Southwestern Turkey with Chipotle Gravy

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 4 hr 40 min (plus overnight refrigerating)
  • Active: 40 min
  • Yield: 8 to 10 servings
A dry rub is a great way to get maximum flavor with minimum effort. A blend of spices, brown sugar and salt are rubbed all over your turkey, inside and out, the day before cooking to get all that flavor into every bite. The result is a deeply browned, brick red burnished skin that will be a showstopper on the Thanksgiving table.

Ingredients

Classic Gravy

Directions

  1. The day before roasting, prepare the rub: Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey; refrigerate until you make the gravy. Pat the turkey very dry with paper towels. Whisk 2 tablespoons salt, the brown sugar, chile powder, 2 teaspoons paprika, the cumin, coriander and onion powder in a small bowl. Spread about one-quarter of the rub inside the cavity of the turkey and spread the rest all over the skin. Set the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
  2. The next day, let the turkey let sit at room temperature, 30 minutes. Position an oven rack in the lowest position (remove the other racks); preheat to 350 degrees F.
  3. Pour or wipe out any juices that have collected in the bottom of the roasting pan. Stuff the turkey cavity with the onion, carrot, celery and thyme sprigs. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings under the body.
  4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat; whisk in the chopped thyme and the remaining 1 teaspoon paprika. Let cool slightly, then brush all over the turkey. Transfer to the oven and roast 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the Classic Gravy, adding the heavy cream and chipotle and sauce with the stock in step 2.
  5. After the turkey has roasted 1 hour, baste it with the drippings. Continue roasting, basting every 30 minutes, until the skin is dark golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 2 more hours.
  6. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest 30 minutes before carving; reserve the drippings for the gravy. Stir the vinegar into the finished gravy.

Classic Gravy

  1. Prepare the stock: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the turkey neck and giblets; cook, turning, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, carrot, celery, thyme and bay leaves; stir to coat. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the broth, reduce the heat to low and simmer about 1 hour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup; reserve the saucepan. You should have 7 cups stock-if you're short, add more broth.
  2. Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in the reserved saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the 7 cups stock; bring to a simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Set aside until the turkey is done.
  3. Pour the turkey pan drippings into a fat separator and let stand until the fat rises to the top. Discard the fat (or drizzle on your stuffing). Whisk the defatted drippings into the gravy; season with salt and pepper. Reheat before serving.