Perfectly Roasted Turkey with Bourbon Pan Gravy
It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the star of the show: a perfectly roasted turkey! It’s seasoned with salt, pepper, and sage then perfectly roasted to a golden brown (but still moist and delicious).
Ingredients
- 1 14-16 pound Turkey
- 1 T Dried Sage
- 3 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 3 slices Bacon cut in half
- Fresh Thyme & Sage Leaves
- Olive Oil
- 3 cups Chicken Stock
Gravy
- 4 T Butter
- 4 T Flour
- 3 3/4 cups Stock or pan dripping (skim off fat)
- 1/4 cup Bourbon
- 1 T Flat-Leafed Parsley chopped
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash the turkey inside and out, removing the little bag of goodies.
- Pat the turkey dry.
- In a small bowl, combine the dry sage, salt and pepper
- Using your fingers, separate the skin from the breast meat. Sprinkle with spice blend. Place 3 half slices of bacon, thyme, and sage leaves under the skin of each breast.
- Rub the bird with olive oil, then rub with spice mixture.
- Let stand on the counter for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- Loosely stuff the cavity of the turkey with stuffing, not too stuffed.
- Place the stuffed turkey on the rack in a roasting pan, and then pour the stock into the pan.
- Place uncovered turkey in a preheated 425º F oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, cover the roasting pan with foil. Using potholders, crimp and press the foil into the edges of the pan making a tight seal and return to oven and reduce the heat to 350º F and continue roasting for 3-3½ more hours.
- Check the internal temperature; it should be 160-165º F deep in breast. If it is not 165º F, recover with the foil and continue cooking, checking every 30 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160-165º F.
- Remove foil; baste with pan drippings, if necessary place back in oven and brown an additional 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- Rest the turkey at least 30 minutes before carving. The turkey will remain warm for about 1½ hours
- To carve the turkey, remove the stuffing.
- Use a carving knife to remove the leg and thigh. Then separate the leg from the thigh.
- Remove the meat from the bones and slice into bite-size chunks. Place sliced meat on platter. Repeat with other leg.
- Cut down the breastbone to remove the breast meat from the bone.
- Remove the bacon and herbs from under the skin.
- Slice into slices of the desired thickness. Repeat with other side of turkey.
- Place any remaining meat on platter. Enjoy!
Gravy
- In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter.
- Add the flour and stir constantly.
- Cook until light brown and smells like toast, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Add pan stock/drippings and bourbon while stirring. Turn the heat to medium high and cook until slightly thick, approximately another 4-6 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and add parsley.
- Pour finished gravy into a bowl for serving.
Notes
TIPS & TRICKS FOR TURKEY
– I wash the turkey (step #2) the night before then place in a clean garbage bag. – On Thanksgiving Day, 6 hours before serving, I take the turkey out of the refrigerator and start the recipe from step #3. This allows the turkey to sit an hour on the counter. Then 4 hours to roast and an additional hour in case it needs longer roasting time and time to rest before carving. – The cooked turkey can sit up 1½ hour before carving. The meat will still be warm. Serve with plenty of hot gravy. TIPS & TRICKS FOR GRAVY – This gravy is meant to be on the thin side, the idea is that it will be poured over the turkey and stuffing to warm them up. – If you prefer a thicker gravy increase the butter and flour by 1 tablespoon each.
– I wash the turkey (step #2) the night before then place in a clean garbage bag. – On Thanksgiving Day, 6 hours before serving, I take the turkey out of the refrigerator and start the recipe from step #3. This allows the turkey to sit an hour on the counter. Then 4 hours to roast and an additional hour in case it needs longer roasting time and time to rest before carving. – The cooked turkey can sit up 1½ hour before carving. The meat will still be warm. Serve with plenty of hot gravy. TIPS & TRICKS FOR GRAVY – This gravy is meant to be on the thin side, the idea is that it will be poured over the turkey and stuffing to warm them up. – If you prefer a thicker gravy increase the butter and flour by 1 tablespoon each.