Make sure you have ample time to thaw a turkey, if using frozen — but don’t do it on the counter; do it instead in the fridge or in cold water. Then it takes at least three-and-a-half hours in the oven. Must-have items include a roasting pan, a meat thermometer, a sharp knife to carve the bird after resting and of course enough people to eat it all – Butterball recommends 1½ to 2 pounds per person.
Serves 14
1 fresh or frozen whole turkey, thawed if frozen (Butterball® recommends Butterball®)
2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges, divided
3 medium stalks celery, each cut into thirds, divided
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, divided
4 cloves garlic, halved, divided
Non-stick cooking spray
5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of fat from drippings
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove neck and giblets from body and neck cavities of turkey; set aside. Drain juices from turkey; pat turkey dry with paper towels. Turn wings back to hold neck skin against back of turkey. Place half each of the onion, celery, parsley and garlic inside body cavity of turkey. Place turkey, breast up, on flat roasting rack in shallow roasting pan; spray with cooking spray.
Bake 3½ to 3¾ hours, or until meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees when inserted in deepest part of thigh, covering breast and tops of drumsticks with aluminum foil after 2 hours to prevent overcooking of breast.
Meanwhile, prepare giblet stock by placing the neck, heart, gizzard, water, salt and peppercorns in large saucepan. Add the remaining onion, celery, parsley and garlic; stir. (Reserve the liver for later use or discard.) Bring just to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer 1½ hours, adding the liver, if desired, for the last 30 minutes of the cooking time. Strain stock; cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Remove meat from the neck; discard bones. Finely chop neck meat, heart, gizzard and liver, if using; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Remove turkey from pan; let stand 15 minutes before carving. Make giblet gravy by straining pan drippings from turkey into 4-cup glass measuring cup. Remove fat from drippings. Place ¼ cup of the fat in medium saucepan; discard remaining fat. Stir flour into fat in saucepan until well blended. Add enough of the reserved giblet stock to pan drippings to measure 4 cups; gradually add to the flour mixture, stirring after each addition until well blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; cook and stir until slightly thickened. Stir in the reserved neck meat and giblets; cook until heated through.
— Courtesy Butterball; find this and more recipes at butterball.com/recipes
