Truffle Butter Turkey

My friend Courtney raved about this turkey recipe. It wasn't so much a recipe, as it was an idea of adding truffle butter to the turkey. I love turkey, I love truffles, I certainly love butter. This was a no brainer. Truffle butter turkey was happening. I always buy an extra turkey around the holidays to store in the freezer to have a Sunday in the winter. The gravy was amazing, the truffle flavor was present, but not overpowering. I always stuff my turkey, no matter what Alton Brown says, I think it is the only way to go. Stuffing from the bird is a thing of beauty. And it is all the more beautiful flavored with truffles.  This recipe is a combination of my family recipe for drunken turkey, with the addition of truffle butter and some Martha Stewart gravy thrown in for good measure.

Truffle Butter Turkey

Turkey:
1 whole fresh turkey
½ cup unsalted butter
2 cups dry white wine
4 bay leaves
1 3 ounce container truffle butter
1 cup chicken or turkey stock.

Gravy:
Pan drippings
1 cup dry white wine
¼ cup flour
4 cups chicken or turkey stock
2 tablespoons butter
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Let turkey stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Combine butter, wine and whole bay leaves in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 425 with rack in the lowest position. Rinse inside and outside of turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Tuck wings under turkey. Season cavity with salt and pepper and fill cavity with stuffing. Using your fingers to gently pull the skin from the turkey, spread the truffle butter between the turkey skin and the meat. Pour stock in the bottom roasting pan.

Place turkey, legs first, into oven. Roast for 30 minutes, then baste with wine butter mixture. Reduce temperature to 350 and roast, basting with wine butter mixture every 30 minutes for 2 ½ hours. Add more stock to pan if necessary to prevent pan drippings from burning. Roast until skin is golden brown and thickest part of thigh registers 165 on a meat thermometer. Transfer turkey to a rimmed baking sheet, reserving pan juices and roasting pan, let rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Pour reserved pan juices into a gravy separator and let stand 10 minutes. Pour or spoon off fat.
Place reserved roasting pan on 2 burners over medium heat. Add wine and bring to a gentle simmer, scraping brown bits with a wooden spoon. Whisk flour and stock in a large bowl until combined. Add defatted pan juices, whisking to combine, then pour into roasting pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half and thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter. Strain through a sieve and discard solids. Season with salt and pepper.

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