Thanksgiving #9: Turkey & Gravy

I know I'm very late with this post, but I'm backdating it to go with the Thanksgiving series. I just couldn't manage cooking and real-time blogging. Maybe for Christmas.

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Y'all know I was stressing over the turkey. Don't get me wrong, I was really excited about turkey with truffle, but I was trying to figure out if I could brine and air dry it too, blah, blah, blah.

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I made a killer Crock-Pot stock for the white wine gravy.

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The cool thing about this recipe is that you browned the turkey parts before making the stock.

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Isn't it all golden and beautiful?

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Switching back to the turkey. After the brine, I patted Mr. Turkey dry and placed truffle butter under the skin. In hindsight, I don't think my truffle butter was fresh, so I didn't get the flavor I wanted. I'll be buying it locally next year.

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Here's the turkey right before the flip -- I roasted it breast side down first and then breast side up.

Here's the finished bird. Look at that crispy skin! Wow.

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Now for the gravy. I just don't like gravy. I make it every year because I know it's a requirement, but yuck. I did have better hopes for this year's gravy because of the white wine. I have to admit it was better than most gravies.space

Here's what was left in the pan after I took the bird out.

You need a ton of shallots needed for the recipe.

I browned these in a little of the turkey fat.

Next, I deglazed the pan with the wine and brought the wine to a boil.

After the wine reduced, I added the wonderful turkey stock.

After I got this to a boil, I strained it and put it in a saucepan.

I made a past with flour and truffle butter and added it to the then boiling sauce.

Not bad, huh?

I made gravy! I get excited every time I do it correctly. It's such a challenge to cook stuff you don't like.