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Herb-roasted Turkey with Mushroom Gravy

A roasted turkey seasoned with thyme, rosemary, onion, lemon peel, served with a mushroom gravy.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and rosemary match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,340 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

Herb-roasted Turkey with Mushroom Gravy

Oven325°F
Time3 ½–4 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Soak the mushrooms

  1. Reconstitute the mushrooms: cover ½ ounce dried sliced mushrooms with 1 ½ cups warm water.

  2. Let the mushrooms stand for 30 minutes.

Prepare and roast the turkey

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

  2. Remove the turkey giblets and neck from the body cavities, then rinse the turkey inside and out.

  3. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.

  4. Starting at the neck, gently loosen the skin over the entire breast using your fingers.

  5. Place thyme and rosemary sprigs at even intervals under the skin, then pat the skin back into place.

  6. Place the onion and lemon peel in the body cavity.

  7. Place the turkey breast-side up on a rack in a roasting pan.

  8. Roast the turkey for 3 ½–4 hours, until a meat thermometer inserted in the fleshy part of the inner thigh (not touching bone) reaches 180°F.

  9. Let the turkey stand for 15 minutes before carving.

  10. Remove the skin before eating.

Make the gravy and serve

  1. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a 2-cup measure and let them stand for 5 minutes.

  2. Skim off and discard the fat.

  3. Pour the remaining liquid into a small saucepan.

  4. Add the mushrooms, the 1 cup mushroom liquid, the broth, the wine, the potato starch, the chives, the salt, and the pepper; bring to a boil.

  5. Simmer for 2 minutes.

  6. Serve the turkey with the mushroom gravy.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

437Calories
40 gProtein
5 gFat
57 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Mushrooms1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Rosemary1 tsp dried (1.2g)4
Chives1 tbsp (3g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Thyme + rosemarytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,340 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  2. Thyme + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Rosemary + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together845 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Mushroom + chickentop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,172 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).

  5. Thyme + mushroomtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Turkey
Provides the main lean meat, which stays moist when roasted slowly and not overcooked.
Dried mushrooms
Add deep, savory flavor to the gravy, and their soaking liquid adds more of it.
Potato starch
Thickens the gravy into a smooth, glossy sauce when the liquid is brought to a boil.
Chicken broth
Forms the liquid base of the gravy and adds savory depth and moisture.
Dry white wine
Adds light acidity and aroma to the gravy, and can be replaced with more broth.
Lemon peel
Adds bright citrus aroma that perfumes the turkey as it roasts.

The step that matters

Bring the gravy to a full boil before simmering. Potato starch only thickens fully once it reaches a boil and its granules swell and gelatinize. If the gravy stays below boiling, it will look thin and may turn cloudy or gluey when served.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (turkey, thyme, rosemary, lemon, mushroom, chicken, white wine):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Tomatofits better
  3. Carrotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against turkey, thyme, rosemary, lemon, mushroom, chicken, white wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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