In my love hate realtionship with my former employers (I love that they gave me enough stock to create a restaurant off the proceeds, I hate the mediocrity that dominates their stores and product selection etc), I must say that a WFM Turkey is worth every dollar it costs, jsut as a free bird from Giant is over priced! The WFM bird is lean without any chemicals or additives. It cook in about 10 miutes a pound to a mouthwatering perfection. The gravy will taste of gravy and not of the salt brine all too many birds are soaked in before bing frozen months before the big day.

DO not follow the WFM instructions--- start the bird breast down for 20 minutes at 425 on a rack. Flip the bird breast up and roast for another 30 minutes. Turn the over down to 325 and roast until your bird has cooked a total of 10 minutes to the pound. Test for doneness in the thigh with an instant read thermomiter. If its 140 its done to medium. If you are a germ freak, take the thigh to 150, but you will have burnt thighs and dry breasts... not a pretty sight!

Let the bird rest for 20-30 minutes while you make the gravy. Pour the drippings into a large bowl. Deglaze te pan with water, red wine, bourbon, armagnac, cognac, etc. Scrape every bit of dripping and crusty parts into the bowl. Thhey are flavorful and necessary to a good gravy. Defat as you see fit.

Make a roux of flour and butter and strain the hot drippings into the roux, stirring till smooth. Simmer 20 minutes. You can strain now. You can also add a load of sauteed mushrooms and or giblets as well. I usually take the neck and make a stock the night before and add that too. By the way, you can add herbs to the gravy but I rub my bird with loads of herbs, garlic and olive oil before roasting it. I rum the mix inside and out and under the skin. This flavors the resultant dripping well enough for a tasty gravy. I just adust with S&P.

You mean to choose one of these, not all of them, right? I can only imagine...

Then again, one branch of my family is particularly well-known for adding alcohol to every single dish at the Thanksgiving table (Grand Marnier in the cranberry sauce, sherry in the sweet potatoes, etc.) so maybe this is just the logical next step.

While the whole mixture might improve the mood of the chef, pick one for your deglazing. If you don't drink, use water or stock even!

Honest to goodness Dean, I'm going to print out your instuctions and put them to good use on Turkey day. I'm never completely thilled with the birds I roast. But your description has my mouth watering. Thanks for sharing your secrets.

Did I mention the $500 per printing fee for downloading the recipe?

So where do I send the check?

We used your recipe and both turkey and gravy were a hit! We wound up with moist, tender turkey and lots of flavorful gravy. Thanks for the tip!

Make the check payable to the Dean and Kay but a farm in Le Marche fund!