How to make the best turkey?  Use a good bird, and DON'T OVERCOOK  IT!!
When that pop-up thermometer says it''s done, it usually is.  Or, buy a decent
meat thermometer.  165F at its' deepest spot, that will do it.  It continues to
cook after you've removed it from the oven.  Tent it, and let it rest for up to an
hour before you start to carve it.  Stick a knive into the leg and thigh joint, if it
runs clear, you are done.  Wiggle the wing, the leg, are they moving some-
what loosely?  The bird is done.  25 minutes to a lb at 365 should give
your bird all the time it needs to become the days' centerpiece.  Now, for
the particulars:

Choose your turkey.  Best results are from a fresh, never frozen turkey.  Find
one with the least amount of processing and/or additives.  Don't try to brine
a turkey that has already been infused with broth, salt, or other additives.
Let the turkey come to room temperature before you start to prepare it.  Remove
it from the wrapping, rinse it off.  Then pat it dry with paper towels. If you are
brining it, the ratio is 1 cup of Kosher Salt to 1 gallon of water/liquid.  You can
use Apple Cider here as well, with some sugar, bay leaf, herbs.  Set in a
container large enough to hold the brine solution and the turkey.  Keep in
refrigerator for up to 8 hours.  Discard the brine, pat the bird dry again.  Pre-
heat your oven to 400 degrees.  Place the bird in a roasting pan with room
around the sides for even browning and cooking.  Brining is optional, you
can disregard those instructions and just pat the bird dry, placing it in the
pan.  Now, gently melt two sticks of unsalted butter with 2 sprigs of fresh
sage, a bundle of fresh thyme, 1 tsp. of Bell's Seasoning, and 1 sliced
clove of garlic. 



put to the side...don't fry this, just a gentle heat.....

Now chop up coarsely 2onions, some strips of bacon, thyme, sage, 1
1/2 cups of rough chopped celery, 2 smashed garlic cloves, place in a bowl.



Now, aggressively salt and pepper the interior of the turkey, removing the neck and
giblets.  I hate giblets.  Reserve them for the cat.  Or saute' them in butter and sage,
and finely mince them for inclusion in your gravy or stuffing.  Or reserve them for the
cat (again).  Rub a generous amount of Bell's on the interior.  Then, stuff the con-
tents of the bowl above into the cavity.  Generously oil with a little olive oil the entire
surface of the turkey skin.  Then rub it down with some of that butter mixture from the
pan.  Generously salt and pepper the bird. Chop more celery, onion, carrot, and ba-
con, and lay it around the turkey in the pan.  Pour in 1 cup of apple cider, and 1 cup
of low sodium, 99% fat free chicken broth.  Wrap bacon slices around the wing tips
and around the bottom of the legs.  Place in the oven and do not disturb it for 40
minutes.  Oh, and a little sweet paprika over it...and add more of the thyme and sage
to the pan...sprinkling some thyme leaves over the turkey.



Every 35 minutes, baste the turkey with more of the butter mixture, and the pan juices.  Pay atten-
tion to the bottom of the pan, add more stock / cider to keep the bottom from burning.  That will
add a bitter taste to your gravy.  Two hours in the roasting, tent the turkey with aluminum foil,
removing it when you baste, then placing it back on.  A 15lb bird should cook in around 3.45 to 4 hrs
or when that pop-up goes off. 




     While the turkey is in the oven, save some time for yourself and start the gravy.  Take that reserved
turkey neck, add it to a large sauce pan, 2cups of chicken stock, 1 cup coarse chopped celery,
1 cup of apple cider (use a filtered and clear type of cider for this, but with no additives)
coarse chopped carrot, 2 coarse chopped onions, fresh thyme, fresh sage, 1 tsp. of Bell's Seasoning.
Let this simmer for 2 hours.  Then pour it through a sieve after it has sat for 1/2 hour.  Reserve the
filtered stock in a bowl.  In a large saucepan, heat 1 stick of unsalted butter, 1/2 cup finely diced
mushrooms and melt...lightly saute' for 3 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of sifted flour and with a whisk, com-
bine the butter mixture and the flour.  Let this cook for a good 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Then  little
by little add the reserved stock, whisking in each time to fully incorporate the liquid.  Do this until there
is no more stock...bring to a low boil, then reduce and simmer for 1/2 hour.  Stir frequently.  Remove
from the heat.  After you have pulled the turkey out of the oven...remove the bird to a serving platter and
decorate as you wish.  Pour the pan drippings through a sieve.  Then, remove the fat that has risen to
the top.  Slowly add the defatted drippings to the gravy and re heat the gravy on low.  Whisk the drippings
in a little at a time, allowing the gravy to stay thick.  Cook for another 10 minutes on low...there it is,
Thanksgiving Turkey gravy.  Check for seasonings at this point since the drippings should have
enough in them..you don't want a salt lick bath on your turkey you have worked so hard on. 
Have a Happy and Relaxing Thanksgiving!!!  Send me pix of your Thanksgiving tables and turkeys.



There is the reduced and finished Cider Thyme and Sage Mushroom Turkey
Gravy, made in my Grandmother Giuseppa (Josie) Battaglia's pot.  That pot
has to be at least 60 years or older.  There is that thread, that thread which
runs through and connects all the pieces of my life together...somehow  they
all connect to the dinner table, especially at the Holidays.