Roast Turkey with Mushroom Sauce

Heat oven to 450°F.

Remove turkey from the refrigerator and rest at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. Rub entire bird with olive oil and season inside and out with salt and pepper. Peel and quarter one onion.

Place onion, sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and bay leaves in turkey’s cavity.

Place turkey on an oiled roasting rack, set in a roasting pan, and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F. Baste turkey every 45 minutes. When the internal temperature of the turkey’s thigh reaches 160°F, it’s done. (Total roasting time is roughly 12 minutes per pound.) While turkey is roasting, start to make the mushroom sauce.

Combine chicken broth and turkey giblets and neck in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, skimming occasionally to remove impurities.When neck meat is completely tender, about 1 hour, remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Set broth aside and reserve neck and giblets, if using.

Remove meat from neck and coarsely chop it with giblets if you want to add them to the finished sauce.

Transfer turkey to a cutting board and allow it to rest for at least 20 minutes, tented lightly with aluminum foil to keep warm. (Leave juices in the roasting pan.) Meanwhile, finish the sauce.Peel second onion and cut into small dice; reserve.

Place the roasting pan with the pan drippings on two burners over medium heat.

Add mushrooms and diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Sift in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until flour is fully incorporated (the sauce will pull together and start to look slightly glossy).

Add broth mixture and simmer, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes.

Add tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Carve turkey and serve with gravy.Beverage pairing: Maysara Jamsheed Pinot Noir, Oregon. A light, fruity red is always great with turkey, but the addition of mushroom gravy in this recipe pushes that red toward Pinot Noir, which is a classic companion to mushrooms. This wonderful Oregon Pinot has pure but restrained fruitiness, bringing in earthy flavors of mushrooms and beets.