Spicy Ginger Roast Turkey With Sweet and Sour Gravy

We don’t do paid posts on Three Many Cooks, but we will happily use our platform to get the word out about books or products we believe in. Tomorrow we are doing a Satellite Media Tour for two companies we love: Gourmet Garden, whose new lightly dried herbs we really enjoy and Anolon, whose cookware impresses us a lot (particularly their roasting pan!).

We first experienced Gourmet Garden lightly dried ginger about this time last year when we served warm apple cider infused with their lightly dried ginger at one of our Big Fall Potluck breaks. Attendees were impressed by how peppery fresh the ginger tasted. Many of us commented that if it were possible, it tasted even fresher than fresh. At that event we also enjoyed the ease of Gourmet Garden lightly dried basil, parsley, and cilantro, sprinkling them liberally over roasted fall vegetables, garlic bread, Spaghetti Bolognese, and our Chilaquiles Casserole. Not only were these herbs convenient—just sprinkle them on—but unlike classic dried herbs they looked and tasted as vibrant as fresh. We would have shared news of these herbs sooner but at the time they weren’t widely distributed. Now they are, and just in time for the winter holidays.

Tomorrow we’re demonstrating that warm cider I mentioned earlier. No recipe needed—just warm up apple cider and sprinkle in a little Gourmet Garden lightly dried ginger. It brightens up cranberry sauce too. I would have never thought about flavoring my turkey with the lightly dried ginger and chiles, but the flavor is phenomenal —especially when sprinkled with lightly dried cilantro and drizzled with the sweet and sour gravy I developed.

We love the Anolon covered casserole dish, whose smart look and extra-wide surface make it easy to boil, mash, and serve the potatoes in the same pot, and their roasting pan, which retails for $100, rivals the quality of those that cost nearly three times that.

So yes, we’re representing Gourmet Garden and Anolon at tomorrow’s Satellite Media Tour, but we’re also happy to be spreading the word about these good products we believe in.

Spicy Ginger-Brined Roast Turkey With Sweet and Sour Gravy

 

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by: Three Many Cooks

Serves: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 small turkey (12 to 14 pounds), giblets and neck removed, tail cut off, turkey rinsed and patted dry
• 1 container (0.78) each: Gourmet Garden lightly dried ginger and chili pepper
• ¼ cup kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 3 medium-large onions, cut into large dice
• 1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 each: celery stalks, and carrots, cut into large chunks
• 1 cup dry white wine or vermouth
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons Gourmet Garden lightly dried cilantro

Instructions

1. The night before, completely loosen the skin on turkey breast, legs, and thighs. Mix ginger, chili, salt, and pepper and rub on the turkey’s backside. Turn the turkey over and sprinkle the rub under the skin of the turkey—over breasts, legs, and thighs—as well as on the skin, in the cavity, and finally over the wings; set turkey on a wire rack set on a platter or pan large enough to hold it. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
2. Meanwhile, hack neck into 1½ –to 2-inch chunks. Cut, tails, hearts, and gizzards into 1-inch chunks (discard or reserve liver for another use). Heat a small Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the cut up turkey pieces and one of the onions to pan (if there’s no skin on the neck, you may need to add a little oil to the pan); cook until they lose their raw color and start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add broth and bring to a simmer; reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, to make a flavorful broth, about 30 minutes. Strain out solids; return broth to saucepan.
3. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Scatter half the remaining 2 onions, along with half the celery and carrots in a heavy-duty roasting pan. Set a V-rack in the roasting pan. Stuff remaining vegetables in turkey cavity and tie the turkey legs together. Set turkey breast down on V-rack and roast for 1 hour. Remove turkey from oven, close oven door, and baste turkey back and sides with some of the pan drippings. With two wads of paper towels, carefully turn turkey, breast side up and baste with some of the pan drippings. Continue to roast it until a meat thermometer inserted in the leg pit registers 175, 1 to 11/2 hours longer, keeping an eye on the vegetables and pan drippings throughout the cooking process. They should be kept dry enough to brown and produce the rich brown drippings to make rich gravy, but moist enough to keep from burning, so add water as needed throughout the cooking process. Transfer turkey to a platter to rest for a half hour and remove V-rack from pan.
4. Set roasting pan over 2 burners set on medium-high. Add wine and, using a wooden spoon, stir to loosen brown bits. Add broth, vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil; simmer to blend flavors, about 5 minutes. Spoon carrots, celery and onions from roasting pan; Whisk cornstarch with ¼ cup cold water then gradually whisk into pan juices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened. Carve turkey and sprinkle with cilantro. Pour gravy into a serving bowl or boat and serve.

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