Roast Turkey with Garlic, Sage and Fennel

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I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time last year, and this recipe was what I used to make my first turkey in my life, and my mother who has been doing it for DECADES said it was the best she had ever had and gave me the job of turkey cooking from here on out! The gravy is the best I have ever tasted and also got rave reviews at dinner, needed a little extra work at thickening before it was ready but the end result was unbelievable. Simple recipe, super easy to succeed, excellent results. I highly recommend this for beginners.

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Am I the only one who even attempted the gravy? I have to assume that I am, since none of the others mention it. TOTAL FAILURE - DO NOT ATTEMPT.

First of all, it's meant to simmer for two hours, much longer than the traditional gravy that you whip up after the bird comes out of the oven. So that threw me off. But even so, it simmered a good hour, and still all I ended up with was a turkey soup containing $10 of organic broth, and too much garlic to make it edible.

The turkey itself was good, very moist and juicy.
We brined last year, and this was comparable.
I invested in fresh bird, so that probably helped.
Not sure it was worth the $14 I spent on the meat injector, but certainly not a failure.
Luckily I had enough drippings to make the traditional gravy.

But the simmering pot of gravy was a huge stress -- competed for space with the mashed potatoes and cranberries that I was also doing, stove top, and around threw off my timing and caused major stress. Who needs it?

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I decided to try this recipe because it sounded good with lots of aromatic flavors-so where did I go wrong? I followed the recipe and read the reviews;used chicken stock instead of water in the pan. What did I get? A very moist tasteless bird. Hmmm! I can't figure out where I went wrong. Should I have used real butter and not margrine sticks? Did I not use enough fresh sage in the butter? Did I not awaken the herb correctly by rubbing them together to bring out the aromas? I honestly don't know. I want a do overs but I think I'll try another recipe.

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All that butter? Is there no other way?

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This is the best turkey and gravy I have ever had! Simple recipe and perfectly moist. I used chicken stock for the bottom of the pan and I did forget to add the balsamic vinegar to the gravy but it was still absolutely delicious! I am keeping this for my personal recipe book to use for the annual Turkey Day feast!

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I made this last year for Thanksgiving and am making it this year again! It was super moist & flavorful & my family all said it was the best turkey they have ever had. :

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This was the most moist turkey I've ever had. The injections made the difference. The only thing we did differently from the recipe was to use cheesecloth drenched in butter and white wine surrounding the turkey for all of the cooking time except the last hour. I believe it kept in even more moisture and the last hour the turkey browned beautifully. We will definitely use this recipe every holiday.

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I did not have a syringe so after stuffing the cavity with the aromatics, I lathered the exterior with olive oil, salt and pepper. I also put chicken stock into the roasting pan instead of water. I basted the turkey periodically with this and the drippings as well as covered the breasts with foil half-way through cooking time to prevent over-browning. The turkey was very moist and the aromatics were a perfect symphony of flavor.