Crisp Apple-Scented Roast Turkey with Cider-Calvados Gravy

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Source: Saveur
Crisp Apple-Scented Roast Turkey with Cider-Calvados Gravy Photo: Landon Nordeman

6. As the bird cooks, baste it with the pan juices every 20 minutes using a spoon. After the first hour, remove the roasting pan from oven and, using two pot holders, carefully turn the turkey breast side up. Baste it with the pan juices and continue roasting. (Cover the turkey loosely with foil if it threatens to burn.) When an instant-read thermometer inserted in a thigh (without touching bone) reaches 165°–170° (after about 2 hours), move the turkey to a platter and let it rest in a warm place for 20 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, set the roasting pan over 2 burners to make the gravy. Skim off excess fat from pan juices and remove two-thirds of the vegetables from the pan. Cut the rest of the vegetables into small pieces. Add remaining 1⁄3 cup calvados, remaining 1⁄2 cup wine, and remaining 1⁄3 cup cider. Bring to a boil over high heat and, using a wooden spatula to scrape up all the caramelized bits, cook the liquid down to a syrup, 6–8 minutes.

8. Remove broth from refrigerator; skim off fat. Reheat all but 1 cup. Add two-thirds of the heated broth to the pan. Boil, stirring constantly, until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Stir the remainder of the heated broth into the pan and bring to a boil. To thicken the gravy, add flour to a tall glass. Stir the 1 cup of reserved, chilled broth into the flour until there are no lumps. You've made a slurry. Whisk it into the bubbling gravy. Keep simmering and whisking until gravy is smooth and thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes. Now taste it. If you taste raw flour, simmer the gravy for another minute.

9. Stir 8 torn basil leaves into the gravy and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, if necessary. Pour the gravy into a bowl or another serving vessel. Carve the turkey and arrange on a large platter. Serve with the gravy passed separately.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #106

Ratings & Reviews (8)

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This will be our third year making this recipe, and as everyone has said, it's fantastic. We do stuff it with a traditional herb, celery and onion stuffing and cook it on our gas grill. It cooks quicker, due to the brining, and comes out beautifully moist. Did not have any issues with the skin burning, but it got great color.
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Last Thanksgiving I used this recipe to cook my first turkey (yeah it was an ambitious project for a rank amateur) but it turned out to be the best turkey everyone at the table could ever remember tasting. Thank you.
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I did cook it at 450 (thank you msherman - you gave me confidence!) and it was the best turkey I've ever made. The skin started to burn pretty early in the cooking process, but covering it with foil did the trick. This will be on the menu again next year!
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absolutely the best turkey i've ever eaten. well worth the effort. we were not that impressed with the gravy, though, but we will definitely use this brine again--we were talking about getting another turkey 2 days after thanksgiving because we had no leftovers!
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this recipe last year resulted in the most amazing turkey i'd ever had--and all our guests agreed. the 450-degree oven was not a problem (though i might have covered the bird w/ aluminum foil at one point to fend off burning). it was quite a lot of work--a rather involved process, but really worth it.
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i tried this turkey last year and loved it, but did not roast it at the 450 because i was scared :-) has anyone else whose made it roasted it at 450 for the whole roasting period? if so, did you run into any problems?
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i've never made a better thanksgiving turkey.
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i did this recipe on my post-holiday (jan 08) dinner and it was delicious.  be careful on not burning the skin, this maybe a result of the apple cider.

the gravy was absolutely creamy and aromatic.  everyone was raving about this for days after.

 i did stuffed however, with ground beef, apples, raisins, and currants.

 very well recommended.  i will do it again.

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