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| Taken from Busy People's Fun, Fast, Festive Christmas Cookbook by Dawn Hall |
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| One of my assistants, Tina Wilkerson, who has her education in the culinary arts, took half of this turkey home for dinner. Now remember, her husband gets to eat the finest of foods. When he said, "This is the best turkey I've ever eaten," she didn't have the heart to tell him how super simple this was to make. I recommend not stuffing the turkey because the turkey needs to cook longer when it is stuffed, and it will dry out. |
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- 1 (15-pound) whole turkey, thawed
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
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- 2 1/3 cups reserved broth from the turkey (after the fat is removed)
- Pinch of ground thyme
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
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- Thaw a frozen turkey in the refrigerator for 2 days.
- Rinse the turkey in cold running water and place it in a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish. I discard the neck and gizzards because they are high in fat.
- Cover the turkey completely with foil.
- Bake for 3 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. If it is available, buy a turkey that has a pop-up timer to let you know when it is done.
- After the turkey is cooked, uncover it, turn the oven to 500 degrees, and let it cook for 10 minutes to brown the skin. Sometimes ovens will have hot spots, so turn the turkey after 5 minutes to evenly brown the skin. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Place the turkey on a serving platter and let it sit for 20 minutes for easier carving.
- Pour the turkey broth through a strainer into a bowl and discard any large pieces that are in the strainer.
- Remove the fat from the broth by skimming if off with a spoon. Or you can place one cold lettuce leaf at a time into the broth, pull it out, and discard it. The fat will stick to the lettuce leaf. Or you can place one bunched-up paper towel at a time on the top of the broth, remove it quickly, and discard it. The fat will stick to the proper towel and you can just throw it away.
- Pour the broth into a saucepan, add the soy sauce, and turn the heat on medium high.
- While the broth is cooking, in a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and water.
- When the broth is heated, pour in the cornstarch and water, stirring until thick and bubbly.
- Add the thyme and black pepper and stir.
- Pour the gravy into a gravy boat or small bowl.
Note: The pinch of thyme greatly enhances the flavor of the gravy and brings out the saltiness.
Yield: 15 (4-ounce) servings of turkey and 16 (2-tablespoon) servings of gravy.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours
Total time: 3 hours 10 minutes |
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