To brine:
any size turkey
a container just big enough to hold the turkey
1 cup salt
1 container juice concentrate
Place the turkey, thawed or unthawed, in the container and fill with water until the turkey is just covered. Mix in the cup of salt and juice concentrate and let sit at least overnight.
To cook:
1 container rosemary
1/2 stick butter
1 small onion
1-2 stalks celery
Melt/soften butter. Pull off the rosemary "leaves" and mix into the butter, reserving the stems. Coat the turkey completely in the butter and rosemary. Sprinkle with pepper. Chop the onion and celery stalks in half, put them and the rosemary stalks into the cavity of the turkey. I foil the wings after about an hour of cooking, and then tent the whole turkey in foil about an hour before it's done cooking. Cook turkey according to this handy guide (this year my turkey reached 180 and was perfectly juicy):
Pull the turkey out and let sit to cool. Pull the drippings out of the pan; a turkey baster works just fine.
Gravy:
1 tablespoon butter
1 heaping tablespoon flour
1 cup turkey drippings
low sodium chicken broth (trust me, you'll need low sodium)
Let drippings cool and separate, then skim the fat off the top and discard.
In a small sauce pot, melt one tablespoon of butter and mix in one heaping tablespoon of flour. Cook until brown and like a thick paste. Pour in one cup of drippings, mixing and stirring constantly. Make sure all the roux is dissolved into the drippings and isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook about five minutes, or until thick (thicker than gravy consistency). Add chicken broth until desired gravy consistency is reached. It's important to cut the drippings down with the chicken broth because the drippings will be very salty from the brining process.
This recipe makes just enough gravy for 4 people. Double for a large group. You will have plenty of drippings to make lots of gravy.
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