It’s the peak week of the year in Connecticut for thinking about how the Thanksgiving turkey will be cooked and every day the chit chat centers on the topic. Will you decide to roast it wrapped in a paper bag to keep in the moisture? Or will you cook it breast-side down like mom did to assure the white breast meat is tender and moist?
if you can’t decide or want to try something new, celebrity chef Chris Santos, has shared a turkey, stuffing and gravy recipe at the request of the Hartford Courant.
Santos is a winner of the Food Network’s Chopped and a judge on the show, who owns numerous fine dining restaurants, including Beauty & Essex in Connecticut at Mohegan Sun. He has provided delicious, yet fairly simple to prepare recipes full of aromatics.
Santos’ roasted turkey combines classic technique with a flavorful twist. The bird is seasoned with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs, then stuffed with carrots, celery, onions, apples, thyme, rosemary, and sage for aromatic depth.
A unique apple cider, honey, and molasses baste keeps the turkey moist and adds subtle sweetness.
The recipe also includes steps for homemade turkey stock, a rich gravy using a dark roux, and a festive cornbread stuffing featuring candied pecans, dried cherries, and warm spices.
bon appétit
Here it is:
Thanksgiving turkey
- 2 each carrots
- 2 each celery
- 2 each Spanish onions
- 2 each Granny Smith apples
- 1 bunch Thyme
- ½ bunch Rosemary
- 1 bunch Sage
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
If using a frozen turkey allow time for the bird to thaw, a general rule of thumb is 24 hours for every 4.5 pounds of bird.
Remove the neck from the turkey and save for turkey stock. Remove and discard all other organs if not using.
Season turkey with salt and pepper all over, including the inner cavity walls. Stuff turkey with rough chopped carrots, onions, celery, the apples, Thyme, Rosemary and Sage. Place turkey on a wire rack and place on baking pan. Roast the turkey for two hours at 325 degrees. Baste every 30 minutes. Check the temperature. Continue to cook and baste until the breast is 165 degrees. If the turkey is turning golden brown too quickly, tent some aluminum foil over it to prevent burning. Drain all dripping collected in the baking pan, strain and use for roux.
Turkey baste, yields 2 quarts
- 1 qt fresh apple cider
- 1 pound unsalted butter
- 1 cup honey
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 bunch fresh Sage
Cube butter. Place all ingredients in a sauce pot. Place on low to medium flame. Bring to simmer allowing butter to melt. Tie one bunch of fresh sage with butchers’ twine and use as a basting utensil.
Turkey Stock
- 10 ounces white wine
- 1 each Spanish onion, rough chop
- 1 each celery, rough chop
- 1 each carrots, rough chop
- 2 tsp peppercorns
- 1ea Bay leaf
- ¼ bunch Thyme
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- 3 quarts chicken stock
If possible, do this the day before. Place turkey neck on a sheet tray and roast in a 350 degree oven until golden and cooked though, at the same time, roast all of the veggies until slightly caramelized.
Remove the neck and place in a stock pot, place the sheet tray the neck was cooked on on your stove top over medium high heat and deglaze with the white wine, transfer the wine along with all of the fond to the stock pot. Add the roasted vegetables, peppercorns, Bay leaf, Thyme, Rosemary, and chicken stock to the stock pot, bring to a boil, the reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 hours. Strain the stock and use for the base of your turkey gravy.
Turkey gravy
- 3 quarts turkey/chicken stock
- Roux (may not need all)
- 12 ounces heavy cream
- TT kosher salt
- TT black pepper
Bring turkey stock to a simmer and thicken by whisking in small amounts of roux until you achieve a gravy like consistency. Heat the heavy cream and whisk in last. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and season to taste with salt and fresh cracked pepper.
Thanksgiving cornbread stuffing
Make #2 Corn Bread (Can be a box mix)
Make the day before, very slightly underdone.
- 1 onion + 4 shallots + 4 garlic cloves all minced and caramelized slowly in butter (this can be done night before)
- ¾ C brown sugar
- 1 C candied pecans, rough chopped
- 1 C dried cherries (rehydrated in turkey or chicken stock) rough chopped
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 C turkey or chicken stock
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract plus vanilla from one vanilla bean
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped Sage
- 1/2 C melted butter
Gently crumble cornbread. Add onions, shallots, garlic, brown sugar, pecans, cherries, eggs and chicken stock. Add vanilla extract, nutmeg and chopped sage. Season well with salt and pepper, gently mix all ingredients.
Grease hotel pan with butter and place cornbread mixture inside. Cross hatch with a knife, drizzle with melted butter and bake at 325 degree oven until dry and top begins to brown.
Serving suggestions – additional chopped candied pecans and sage to garnish top for presentation.