Gravy Base:
1 tablespoon margarine
1 pound turkey necks and/or wings
1 pound onions, coarsely chopped
3 pounds celery, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
6 cups apple cider
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 8-ounce Granny Smith apple, finely chopped, including core and peel
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Turkey:
1 16 to 17 pound turkey
1 large onion, halved cut into 1" wide wedges
1 Granny Smith apple, cut into 1" wide wedges
6 bay leaves
7 tablespoons margarine, room temperature, divided
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Make Gravy Base:
Melt margarine in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add turkey parts, sauté for 10 minutes.

Add onions, celery, bay leaves; sauté until onions are soft, about 8 minutes. Add cloves, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg; stir 10 seconds.

Add cider, broth and apple; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Strain stock into medium sauce pan. Discard solids. Stir in honey and vinegar into gravy base. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled.

Make Turkey:
Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 500°F. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry.

Sprinkle main cavity generally with salt and pepper. Place onion wedges, apple wedges, and crumbled bay leaves in cavity.

Starting at the neck end, carefully slide hand between skin and breast meat under skin. Run 4 tablespoons margarine over breast meat over skin. Place turkey on rack set in large roasting pan. Tuck wing tips under. Tie legs together loosely to hold shape.

Rub remaining 3 tablespoons margarine over outside of turkey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place turkey in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 350&176F. Roast turkey 1 hour; pour 1 cup chicken broth over turkey. Roast 1 hour, basting once with pan drippings. Pour 1 cup chicken broth over turkey.

Roast until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 175°F, basting once with pan drippings and covering loosely with foil, if browning too quickly, about 1 hour longer. Let turkey rest 20 to 30 minutes (internal temperature will increase 5 to 10 degrees).

Pour pan juices into large measuring cup. Spoon fat off of pan juices and discard.

Return pan juices to roasting pan; add gravy base. Place roasting pan over 2 burners and bring gravy to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until gravy is reduced to 3-1/4 cups, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits, about 15 minutes. Season gravy to taste with salt and pepper. Strain gravy into bowl.

Serve turkey with gravy.

Poster's Notes:
It says it serves 10, but if you figure 1/2 pound per person, a 17-pound turkey will actually give you A LOT more than that. I served it to 7 people on Thanksgiving and then to 6 people at each of 2 Shabbos meals, and I still have leftovers for 1 or 2 people. So, I would actually put the servings at 20 or so.

For the chicken broth, I used homemade chicken soup.

The turkey gravy base, can be prepared a day ahead.

To hold the legs together, my husband devised a rope made from tin foil for this purpose since we didn't have food/oven safe twine.

For pouring the pan juices into a cup, I used a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup and it worked perfectly. The last step took me more than 15 minutes.

I didn't see the need for the additional salt and pepper during the last step.

Posted by Aliza Fischman

Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A