Thanksgiving Dinner

Perfect Roast Turkey with Best-Ever Gravy
18 Servings
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One 18-pound fresh turkey
About 12 cups of your favorite stuffing
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
2 1/2 quarts Homemade Turkey Stock (below), Melted unsalted butter, if needed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1. Position a rack in the lowest position of the oven and preheat to 325°F.

2. Reserve the turkey neck and giblets to use in gravy or stock. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water. Pat the turkey skin dry. Turn the turkey on its breast. Loosely fill the neck cavity with stuffing. Using a thin wooden or metal skewer, pin the neck skin to the back. Fold the turkey's wings akimbo behind the back or tie to the body with kitchen string. Loosely fill the large body cavity with stuffing. Place any remaining stuffing in a lightly buttered casserole, cover, and refrigerate to bake as a side dish. Place the drumsticks in the hock lock or tie together with kitchen string.

3. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Rub all over with the softened butter. Season with salt and pepper. Tightly cover the breast area with aluminum foil. Pour 2 cups of the turkey stock into the bottom of the pan.

4. Roast the turkey, basting all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan (lift up the foil to reach the breast area), until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh (but not touching a bone) reads 180°F and the stuffing is at least 160°F, about 4 1/4 hours. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 1/2 cups at a time. Remove the foil during the last hour to allow the breast skin to brown.

5. Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter and let it stand for at least 20 minutes before carving. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F. Drizzle 1/2-cup turkey stock over the stuffing in the casserole, cover, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a heatproof glass bowl or large measuring cup. Let stand for 5 minutes, then skim off and reserve the clear yellow fat that has risen to the top. Measure 3/4 cup fat, adding melted butter if needed. Add enough turkey stock to the skimmed drippings to make 8 cups total.

7. Place the roasting pan in two stove burners over low heat and add the turkey fat. Whisk in the flour, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the turkey stock and the optional bourbon. Cook, whisking often, until the gravy has thickened and no trace of raw flour taste remains, about 5 minutes. Transfer the gravy to a warmed gravy boat. Carve the turkey and serve the gravy and the stuffing alongside.

Homemade Turkey Stock

Make Ahead: The stock can be prepared and refrigerated for up to 3 days ahead or frozen for up to 3 months.

Turkey parts with lots of bone, like wings and backs, make the best stock. Use the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard in the stock, but not the liver. (Liver makes the stock bitter.) When the stock is strained, you can retrieve the neck and giblets to use in giblet gravy.

Browning the turkey parts first give the stock a rich color that will make a dark gravy. Cooking the vegetables brings out their flavor. Too many cooks throw some giblets in a pot with some water to boil up a weak, pale stock that doesn't have much flavor.

The longer a stock simmers, the better, up to 12 hours. Make the stock in a 5 1/2-quart slow cooker. Transfer the browned turkey and vegetable mixture to the cooker, add the herbs, and pour in enough cold water to cover generously. Cook on Low, and the stock will barely simmer all night long, to make a clear, delicious stock. Makes about 2 1/2 quarts

If time is a factor, just simmer the stock for an hour or two--it will still be better than using water or canned broth to make your gravy. Or, make a pot well ahead of Thanksgiving and freeze it.

Don't add salt to your stock. The stock is often used in recipes where it must be reduced, and the final dish could end up too salty. To check the stock's flavor, ladle some into a cup and season lightly with salt before tasting. Without the salt, it may taste deceptively weak.

3 pounds turkey wings
Turkey neck and giblets (liver reserved)
2 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium celery rib with leaves, chopped
6 parsley sprigs
1/2 t dried thyme
1/4 t black peppercorns
1 bay leaf

1. Using a heavy cleaver, chop the wings and neck into 2-inch pieces. (If necessary, ask the butcher to do this for you.) Using a sharp knife, trim away any membranes from the giblets.

2. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the turkey wings, neck, and giblets and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 minutes.

3. Return the turkey to the pot. Add enough cold water to cover the turkey by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam that rises to the surface. Add the parsley, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Transfer to crockpot. Cook at a bare simmer for up to 12 hours. As needed, add more water to the pot to keep the bones covered.

4. Strain the stock through a colander into a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes, then skim off the clear yellow fat that rises to the surface. If desired, remove the giblets, cool, finely chop, and refrigerate for use in gravy. The neck meat can be removed in strips, chopped, and reserved as well. Cool the stock completely before refrigerating or freezing. (Turkey stock can be prepared up to 3 days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. It can also be frozen in airtight containers for up to 3 months.)

Small-Batch Turkey Stock

A smaller amount of stock can be prepared with just the turkey neck and giblets. As this relatively small amount of turkey won't give a very full flavored stock, use chicken broth (homemade or canned) as a booster. Following the instructions above, brown the neck and giblets from 1 turkey in 1-tablespoon oil. Add 1 small onion, 1 small carrot, and 1 small celery rib, all chopped, and cook until softened. Add 1-quart water and one 13 3/4-ounce can low-sodium chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add 3 parsley sprigs, 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, 6 peppercorns, and 1 small bay leaf. Simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours (the smaller amount of liquid would evaporate away if cooked longer). Makes about 1 quart.

Traditional Cornbread Stuffing

1/2 t thyme
1/2 t sage
3/4 C celery, finely chopped
1/2 C onion, finely chopped
1/4 C parsley, chopped
4 C cornbread crumbs
1/4 C butter
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper

Cook celery, onion, and parsley in butter for about 4-5 minutes or until tender. Add thyme and sage. Mix lightly with other ingredients.

Traditional Herb Stuffing

1/2 C butter 1 med onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 t salt
1 t thyme
1 t rosemary
1 t sage
1 t black pepper
1/2 t savory
1 T dried parsley
1 C poultry seasoning
8 C stale bread, broken into one-inch pieces

Melt butter in large skillet and add all ingredients except the bread and stock. Cook over medium heat until onions are soft. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the bread and stock and mix well.
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To stuff a turkey: Fill main turkey cavity and neck cavity with stuffing.

To bake stuffing in pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 15 x 10-inch baking dish. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil and bake until heated through, about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes.

To cook in Crockpot. Cook on high 1 hour and 4-6 hours on low. Serves 6-8

Classic Cranberry Sauce

This recipe can be prepared up to 4 days ahead of time. Refrigerate until use.

3/4 C water
1/2 C sugar or maple syrup
2 1/2 C fresh cranberries
1 T brandy
1 T orange juice
1 t orange zest

Put the water and sugar in a saucepan and stir in sugar until dissolved, then add the cranberries and bring to the boil. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the berries begin to pop.

Crock Pot Cranberries: Combine as above. Cover and cook on high 2 to 3 hours until some pop.
Remove from heat and stir in the brandy. Chill until serving time. Makes about 4 cups

Glazed Carrots

8 large carrots -- thinly sliced
1/4 C frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 T grated orange zest
1 t cornstarch
1/8 t ground cloves

Steam carrots for 10-15 min or until tender. Combine apple juice, orange zest, cornstarch and cloves in a large saucepan and mix until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture has thickened and cleared. Add steamed carrots to the sauce, mix well and serve. Serves 8

Corn with Roasted Garlic Butter

1 head garlic, halved across
1/4 cup softened butter
6 tsp. chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
4 ears freshly boiled corn, or frozen corn

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap garlic in foil; roast in oven for 40 minutes or until tender. Let cool; squeeze garlic pulp out of cloves into small bowl. Stir in butter, parsley and salt. Serve with ears of corn, or add to a bowl of cooked, drained frozen corn before serving.

Pumpkin pie

1 c brown sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 c cooked pumpkin
1 2/3 c evaporated milk
1/2 t salt
1/3 c water
2 T flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Mix together sugar, spices, salt, flour and stir into pumpkin. Add milk and eggs. Pour into 9-inch unbaked pie shell. Bake in 450 degree F. oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until filling is firm.

Make a Head Frozen Angel Flake Biscuits

1 pkg. dry yeast (1 T)
2 T warm water
1 C Crisco
2 C buttermilk
5 C flour
4 T sugar
1 t soda
3 t baking powder
1 t salt

Cut shortening into dry ingredients. Add yeast and buttermilk. Knead to dough consistency. Roll out to 1/2" thickness; cut with cutter. Melt butter. Dip biscuits in melted butter and fold in half. Freeze 12 to a pan.

Do not thaw. Bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes or until brown.