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Preparation (can be done the night before or the morning of the dinner)
Turkey: Remove neck and giblets from the cavity of the turkey and discard
or freeze for another recipe. Wash turkey, pat dry. Rub with vegetable oil,
season heavily with BICENTENNIAL RUB. Place turkey in a large roasting pan
with a rack, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Potatoes: Peel and quarter potatoes. Place in a kettle of water large enough
to cover them and refrigerate. If the raw potatoes have been refrigerated
overnight, change the water in the morning.
Cooking
Turkey: A turkey takes roughly 15 minutes per pound to roast. 20 minutes
per pound works for a breast or half turkey; a 12 lb. bird will take about
3 hours. These are approximate guidelines, and many people will cook a bird
longer. We tend to find turkey always cooks faster than we think, so we
rely on a watchful eye and a meat thermometer–which should read 160° inserted
in the thick thigh meat. The nice thing about this meal is that the potatoes
will hold nicely if the turkey needs an extra bit of time, and the turkey
will stay warm if it is done first. If the turkey is done before everything
else, just remove it from the oven, cover it with a dish towel, and let it
rest. It should rest before carving for 10 minutes anyway, and it will still
be warm for up to 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°. Uncover the turkey
and place in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to
325°. Baste the turkey every 15 minutes or so.
Potatoes: About 1 hour before dinner, fill a heavy 4 quart pot 2/3 full with
water, add 1 tsp. salt, and bring to a rolling boil (this will take 10-15
minutes). Add the potatoes. Bring the potatoes back to a slow boil over
medium-high heat. Once the potatoes are boiling, they will be done in 15-20
minutes (fairly tender when pierced with a fork). Drain the potatoes (reserve
the water for the gravy) and return to the pot. Cover and return to the stove
with the heat off for a few minutes so the potatoes will dry. Add GARLIC,
WHITE PEPPER, sour cream, milk, and salt, then mash with a hand masher or
whip with a beater, depending on the texture you prefer (a mixer will create
fine, pureed potatoes, hand-mashing will yield chunkier, denser potatoes).
When mashed, cover the potatoes tightly and leave on the back burner of the
stove until ready to serve (it is warm there even with the burner turned off).
Remove the turkey from the oven when the thermometer has popped out, the
juices run clear when pierced in the thigh with a knife, or a meat thermometer
reads 160°. Place the turkey on a platter and let it rest for 10 minutes
before carving, which is just the amount of time needed to prepare gravy.
Gravy: A true holiday turkey produces a whole lot of flavorful drippings and
fat; it is not unusual to get 2-3 cups of liquid from the pan. If this is the
lucky situation you face, pour all the drippings into a large measuring cup,
let the fat come to the top, carefully pour off as much of the fat as you can,
and proceed to use the rest of the juices in place of some of the 2-3 cups of
the potato cooking water. Place the roasting pan on the stove top burners over
medium heat. Add 1 cup of the potato cooking water to the pan, stir, and scrape
vigorously to get all the drippings and browned bits dissolved. Then, pour
the stock through a small strainer into a saucepan. Bring the stock to a
rapid boil and reduce the liquid by a third, which takes about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, so the liquid is just simmering. Drizzle in
the ARROWROOT-water slurry, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (make sure
the gravy is not boiling). The gravy will thicken rapidly; you may not need
all of the thickener to reach the consistency you like. Add salt, continue
to simmer the gravy a minute or two longer over medium-low heat. It will
become clear and glossy, at which point it is ready to serve. When the
gravy is finished, pour it carefully into a sauce boat and let it cool a bit
while the turkey is being carved and the serving dishes are placed on the
table. Since the gravy-making is the only last-minute step, if someone else
agrees to carve the turkey, both the cook and the guests can arrive at the
table relaxed and ready to enjoy the meal.
Serves: 8-12
Prep. time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: several hours total
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