Many Servings

3-4 hours

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Ingredients 1 (12 to 15 pound) turkey ½ bunch celery 4-5 carrots 1-2 large onions, peeled 6-10 peeled cloves garlic 2 sticks of butter at room temperature Salt &Pepper Gravy ½ cup flour mixed with 1 cup water 1-3 cups milk, water, broth or combination Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Allow the turkey to come to room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 325°F.

Cut the celery stalks and carrots into 1-2 inch pieces. Chop the onion in half, remove stem, and cut each half onion into quarters. Remove giblets and neck from turkey, use for your own purposes. Stuff neck cavity and body cavity with a mix of celery, carrots, onion and garlic cloves. Scatter remaining vegetables in roasting pan as a flavor bed for roasting the turkey.

Place turkey in roasting pan breast side up. Pull up the skin of the breast, take about ¼ of the 1st stick of butter, and push it as far until the skin of the breast as you can reach it. Take another ¼ of the stick of butter and repeat with the other breast. Smear the remainder of the butter over the legs and thighs, letting it catch in the various crevasses of the bird. With clean hands, season the bird liberally with salt and pepper. Turn breast side down and repeat.

Place turkey in the oven, set two timers; one for 30 minutes, one for 60 minutes. After 30 minutes, spread the second stick of butter over the top of the bird, use a knife or spatula as it will already be very hot. Return to oven and reset timer for 60 minutes. When the next timer goes off, remove from the oven and turn it over to breast side up in the pan. Baste the bird with pan juices, return to the oven, and set the timer for another 60 minutes. Repeat process, as each timer goes off, baste the bird, return to the oven and set for another 60 minutes.

Once the bird has been turned breast side up, check the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer. When both the breast and thigh register 165° F remove the turkey from the oven and transfer it to another dish. Cover with foil and let rest 30 minutes before carving.

Remove the vegetables from the bottom of the roasting pan. Place over burners on stove over medium heat. With a spatula, scrape up all the crispy bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the slurry of flour and milk and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and allow mixture to thicken. Add more milk, water or broth to bring gravy to desired thickness. Salt and pepper to taste.