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Turkey

Simple Roast Turkey

To make Kafka's Giblet Gravy to go with the bird, see here. Barbara Kafka’s high heat-roasting technique ruffled feathers in the 1990s (500 degrees! No rack, no trussing, no basting!)—until everyone realized it gives you crackly-skinned turkey in no time at all. There's no salt, which isn’t a typo.

Ingredients

  • 1 15 pound turkey, thawed if necessary, and at room temperature, wing tips removed, reserving giblets and neck for gravy, liver for stuffing
  • 1 cup water, turkey stock, or chicken stock
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

  • Place the oven rack on second level from bottom of oven. Heat oven to 500° F.
  • Rinse the turkey inside and out. Pat dry. Sprinkle the outside with pepper. If stuffing, stuff cavity and crop, securing openings with long metal skewers. Lace them. Do not truss.
  • Put turkey in an 18 by 13 by 2-inch roasting pan, breast side up. Put in oven legs first. Roast until the leg joint near the backbone wiggles easily, about 2 hours. After 20 minutes, move the turkey around with a wooden spatula to keep from sticking. Remove the turkey to a large platter. Let stand 20 minutes before carving.
  • Pour off grease from roasting pan and put pan on top of the stove. Add water or stock. Bring to a boil while scraping the bottom vigorously with a wooden spoon, loosening all the crisp bits in the bottom of the pan. These add intensity to the gravy. Let reduce by half. Serve on the side in a sauceboat or add to gravy.

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