Herb-Basted Thanksgiving Turkey

By deanarrca

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, or margarine
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons salt-free herb blend
• 1/4 cup chives, minced
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme or marjoram
• 18 lbs. Turkey
• 2 large onions, cut in wedges
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot

Details

Servings 22

Preparation

Step 1

1. Make basting sauce: In medium saucepan, combine butter, wine and herb blend; bring to a boiling. Remove from heat; stir in chives, parsley and thyme. Set aside. Remove giblets and neck from turkey; set aside. Wash turkey; discard excess fat; pat turkey dry. Preheat oven to 325F.

2. Spoon stuffing into neck and body cavities; close openings with pins. (Bake extra stuffing separately.) Tie legs; pin back wings. Place turkey on rack in roasting pan. Place onions, giblets and neck in pan around turkey. Brush turkey with basting sauce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Insert meat thermometer into thickest part of thigh, away from bone. Roast turkey uncovered, basting every thirty minutes, until thermometer registers 180F to 185F, about 5 1/2 hours. After 1 hour of roasting add 1 cup chicken broth to pan. When skin turns golden, cover turkey loosely with aluminum foil tent.




To make gravy: Mix the arrowroot with a few tablespoons wine or chicken broth to make a slurry. Pour as much of the fat as you can out of the roasting pan (after you remove the turkey to a platter). Put the roasting pan on a stovetop burner, pour in the chicken stock, scrape up the pan residues completely and pour through a seive into a fat strainer. The fat strainer allows you to utilize only the relatively nonfat juices on the bottom. Pour the juices into a medium size saucepan, stopping when you get to the fat layer. Heat juices to a boil.
Take the saucepan off the heat, add the arrowroot slurry, return to the heat and stir until the gravy thickens. You can use fruit juices or vegetable water instead of wine in the arrowroot slurry, but our signature is the wine splash. Strain out any meat scraps and pour into a serving bowl or gravy boat.