Roast Turkey with Garlic, Sage and Fennel
- 1 20 -pound turkey
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 small onion, cut into 6 wedges
- 2 cooking apples, quartered
- 1 large bunch fresh sage
- 1 small bulb fennel, cut into 6 wedges
- 1 small carrot, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 4 sticks unsalted butter
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth
- 4 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup instant flour (such as Wondra)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Bring the turkey to room temperature 1 hour before roasting.
- Place a rack in the lowest position of the oven and remove the other racks; preheat to 350.
- Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey; discard the liver and reserve the neck and the rest of the giblets.
- Dry the turkey inside and out with paper towels and season the cavity with salt and pepper.
- Halve 1 head garlic crosswise and stuff into the cavity along with 3 onion wedges, the apples and 1/2 bunch sage.
- Place the remaining 3 onion wedges, the fennel and carrot in the center of a large roasting pan with 1 cup water.
- Set a rack above the vegetables and place the turkey breast-side up on the rack.
- Season all over with salt and pepper.
- Chop 3 tablespoons sage, then melt 3 sticks butter with the sage and salt and pepper to taste in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Fill a meat syringe with the sage butter and inject it into the breasts, legs and thighs; continue until you have used about half of the sage butter.
- Brush the bird with the rest of the butter and tie the legs together with twine.
- Roast the turkey, uncovered, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Rotate the pan and continue roasting until a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165, 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes.
- Turn off the oven but leave the turkey inside until the thermometer registers 170, 15 to 20 more minutes.
- While the turkey roasts, make the gravy: Melt the remaining 1 stick butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the reserved neck and giblets, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, about 10 minutes.
- Peel and smash the remaining head of garlic, add it to the pan and cook until golden, about 2 minutes.
- Add the broth and bay leaves, cover and simmer over medium-low heat, about 2 hours.
- Discard the bay leaves, neck and giblets.
- Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
- Transfer the vegetables to a blender.
- Pour the drippings into a liquid measuring cup and skim off the fat.
- Add 1 cup drippings and the flour to the blender and puree until smooth.
- Whisk the remaining drippings and pureed vegetables into the broth mixture.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer until the gravy is smooth, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the balsamic vinegar; season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the turkey to a platter and garnish with any remaining sage.
- Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.
- Photograph by Steve Giralt
turkey, kosher salt, garlic, onion, cooking apples, fresh sage, bulb fennel, carrot, butter, chicken, bay leaves, flour, balsamic vinegar
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/roast-turkey-with-garlic-sage-and-fennel-recipe.html (may not work)