1 12-15 pound young turkey with giblets TT salt and pepper to taste 20 ounces Mirepoix (50% onion,25%carrot,25%celery) 8 ounces onion, diced 6 ounces celery, diced 4 ounces whole butter 2 pounds dried bread crumbs 2 whole eggs, beaten 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped 2 1/4 quarts chicken stock 8 ounces chestnuts,cooked and peeled,chopped coarse 3 ounces all-purpose flour
Makes 16 portions
From Chef Lloyd's Kitchen
Remove giblets from the turkey's body cavity and set aside. Season the turkey inside and out with salt and pepper. Truss the turkey.
Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and continue cooking the turkey to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Baste the turkey often during cooking. Approximately 45 minutes before the turkey is done, add the mirepoix to the roasting pan. If the turkey begins to over brown, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
To make the dressing, saute the diced onion and celery in the butter until tender.
In a large bowl, toss together the bread cubes, salt, pepper, eggs, parsley, sauteed oinions and celery, 4 ouces of chicken stock and the chestnuts.
Place the dressing in a buttered pan and cover with aluminum foil or buttered parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees until done, approximately 45 minutes.
As the turkey roasts, simmer the giblets (neck, heart and gizzard) in 1 quart of the chicken stock until tender, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
When the turkey is done, remove it from the roasting pan and set aside to rest. Degrease the roasting pan, reserving 3 ounces of the fat to make a roux.
Place the roasting pan on the stove top and brown the mirepoix.
Deglaze the pan with a small amount of the chicken stock. Transfer and stock to a saucepot, add the remaining stock and the broth from the giblets. Bring to a simmer and degrease.
Make a blonde roux with the reserved fat and the flour. Add the roux to the liquid in the saucepot, whisking well to prevent lumps. Simmer 15 minutes. Strain the gravy through a strainer lined with cheesecloth.
Remove the meat from the turkey neck. Trim the gizzard. Finely chop the neck meat, gizzard and heart and add to the gravy. Adjust the seasonings.
Carve the turkey and serve with a portion of the chestnut dressing and gravy.
