4 cups 98 percent fat free, no salt added canned chicken broth
2 sprigs parsley
1 small bay leaf
1/4 cup dry red wine
salt, optional
freshly ground pepper
Place oven rack in lowest position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove neck and giblets and set aside for gravy. Remove and discard any fat from turkey and wash turkey. Pat dry with paper towels.
Combine thyme and sage and sprinkle turkey with mixture. Place turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan and place garlic cloves in body cavity. Loosely tent turkey with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Roast turkey, breast-side up, for 3 1/2 hours or until an instant meat thermometer reads 180 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, rotating and removing foil after 2 1/2 hours. If using wine, bast turkey several times with white wine.
Meanwhile, rinse the neck and giblets and remove and discard neck skin and any fat. Place neck and giblets in a large saucepan with onion, carrot, celery, chicken broth, parsley and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes. Discard neck and giblets, parsley sprigs and bay leaf. Strain broth and vegetables through a fine sieve, forcing as much of the vegetables as possible into the strained broth. Chill until ready to use.
When turkey is done, remove from oven and place on carving platter. Remove the garlic cloves from the body cavity and squeeze the roasted garlic pulp into a small bowl; set aside. Loosely cover the turkey with foil and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
Pour pan drippings from the roasting pan through a fine sieve into a small freezer-proof bowl. Place bowl in the freezer for 20 minutes to solidify the fat. Stir the red wine and two tablespoons of the reserved giblet broth into the roasting pan and cook on top of stove over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer the mixture to a medium saucepan and skim off fat which has formed on top of the pan drippings. Ad the drippings and remaining reserve broth to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk in the reserved garlic pulp and reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes until the gravy mixture has thickened slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Carve the turkey, discarding the skin, and serve with gravy.
(This recipe was contributed as part of a "Cook of the Week" feature.)
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