Dan Olson of Railtown Catering shows us how to carve and prep a turkey.
Ingredients
1 15-lb Organic Tom Turkey
4 cups kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 cup honey
¼ cup whole black peppercorn
5 lemons halved
2 bay leaves
2 heads garlic, halved and smashed
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch sage
1 bunch thyme
¼ cup clarified butter for brushing
2 carrots, quartered
1 small leek, halved
1 small yellow onion, halved
8 cups turkey stock
1 cup flour
Method
Brine
1. In a large stockpot, boil salt, honey, lemons, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic heads, parsley, thyme in 8 litres of water.
2. Reserve the neck bones and giblets from the turkey. Let brine cool, add the turkey, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
To roast the turkey
1. Heat the oven to 425°F.
2. Remove the bird from the brine and pat dry. Brush with clarified butter and season with salt and pepper.
3. Add fresh sage inside the cavity.
4. Transfer to a roasting pan fitted with a rack.
5. Add the reserved giblets, the neck bone, carrots, leek, garlic and onion to the bottom of the pan.
6. Roast until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.
7. Turn the oven down to 275°F and continue cooking until a thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast reads 165°F (about 2.5 hours).
8. Keep warm and let rest for 40 minutes before carving.
9. Reserve the turkey fat from the pan, return to oven and roast the vegetables until caramelized golden brown. Set pan aside.
To make the gravy
1. Place pan with giblets, bones and vegetables over medium high heat.
2. Add turkey stock and cook, scraping up bottom bits from the pan. About 10 minutes, then strain the stock.
3. Cook reserved turkey fat and butter in a pot, sprinkle in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in reserved stock.
4. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until gravy is slightly thickened, about 5-7 minutes.
More Global BC recipes are available here