If you need to, then yes you could make the gravy ahead using turkey legs and backs. Just note, that you will not necessarily end up with the same rich flavor as you will not have the drippings etc, from the roasting turkey. On the day, you may want to deglaze the roasting pan and then add the pre-made gravy to the pan (with the deglazed drippings) to add more flavor. To finish, strain the gravy again before serving. Cheers!

You can make a really flavorful short stock (even with some stock as the liquid - see Topic 2 with the legs, backs (even with chicken bones) to make the gravy ahead of time. I wouldn't keep it for more than 2 days. Place a bit of liquid on the bottom of the pot before adding the gravy (to prevent scorching). Most importantly, make sure to bring the gravy to a gentle boil for at least 5 minutes prior to serving. Cheers!

Please help: I need to know the salt to water ratio for brining a 8-10 lb turkey. How long should I brine?
Should I check the time after 2 hrs? Really appreciate your response.
Thanks

Just curious Aarti, have you watched the brining lesson yet? You have asked a few questions now on brining and I really think the lesson could be helpful. For instance, how long to brine according to weight is covered in the lesson. Cheers!

I just saw the brining lesson -- very helpful. Thanks for the earlier referral. Made me rush order a food scale and a brining container :)

Hi,

Is there any reason I couldn't brown the bones and veggies in my roasting pan instead of a fry pan? The one I have is stainless steel and safe for use on the stove.

Thank you.

You can use your roasting pan to roast the bones and vegetables. We do this when we make a dark stock. Cheers!

"Best Turkey EVER", "Moist & Delicious" & " To die for"
Just some of the comments I received for Thanksgiving Dinner.

I brine d 2 Turkeys & smoked 1. That was the best gravy I ever made.

The checklist and shopping list was a great help. One other hint I got from Rouxbe that was to delegate some of the work,
WOW it all worked GREAT!

Many Thanks to the Roubxe staff & Happy Thanksgiving!
Rod

I'm spanish and I have a daughter with an american boyfriend,who is in my house now.He spent his thankgiving here,but in Spain we don't celebrate this day,so as I wanted to do it for him,I got your recipe of turkey,cranberries,stuffing...and I cooked the best turkey everybody had tried in their life.Thanks a lot to rouxbe and all the team for this wonderful help!!!God bless you!!!

Whats cookin for Christmas?

Because we are a cooking school and not necessarily a recipe site I would say that what is up for Christmas is practice practice practice :-)

This is the perfect time of year to practice those meals that we only make one or twice a year, such as Turkey etc.

It is also a great time to practice your knife skills and perhaps some of the practice recipes that you may have not got around to from each of the lessons. When was the last time you made a broth-based soup or maybe some fresh pasta?

Besides that we are here working away on some great new lessons for the new year...very exciting. Happy holidays!

Rouxbe, my first brined turkey using your recipe turned out to be the BEST turkey I and my guests have ever eaten! It was a lot to do, but worth every step! You guys are the BOMB! Looking forward to trying more!

Are you planning to do a similar Christmas multi-tasking video? It was sooo incredibly helpful and I learned so much. It would be truly appreciated.

Believe it or not, the Multi-Task Player/Holiday Meal Planner took months to write, shoot, edit, code and develop. Because tradition is a big part of celebrating holidays we tried to create the Multi-Task Player so that it could work for both Thanksgiving and Christmas (or any other holiday or large get-together).

Currently we are working on more lessons for the cooking school. Lessons that teach about the basics of cooking, not a particular holiday or current fad or even "the most searched". Learning the basics of cooking, which is extensive, will make cooking any meal that much easier to put together with ease and confidence. Does that make sense? Hope you understand. Cheers!

I can't fit anything beside the roaster in my oven. Cooking the stuffing will have to come after the turkey is cooked. Can I let the turkey rest fore the 1 hour cooking time for the stuffing??

This can work - it is better if you put the stuffing in a shallow casserole dish so it cooks through quicker! Have a super dinner!

That makes life easier!

I'm clearly missing something, but where do the bones come from? Thanks!

I'm not sure I am clear on your question. In Step 4, two pounds of chicken bones are used for the short stock. Cheers!

I totally missed that step! Thank you so much!

We have 9 family members staying with us, and would like to say thanks for this menu, we all had great fun making this, the average age of the group(apart from me and my husband is 24) everybody got involved either preparing, sautéing, cooking. And then eating! It was great to see young men as well as the girls enjoying cooking from scratch, one of the young men only normally eats junk food, and went home saying he was going to make time once a week to make a proper dinner for him and his girlfriend. So a great success all around. :). Thanks yet again !

i just fed my family this recipe, i used a chicken instead of a turkey.
the gravy was delicious.

as for the chicken though it was not to bad it was a bit dry and required a bit more salt. since i used a chicken in place of a turkey i felt like i should put less salt in my brine, maybe that is where i went wrong.
inspite of a few flaws every one seemed to enjoy it.

i think i have now have a better handle on the whole roux making process. i am definately enjoying making these new dishes for my family.

I'm not sure when best to use all these setting options. I would think convection roast creates a crispier skin but might dry out the turkey if used for the whole time to cook. In general terms, would you please comment on the optimal use of all these different cooking cycles? thx.

I am not sure of your particular oven. You may want to check the manual to say what the manufacturer says regarding the different settings. For more information on convection ovens type in "convection" in the search field (top right of each page) and you will find many other discussions on this subject. Cheers!

Hi Dawn, I guess I'm just wanting to optimize these options on my oven (Bosch). I realize cooking time is less with convection but which cooking option would be best for cooking this turkey: regular bake, convection roast or convection bake? thx.