Roast Turkey Breast with Roasted Garlic Gravy

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Chop the turkey wings into pieces with a cleaver or heavy kitchen knife . Coat the wings with some olive oil and salt well. Arrange in one layer in a roasting pan.

Slice off the top 1/4 of the garlic heads and discard. Nestle the heads into some aluminum foil and drizzle the remaining olive oil over the garlic. Close the foil and place in the roasting pan with the turkey wings. Put the pan in the oven and roast at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Remove the garlic , turn the turkey pieces and roast another 15 minutes.

While the turkey wings are roasting, take the turkey breast out of its package, rinse under cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Let it sit out to come to room temperature.

When the turkey wings are ready, place them in a medium pot and cover with water. Add a cup of water to the roasting pan and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add this to the pot with the turkey wings. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Coat the turkey breast with more olive oil, then sprinkle it all over with salt. Sprinkle it as well with black pepper, thyme and sage. Place the turkey breast skin side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the pan . Put the turkey in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees F and cook until the thickest part of the breast reads 155 degrees F with a meat thermometer, about 80-90 minutes for a 6 to 7 pound breast. To be on the safe side to keep from overcooking the turkey, check the internal temperature of the breast after one hour.

Pour the turkey broth through a fine-meshed strainer into a bowl. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a small pot and stir in the flour. Cook the butter flour mixture over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the mixture is the color of coffee-with-cream. Add the hot turkey broth to the butter flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Stir in enough broth to make a thin gravy, about 2-3 cups. Squeeze all the garlic from the garlic heads into the gravy. Simmer gently while the turkey breast cooks, adding more turkey broth or water if the gravy gets too thick.

When the turkey breast is ready, remove it from the oven, cover it with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Pour the gravy into a blender and purée until smooth. Return the gravy to the pot and add salt and pepper to taste. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of butter to finish.

Cut straight down from the keel bone until your knife hits the breast bone. Slice the meat off and, using short strokes with the knife, free the meat from the bone. If you want, pull off the tender underneath the breast and slice this piece separately; it tends to fall off the rest of the breast when you slice it anyway. Slice the deboned breast and serve.