A Turkey Recipe

Here is the recipe from JenEhr with a few tweaks. 

Step 1. Brine the turkey on the day before you plan to roast it.

Combine 2 quarts of water with the herbs and spices, bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove
from heat, add salt and sugar, stir to dissolve. Add the remaining water to cool to room temperature.
Place turkey and brine in a stock pot or large vessel (our old canning kettle or a clean cooler chest will do
the job), breast side down. Refrigerate overnight (or keep covered in your cool garage as long as
temperatures are above freezing, but below 40 degrees.) The amount of brining time depends on the
size of the turkey. Some guidelines are as general as 12-24 hours. One set of guidelines says: “at least 1
hour per pound of turkey,” with the following suggestions.
12–14-lb. turkey: 16–18 hours.
14–16-lb. turkey: 18–20 hours
16–18-lb. turkey: 20–22 hours.
18–20-lb. turkey: 22–24 hours.

2. Thanksgiving Day

Remove the bird from the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water.

Over medium heat, reduce 4 cups of apple cider to ½ cup. Reserve it for basting
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove necks and giblets. Place them in the roasting pan (or in a pot of water to make broth for gravy,
or discard if you don’t like giblets). Add carrots, onions, garlic, and celery to the roasting pan.
Coat turkey, inside and out, with olive oil. Season turkey on the outside generously with salt, pressing it
in to adhere. Place rosemary, thyme, and orange halves in the cavity of the turkey.
Position the turkey on top of the vegetables so that the turkey does not rest directly on the bottom of
the pan. Lay the bacon slices over the breast of the turkey (3 on each side, vertical placement works
best).
Roast until an instant-read thermometer (inserted deep into the thigh but away from the bone) reads
120 degrees F. Remove the bacon and start basting with the apple cider reduction every 10 minutes.
When thermometer reaches 140 degrees, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Roast until
thermometer reaches 160 degrees F and juices in the thigh run clear when pierced with a fork, about 10
to 12 minutes per pound. Remove from the oven, and then from the pan to rest on a cutting board or
platter loosely tented under foil for at least 15 minutes (20-30 is better) before carving. Reserve pan
juices for gravy.

If you want to try a different gravy here is a custom recipe from Jane, a wonderful patron of our farm for years!

Jane’s turkey-bacon gravy
The bacon, turkey juices, oranges and herbs make a fantastic base for a very tasty gravy.

You will need
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of liquid fat skimmed from the roasting pan drippings and juices (a fat separator
measuring cup helps make this easier. If there is insufficient fat from the pan juices, use butter to make
up the difference, but note that the intense flavor is in the pan fat.)
4 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of pan drippings/juices (if not enough liquid, fill in with turkey or chicken stock or the giblet broth
to make 2 cups)
¼ to ½ cup heavy cream
Cooked giblets (optional)

While the turkey is resting, strain the pan juices/drippings from the roasting pan into a large bowl or
pot. Reserve the juices/drippings. Discard the roasted aromatic veggies. As the reserved juices cool, skim
four tablespoons of fat from the surface (a fat-separating measuring cup helps make this easier).

Heat the fat in a saucepan (large enough to hold up to three cups of liquid) over medium heat in a
saucepan and gradually whisk in the flour. Reduce the heat and keep stirring until the flour
browns—two minutes or so. The browned flour-fat mixture creates a roux base for the gravy.

Slowly add (while whisking to prevent lumps)small amounts of the warm pan liquids and/stock to the
roux pan at a time until the roux is incorporated, and the liquid is smooth. Keep the mixture warm on
low heat, whisking frequently, while the turkey is being carved and plated on the serving platter, and
other dishes finished for the table. About five-to-ten minutes before serving, if you are a giblet fan, add
chopped giblets at this stage and add the heavy cream (exact amount is up to you, but try a little first
before adding it all to test consistency) and whisk while the gravy thickens, which will only a take a few
minutes on the heat. Take off the heat and transfer to a warm gravy boat. The gravy will thicken more as
it starts to cool off. Because of the bacon, the gravy will be salty (which is why the cream helps balance
it) but it will be wonderful for mashed potatoes, on dressing, and the turkey meat. Save and refrigerate
the remaining pan juices if you anticipate leftovers and you can make a second batch if you have
enough.