Brining your turkey before roasting makes it so moist and flavorful. Our rosemary pan gravy is lighter than traditional gravies and so flavorful! This same gravy technique can be used when roasting chickens too.
Notes
Nutrition per Serving Cal: 172.9 • Fat: 9.2g • Carb: 4.8g • Protein: 14.9g • Fiber: .5g • Sugar: 3.2g
Ingredients
Brine, Prep Time: 10 minutes • Brine Time: 2 days
Brine, Prep Time: 10 minutes • Brine Time: 2 days
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/2 lemon, juiced and rinds
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp peppercorns
- 1/4 cup salt
- 2 gallons heavily iced water
- 1 – 10lb. turkey, remove giblets and neck
- 5 sprigs rosemary
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 head of garlic, cut in half crosswise
- 3 carrots, cut into chunks
- 3 stalks celery, cut into chunks
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- S & P
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 cups chicken or turkey stock
- pan drippings, drained of fat
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- Place frozen turkey on a rimmed baking sheet in the refrigerator to thaw. It will take 2-3 days for your turkey to thaw completely in the fridge, so plan ahead. I recommend thawing your turkey 5 days before Thanksgiving (or whatever day you plan on cooking the turkey). This allows it to thaw completely and gives you two days to brine your turkey.
- When your turkey is thawed, remove the neck and giblets from the inside, discard or reserve for making stock.
- In a large container that will fit in the fridge, mix all the brine ingredients together. Place thawed turkey in the brine and make sure it submerged. If it’s not, place a heavy plate or anything heavy & sanitary to weigh it down. Place container in the fridge. Brine turkey for 2 days.
- Flip turkey on the second day.
- When you’re ready to cook, pull the turkey out of the brine and rinse and drain the turkey. Place the turkey on a roasting rack that’s placed inside a roasting pan.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with the oven rack on the lowest notch.
- Tie the turkey’s legs together with kitchen twine (some turkeys already have their legs attached with a plastic tie, that’s fine!)
- Cut small slits in the top of the drumsticks and tuck the end of the wings in them (see pictures below).
- Season the inside of the turkey with salt and pepper then stuff it with the celery, carrot, rosemary, onion, thyme and garlic. If some of the vegetables don’t fit, simply place in the roasting pan below it.
- Rub the outside of the turkey with 1 Tbsp canola oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Pour 1/4 cup of chicken stock in the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Place turkey in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and continue roasting for 2 hours or until the internal temperature, taken at the thigh, is 165 degrees and the juices run clear. Some turkeys come with a pop-up timer — if that’s the case, then wait for that to pop up! When reading the temperature, make sure to keep thermometer off the bone, touching the bone will give you an inaccurate reading.
- When turkey is done, remove from oven, place on a carving board and tent with foil. Let rest for 30 minutes.
- Strain the solids from the drippings then pour drippings into a fat separator.
- In a straight-sided skillet, heat 1 Tbsp butter over medium high heat. When melted, add flour, whisking to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly pour in the red wine and chicken stock, whisking constantly to combine.
- Carefully pour in pan drippings, be careful not to pour in the fat. Continue to whisk to combine.
- Add rosemary and stir.
- Bring to a boil then lower to medium heat and reduce the gravy for 15-20 minutes, until it reaches desired consistency. It should be pretty thin like a pan jus, but not watery.
- Season with salt if necessary, mine was plenty salty.
- Carve turkey and serve with rosemary pan gravy.