The Finale

Today's entry will be short since we are visiting family, but I did not want to keep you in suspense as to how the turkey came out. 

Sorry I don't have more pictures of the prep, but it was 5 in the morning and I am NOT a morning person. I took the turkey out of the refrigerator at 4 am and let it set in a cool oven for an hour to bring it to room temperature. The turkey was then trussed, and stuffed loosely with a bit of the herbed butter from yesterday, lemon, onion, celery, and carrot. Then I used my hands to gently separate the skin from the body and put the remainder of the butter, in pats, all under the skin. Then I gave the bird a nice massage to make sure the butter was evenly distributed. The turkey was then placed, breast side up, in a v-rack in a roasting pan and into a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes I removed the turkey from the oven and reduced the temperature to 325 degrees. The turkey was flipped and I inserted my digital thermometer (with an alarm--one of man's best inventions) into the thickest portion of the thigh and put it back in the oven. Almost 2 and a half hours later she was done! We removed the turkey to an aluminum foil dress to set, poured the drippings into a glass dish and started on the gravy. First I made a roux mixing butter and flour.

Then the pinot noir was added to the pan that the turkey had been roasted in. The wine was cooked until it was reduced by half. One cup of the pan drippings and 4 cups of the broth that was made yesterday were added and boiled for 5 minutes.

And here is where my story ends for brining a turkey, as we packed it all up and traveled to my in-laws where we finished the gravy (mixed the roux and the reduced wine/broth until smooth) and then went on to devour the turkey along with many of the traditional Thanksgiving day dishes. I highly recommend using a brine with a turkey. The meat was full of flavor, tender and juicy.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and made some unforgettable memories.