Poultry Brine Turkey & Gravy is not just a meal, it’s a Holiday experience that will transform your festive dinner table into a show-stopping feast. This recipe uses a flavorful Poultry Brine to elevate the Turkey, ensuring every bite is juicy, tender, and infused with incredible taste. But it doesn’t stop there, the same Brine is the secret to an irresistibly rich Turkey Gravy, perfect for smothering over the Turkey, Buttery Mashed Potatoes, or Crispy Fries. You can make a Hot Turkey Sandwich or the Newfie Poutine too with leftovers.This is a 3-day process: Day 1: Brine the Turkey. Day 2: Cook the Turkey and make the Stock, refrigerate both overnight. Day 3 (Day of meal), Reduce the Stock until good flavor, reheat the Turkey and make Turkey Gravy,
Servings: 1 Turkey
Equipment
- 1 Large Stock Pot
- 1 Large Sheet Pan For cooking the Turkey, large enough to fit all the pieces.
- 1 Fine Sieve
- 1 Turkey Roasting Pan for Brining or use the large Stock Pot
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Sauce Pot For the Gravy
- 1 Presentation Tray This is where the cooked meat will be placed, covered, and to go back into the oven to reheat. The large Sheet Pan can also be used with Tin Foil to cover.
Ingredients
- 14 lbs Turkey - Chopped into pieces, see notes
Poultry Brine
- 5 C Water
- 3 Cubes Maggi Chicken Bouillon
- 1 1/2 Tbl Sea Salt & MSG - each
- 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp Garlic & Onion Powder - each
Turkey Stock
- Leftover Poultry Brine
- Turkey Neck, Backbone and any trimmings
- Turkey Bones - after the Turkey is stripped
- 1 Large Onion
- 2 Med Carrots
- 2 Stalks Celery
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Black Pepper, Parsley, Savory & Thyme
- 2 Bay Leaf
- Pinch of Clove
Turkey Gravy
- As Needed Turkey Stock
- 1/2 C Rendered Turkey Fat & Flour - each
- To Taste Sage, Savory, Black Pepper, & Salt
Instructions
- Brine the Turkey: Prepare Poultry Brine and empty into a Turkey Roasting Pan or large pot. Cut the Turkey into pieces (breast separated, quarters separated, wings). Place the neck, trimmings, and backbone into a container to refrigerate until ready to make the stock. Marinate the Turkey pieces in the brine overnight.
- Cook the Turkey: Remove Turkey from the brine and cook at 375F with the rack in middle position on a large sheet pan. Cook Breast & Wings to 157F to 165F and Quarters to 175F or higher (preferably over 200F). Remove and let cool to strip the meat off. Empty any drippings into the presentation tray to help keep the meat moist when we add it later. The cook time depends on how big the Turkey pieces are, but generally about an hour for Turkey Breast and about 1 hour or so for the Quarters. Check the internal temp at about 45 minutes to an hour in and remove when target temps are achieved.
- Make Turkey Stock: Combine all the ingredients together in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer. Start this at the same time you start cooking the Turkey.
- Holiday Turkey Tray: Once the Turkey is cool enough to handle, start stripping the meat down. Breast: Slice away the Breastbone and throw into the simmering stock pot. Thinly slice the Turkey Breast across the grain and place into a presentation tray.Wings: Strip the Wings and place it into the tray beside the thinly sliced breasts. Throw the bones and wing tips into the simmering stock pot. Quarters: Strip the Quarters and place into the presentation tray beside the Wing meat. Toss the bones and cartridge into the stock pot. Cover the tray and refrigerate overnight.
- Refrigerate the Stock: Simmer Stock until reduced by half. Strain and place back into the pot. Fill the pot with very cold water to help cool it down fast, about 1 hour. Refrigerate the entire pot overnight. You can even add trays of ice cubes to cool it down faster.
- Skim the Fat: Early the next day, skim the fat from the stock. This will be used to make the Roux. Return the Stock to max heat to bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium to reduce by half or until good flavor is achieved.
- Strain the Stock: Strain the Stock through a fine sieve, discarding the very bottom liquids where there is a lot of debris. Return the Stock to the pot and keep warm on the back burner over low heat. You can always add more water, if the stock gets too strong.
- Reheat Turkey: When ready to serve, warm the Turkey meat, while still covered, in a 250F-300F oven while making the Gravy. If more moisture is needed for the meat, add some stock into the tray to help keep the meat moist.
- Make Turkey Gravy: Roux: Add the skimmed off fat to a sauce pot over medium heat. Top up the fat if needed with Lard or Neutral Oil to get about 1/2 C worth, and add 1/2 C of Flour to create the Roux. Keep whisking the Roux to cook until it turns to a brown peanut butter color.Gravy: Once the Brown Roux is achieved, add in the Turkey Stock, a little at a time, and whisk. Repeat until the gravy is a bit thinner than you would like, and keep simmering for 10–15 minutes.Seasoning the Gravy: Add Sage & Savory to taste. Adjust the Seasoning with Salt & Pepper, if needed. Serve the Hot Holiday Turkey Tray along with Hot Turkey Gravy for everyone to help themselves.
Notes
Breakdown the entire Turkey into 2 Breast right through the breastbone, 2 quarters right through the bone and wings separated at the joints. Optionally, you can separate the leg from the thighs if desired. View How to Prepare Chicken, which is applicable just the same for Turkey, for more information on breaking a Turkey down.
Turkey Cook Times and Internal Temps:
- Turkey Breast: About 45 minutes to 1 Hour, an internal temperature of 157 F to 165F. Measured at the thickest part away from bones. Wings are cooked alongside Breast.
- Turkey Quarters: About 1 Hour, an internal temperature of at least 175 F or higher (preferably over 200F). Measured in the thickest part of the thigh away from any bones.