From The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook: Roasted Turkey

Ingredients

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon, plus 1⁄8 teaspoon black pepper

1 turkey (12 to 14 pounds), thawed if frozen

1 onion, quartered

1 head of garlic, halved crosswise

Several sprigs fresh herbs, such as thyme, parsley, rosemary, and sage

2 bay leaves

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

One 14 ½-ounce can chicken broth

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

¼ cup cornstarch

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper inside turkey cavity. Place onion, garlic, herb sprigs, and bay leaves inside cavity. In a large roasting pan, place turkey on a rack, breast side up. Brush with half the butter; sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon pepper and remaining salt. Truss, if desired. Tent turkey with foil, roast for 2 hours and 30 minutes. Remove foil and brush with remaining butter. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Roast turkey for about 45 minutes, until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh away from bone registers 180 degrees. Tent with foil during last 15 minutes of cooking time if browning too quickly.

Let stand 15 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, skim and discard fat from pan juices. Place roasting pan with 1 ½ cups pan juice over medium heat. Add broth, chopped thyme, and remaining pepper, stirring up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 3 minutes. Stir together cornstarch and ⅓ cup water. Strain gravy into small pot over low heat and gradually whisk in cornstarch mixture. Simmer, stirring, until thick, for about 2 minutes.

More About The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook

Paula Deen’s first and best-selling cookbook proves that true Southern cooking never goes out of style. Paula has added 25 recipes to her classic collection of down-home Southern family favorites, including Paula’s famous Chicken and Waffles, Oven-Fried Catfish, Savannah Sloppy Joes, and Sweet Blueberry Corn Bread. This friendly cookbook from The Lady & Sons, one of the most frequently visited restaurants in Savannah, comes filled with hundreds of quick and easy recipes perfect for home entertaining, family picnics, or Sunday dinners.

The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and your local bookstores!

Paula Deen - As a young girl growing up in Albany, Georgia, Paula Deen never dreamed she would become an American icon. As a young mother, Paula was living the American dream — married to her high school sweetheart and raising two adorable boys — when tragedy struck. Her parents died, her marriage failed and she began a prolonged battle with agoraphobia. With her boys in their teens and her family near homelessness, Paula took her last $200, reached deep inside her soul and started The Bag Lady, a home-based catering company that marked the start of Deen's professional cooking career. With sons Jamie and Bobby delivering lunch-and-love-in-a-bag, beginning in June 1989, Paula turned her life around by sharing what she knew best, traditional Southern cooking.