HERB-ROASTED TURKEY:
1 whole turkey, fresh or thawed, 16-18 lb.
2-3 carrots, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1-2 yellow onions, peeled and roughly chopped
4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
4-6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
4-6 springs of fresh sage
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Combine chopped vegetables and half of each of the fresh herbs in a bowl. Stuff the turkey with the vegetable and herb mixture and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Scatter the mixture from the bowl around the bottom of the roasting pan along with the rest of the fresh herbs. Pour broth and wine over the vegetables and herbs and add fresh ground pepper on top.
Place roasting rack over the vegetables and place turkey on the rack, breast side down. Brush turkey with half of the melted butter. Roast turkey for 2 hours, basting every 20 minutes. After 2 hours take the turkey out of oven and carefully flip over and brush with remaining butter. This allows the breast side to brown. If you choose not to flip the bird over, tent the turkey with foil if you notice the top getting too dark. Return to oven and continue roasting until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F.
When done, remove turkey from oven, tent with foil and allow to rest for 20–30 minutes before carving. While turkey is resting, make gravy from the pan drippings.
GRAVY:
Once the turkey is out of the roasting pan, strain the drippings through a sieve over a bowl. In a medium saucepan (or in the roasting pan itself) over medium/high heat whisk 1/4 cup of the strained drippings and 1/4 cup flour together until golden and fragrant. About 1–2 minutes. Whisk in 3 cups chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and herbs.
