Description
This recipe and technique made the best turkey and gravy I have ever tasted… You will not miss the gluten at all.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
- 2 gallons filtered water
- 1 turkey, preferably pasture raised
- 2 medium onions
- 4 stalks of celery
- 4 carrots
- 1 bunch of fresh sage
- 1 bunch of fresh rosemary
- 1 large lemon, cut in quarters
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 cup of water
- 1/4 cup of ghee or preferred solid fat (melted)
Instructions
- Dissolve the salt in the water in a large pot over low heat. Once salt is dissolved, place in refrigerator for at least two hours or until completely cold.
- Rinse turkey, removing neck and giblets and reserving for another use. Place turkey in a large vessel for brining, add liquid, and place in refrigerator (or keep cold with ice – see above) for 8 hours.
- Remove turkey from brine and rinse thoroughly. Pat dry with paper towels, place on wire rack over cookie sheet and put in refrigerator uncovered to dry for at least 6 hours.
- Remove turkey from refrigerator about 1 hour before roasting.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Cut vegetables into large chunks. Scatter half of the vegetables in the roasting pan and add 1 cup water.
- Stuff cavity of turkey with remaining vegetables, herbs, lemon, and garlic.
- Truss with cooking twine and place turkey on roasting rack with the breast side down. Drizzle about half of the coconut oil (or ghee or butter) over the skin of the turkey.
- Place in oven and roast without opening the door for 40 minutes.
- Remove turkey from oven. Using wadded up paper towels, carefully rotate the turkey so that it is breast side up.
- Drizzle with remaining coconut oil (or ghee or butter) and return to oven for 20 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Use an instant read thermometer to monitor the temperature and remove from oven when turkey thigh has reached 170 degrees. For a 19 pound turkey, this stage took 90 minutes but oven temperatures and other conditions will cause this to vary.
- Set turkey aside to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, while you make the gravy.
- Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside. Separate the fat from the drippings (some fat will remain and get incorporated into the drippings, but if you don’t remove at least some of the excess your gravy will be unpalatably greasy).
- Put vegetables and drippings into a blender (or use an immersion blender) and puree until smooth. Place gravy into a sauce pan and let simmer while you carve the turkey.
- Adjust seasonings if necessary and adjust thickness by adding more water or broth if necessary. Serve gravy piping hot.
- Prep Time: 16 hours
- Cook Time: 2 hours 30 mins
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: American