When I was flipping through the November issue of Saveur a couple of weeks ago, I came across Lynn Rossetto Kasper’s ambitious recipe for Crisp Apple-Scented Roast Turkey With Calvados-Cider Gravy.

In the recipe (really more of a narration with photos), Kasper talks about layering flavors — a concept I like a lot. She uses apples and apple flavor throughout the recipe to add complexity to the final dish.

So when I was thinking about what to make for Thanksgiving dinner, I turned to Kasper’s splendid turkey. I decided I’d follow her recipe closely with a few improvisations along the way.

The process starts with a combo turkey and chicken stock the day before cooking the turkey. With Kasper’s recipe in mind, here’s what I did:

First, I seared the turkey giblets and about a pound of chicken wings and thighs in olive oil until they were brown. Then I removed them to a large stock pot with tongs.

I chopped a couple of onions, carrots and celery ribs and browned them in the same pan for about 10 minutes.

The layering of apple flavors started with a splash of Calvados and a little white wine to the vegetables to deglaze. I scraped the bottom of the pan to release the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

When the Calvados and wine were almost gone, I added the vegetables to the pot along with the meat. I covered the meat and vegetables with enough water to cover, and brought the stock to a boil, reduced the heat and simmered it for four hours without stirring.

I drained the stock after four hours, and discarded the meat and vegetables. I refrigerated it overnight so any fat would solidify and be easier to remove the next day.

Meanwhile, I turned to the brine. This was the part of Kasper’s recipe that intrigued me the most. I puréed 4 cored and chopped Granny Smith apples with 35 cloves of garlic and about a cup of apple cider.

I put that mixture into a large ziploc bag along with a cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup kosher salt and a gallon of water. I stirred to dissolve the sugar and salt then added the turkey to the bag. I squeezed out all the air so the turkey would be surrounded by brine, and zipped the bag shut.

I used the blender pitcher and a small pot to hold the turkey upright in the roasting pan, and put it in the refrigerator for 16 hours. (Kasper recommends 1 hour of brining time per pound).

Thansgiving day, I took the turkey out of the refrigerator for about an hour so it would come close to room temperature for roasting. I made a bed for the turkey to roast on by layering the bottom of the pan with sliced carrots, parsnips, apples, onions and basil.

I patted the turkey dry with a large towel, put it breast side down in the pan and dotted it with 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter. I seasoned it generously with fresh ground black pepper.

Kasper recommended roasting the turkey on the bottom rack of the oven at 450F, basting it with the pan juices every 20 minutes. I found that after 20 minutes at 450F, the top was getting too dark (maybe our oven ran hot, maybe hers cold). So, I turned the oven down to 400F so the turkey would brown more evenly.

After an hour, I flipped the turkey over to breast side up and continued roasting at 400F, basting every 20 minutes. I took the turkey out when an instant-read thermometer read 165F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (not touching the bone). I put the turkey in a warm spot to rest while I made the gravy.

Kasper called for a chunky gravy. So I removed and discarded about half the vegetables from the pan, and chopped the rest into small pieces. I put the roasting pan over two eyes on the stove and brought the pan juices to a simmer. I added another splash of Calvados, white wine and some apple cider to the pan and scraped to release the brown bits.

When the pan juices were syrupy, I took the chilled stock out of the refrigerator and skimmed off and discarded the congealed fat. I added 3/4 of the stock to the simmering pan juices and reduced the gravy by about half.

I whisked about 3 tablespoons of flour into the remaining cold broth, and poured it into the simmering gravy to thicken it. When the gravy was thick, I removed the pan from the heat and poured the gravy into a bowl. I stirred in a few torn basil leaves and a little splash of cognac to finish it.

The finished bird had splayed out wings and thighs and an almost black-crisp breast. But it was really good — moist, and redolent of apples and especially good with the rich, bright and appley gravy.

Posted by brys in how to, recipes, ingredients, techniques | | Subscribe to this feed