Svetlana’s Recipes

Ingredients:

For turkey
-1 16-pound turkey, excess fat from tail reserved, neck and giblets reserved for Turkey Stock
-10 cups Corn Bread Succotash Stuffing
-Turkey Stock
-3 cups water

For gravy
-1/2 cup all purpose flour
-1/4 cup bourbon

Make turkey:
1. Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F
2. Pat turkey dry with paper towels and sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper
3. Spoon Corn Bread Succotash Stuffing loosely into neck cavity and main cavity of turkey
4. Tie legs together
5. Using small metal skewers, pin neck skin to enclose stuffing
6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
7. Place turkey, breast side up, on rack in large pan
8. Add reserved turkey fat and 2 cups Turkey Stock to pan
9. Cover turkey loosely with foil
10. Roast 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes with pan drippings
11. Remove foil and add 3 cups water to pan
12. Roast turkey until thermometer inserted into thigh registers 180°F, basting occasionally with pan juices, about 2 1/2 hours longer
13. Transfer turkey to platter
14. Let stand while making gravy

Make gravy:
1. Strain juices from roasting pan into 8-cup glass measuring cup
2. Spoon fat off top of juices, returning 1/2 cup fat to roasting pan
3. Add enough remaining Turkey Stock to pan juices to measure 6 cups of broth mixture
4. Heat fat in roasting pan atop 2 burners over medium heat
5. Whisk in flour
6. Stir until mixture is golden, about 2 minutes
7. Whisk in broth mixture, then bourbon
8. Simmer until gravy thickens, about 5 minutes
9. Season with salt and pepper
10. Serve gravy with turkey