po' man meals

• preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

• slice about 1/4 of the head off of the garlic.

• place the garlic head on some aluminum foil, drizzle with a teaspoon of the oil and season with salt/pepper.

• wrap the garlic up in the aluminum foil and place in the preheated oven.  cook for about 25 minutes or until the cloves are soft and can be squeezed easily out of the garlic head.

• meanwhile, remove the turkey from the packaging.

• pull out the giblets and pack of gravy.  discard the gravy pack or save for another time.  rinse off the inside and outside of the turkey.  dry off the turkey with paper towels.

• in a bowl, add the softened butter.  squeeze the roasted garlic out of the cloves over the butter.

• using a fork, mash the roasted garlic into the butter.

• reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• slather the roasted garlic butter all over, inside and outside the turkey.  as much as you can, try to get some of the butter underneath the skin.  season the turkey well with salt and pepper inside and outside the bird, as well.

• place in a roasting pan, large enough to fit the turkey.  roast in the oven for 3 hours and 15 minutes or until it reaches a internal temperature of 170 - 175 degrees. remove the turkey from oven.  remove the turkey from the roasting pan and place on a board.  cover the turkey with aluminum foil and allow to rest.

• reserve the roasting pan with the drippings.

• pour the turkey drippings in the roasting pan into a bowl.  the drippings will separate and the fat will rise to the top.  set aside.

• for the giblet gravy - remove the parts from the giblet package.  blot them dry with a paper towel.

• add the last teaspoon of oil to a medium sized pot.  sear the giblet pieces until browned on all sides.

• cover with the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  reduce it to a simmer and allow to simmer for 20 - 25 minutes or until cooked through.  set aside.

• place the roasting pan over the burner on the stove over medium heat.  ladle some of the fat off the top of the drippings into the roasting pan (about 3 tablespoons).

• sprinkle the  flour over the fat and whisk until combined. allow to cook for a few minutes to cook off the flour taste.

• meanwhile, remove the giblet pieces from the broth to a plate.

• pour the giblet broth through a sieve into a bowl.

• ladle the giblet broth into the roasting pan, while whisking.  thin it with the giblet broth to desired thickness.  this is the part where you can chop up the giblet pieces or even blend them and add it to the gravy.  my mom LOVES the giblet pieces and i usually give them to her.  it did it's duty of beautifully flavoring our gravy.

• pour into to a gravy boat...

• serve with the turkey!

prep ahead!  you can do one of two things.  you can roast the garlic, wrap it in aluminum foil and store it in the fridge for a few days. then, the day you are going to make it, mash it with the softened butter. another option is to make the roasted garlic butter, form it into a log wrapped with plastic wrap and put in the freezer. the day you make it or the night before, set it on the counter to thaw.

feel free to add seasonings or herbs, such as italian seasoning, sage, thyme or even rosemary to the garlic butter.  we loved the simplistic flavor without additional herbs but may try one day!