Overnight Slow Roasted Organic Turkey with Gravy

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The centerpiece of Thanksgiving is a deliciously roasted bird. Mmmmm.

My body doesn't like most commercially processed poultry for some reason. Therefore, I secure an organic or less processed "natural" bird for my table. These birds are often tougher than the massive commercial birds. Therefore, I find that the slow cooking method gives me the most tender and flavorful bird. I use regular wheat flour in my turkey bag and in my gravy because the gluten-free flours make me ill. However, King Author's Gluten-free Multi-purpose Flour works as a substitute in this recipe. Not all gluten-free flours work for making gravy, so you may want to do some trial runs if you are using a different variety of gluten free flour than this one.

Turkey

Ingredients:

1 twelve to 18 pound organic or natural turkey

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 rib celery, halved

1 apple, halved

1 carrot, halved

1 tablespoon flour (wheat for me, but any kind for those with glutton allergies)

Turkey bag and large roasting pan

Directions:

1.     Make sure to thaw the turkey completely. Partially frozen turkeys are dangerous to cook using this method. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Add 1 tablespoon of flour to the turkey bag and shake. Remove giblets and organs from turkey cavity.  Salt and pepper outside of turkey and rub with olive oil.  Place celery, apple and carrot in turkey cavity. Place turkey in turkey bag and then place in a roasting pan. Cut several holes in the bag.

2.     Bake turkey at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Then turn temperature down to 200 degrees. Roast at 200 degrees for 10 to 24 hours (Avoid opening the oven for the first 10 hours).

3.     Remove turkey from oven. Allow turkey to rest for 20 minutes.  Remove turkey to platter.  Reserve drippings for gravy.

Turkey Gravy

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

Drippings from roast turkey, strained

2 tablespoons general-purpose flour (wheat for me or King Author Gluten free Multi-Purpose flour for those with a gluten allergy)

1 to 2 cups chicken broth (I usually cook an organic chicken the week before and freeze the broth for this purpose).

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1.     Skim fat from turkey drippings and add to a saucepan with olive oil.  Turn heat to medium and add flour, stirring constantly. 

2.     When flour is brown and is free of lumps, add the rest of the turkey drippings. 

3.     Continue stirring until gravy thickens.  Add broth or water to get the amount of gravy you need.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.