Who doesn’t love the sight of a gorgeous, juicy turkey on Thanksgiving?  Mmmm I can taste the food coma now 🙂  The prep and process of the turkey, however, can sometimes be a bit more drama than it’s worth.  It’s the centerpiece of the entire holiday so it’s easy to let expectations get away from you.  I realize most people have “their way” of cooking the best turkey in the history of the world… and here’s my claim to the title.  A tented turkey guarantees an incredibly juicy and flavorful bird because the tent acts as a pressure cooker, forcing all of those great flavors into the turkey.  The meat literally just falls off the bone.  You can use this recipe no matter what size your turkey is, just follow the cook time chart I have listed below.

Thanksgiving Tented Turkey

Ingredients:
Turkey, thawed if frozen
3 Stalks of Celery, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
3 Containers of Turkey Broth
1 Container of Chicken Stock
1 Cup of dry White Wine
Pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp Poultry Seasoning, divided
1/4 Cup Seasoned Salt
2 Tbsp Thyme, divided
2 Tbsp Sage, divided
4 Tbsp (1/4 Cup) Butter, softened
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
1/4 Cup Cold Water

Directions:
1.  Remove neck and giblets from the turkey, placing them in a stock pot with celery, onion, turkey broth, chicken stock, white wine, pepper, seasoned salt, poutlry seasoning, thyme, and sage
2.  Let stock simmer over medium heat, until onions and celery are cooked through, for several hours night before Thanksgiving; taste to see if additional seasoning is needed
3.  Remove stock from heat and let rest over night; morning of Thanksgiving return to low heat
4.  Rinse Turkey and pat dry; rub butter, and remaining seasonings on top of under the skin of the turkey
5.  Place the turkey in a roasting pan with several ladles full of the stock (one ladle inside the turkey is always good as well), and completely seal the roasting pan using aluminum foil
6.  Place roasting pan in the oven heated to 450 degrees; cook using the below schedule for cook time based on weight:

Turkey Size     Cooking Time
8 – 12 lbs               1.5 – 2.25 hours
12 – 16 lbs              2.25 – 2.75 hours
16 – 20 lbs              2.75 – 3.25 hours
20 – 24 lbs               3.25 – 3.75 hours

7.  Remove turkey from oven when cooked through; let cool on a carving board (reuse foil to gently cover the turkey, and let rest until cooled (you don’t want to immediately begin carving the turkey or you will lose a lot of the juice and flavor)
8.  For gravy, ladle 2 cups of stock (with onions and celery) and juice from roasting pan into a sauce pan over medium heat; add some salt and pepper to taste
9.  To thicken, mix corn starch and cold water until we’ll blended, then stir mixture slowly into warm stock as it continues to come to a boil, keep stirring slowly as gravy simmers and thickens   **Remaining stock can also be used to cook dressing/stuffing**