Duck, capon, chicken, with turkey a distant fourth: it used to be, when I was eating a roasted bird, that was always my order of preference. But turkey closed the gap a few years ago at a Thanksgiving dinner made by our gourmand confreres Jon and Linda, when they used a recipe by Walter Staib from City Tavern Cookbook. Chef Walter (who many of you might recognize from the cooking show A Taste of History) recreated the cuisine served to the Founding Fathers when he revived the kitchen of their old haunt, the reconstructed City Tavern in Philadelphia.

On this particular Thanksgiving Day at their Colonial-Era Rock Raymond Farm, the kitchen was filled with the heady aroma of that roasting turkey under whose skin was stuffed an aromatic mix of fresh parsley, rosemary, and thyme. Can you imagine the resultant drippings for turkey gravy? Yes, you can, and it’s that good. And when Chef Walter finished his turkey gravy recipe with a cup of Madeira (a sweet and cherished beverage of our Colonial forbears), the goose was cooked for me, so to speak. I was a turkey lover.

Mike and I have extra thanks to give on turkey day, because we always follow up that sublime Thanksgiving dinner in Chester County with another complete holiday at my brother’s house seven hours down the road. Mark served as a Marine Reconnaissance Corpsman and SAW gunner in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. (On that note, thank you Mark, and thank you to all veterans, this November 11 and every day, for throwing your lives on the line for our country.) So, between the remnants of military programming and the two lurking teenage boys eating through everything that isn’t tied down, there is an efficiency in Mark and Jessica’s kitchen that includes throwing the Thanksgiving turkey into an oven bag to bake. The downside of that is largely psychological (we’re baking in a plastic bag??). The upside, it turns out, is masses of turkey drippings to make enormous quantities of gravy.

And so, this herbed and Madeiraed turkey treatment has become a standard in both households. But fast forward to last year. Jon and Linda’s newly married daughter Wendy and husband, Prasad, had taken to sous vide cooking, the French technique (literally “under vacuum”) in which the turkey is cut apart, sealed into plastic bags (with Chef Walter’s savory herbs stuffed under the skin), and cooked in a low-temperature-controlled water bath for many hours (the legs and thighs overnight). The downside of that is largely psychological (we’re cooking in plastic bags??). The upside is meltingly moist, and rarely experienced, leg and thigh meat, seared before and after the slow cooking for crispiness. If you haven’t jammed the oven with pies, you can roast the turkey carcass for more gravy drippings to go with the juices that come out of the sous vide bags. Or you can simmer it with herbs for a rich broth.

By the way, you can find Taylor Madeira, still made in the Finger Lakes, at most of Pennsylvania’s state stores, and actual Portuguese versions of the same at places like GCP Discount Liquors in Horseheads or the full-blown PA wine and spirits shop in Williamsport. Terence Lane, our Planet of the Grapes columnist, will be reporting to you next month about Hazlitt’s Solera Sherry, made in a method that mimics Madeira’s. He wouldn’t hesitate to make that substitution.

City Tavern Roast Turkey with Madeira Gravy

(Serves 8 to 12)

• 1 whole turkey with giblets (12 to 14 pounds)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium yellow onions, 1 of them quartered, the remaining onion coarsely chopped
• ¼ c. chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• 1½ Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 3 c. chicken stock
• ¼ c. dry white wine
• 1 c. Madeira
• 1½ Tbsp. cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Set the oven rack to the bottom level. In a large roasting pan, place a wire roasting rack sprayed with vegetable cooking spray. Remove the giblets and neck and any visible fat from the turkey cavity and reserve for the giblet stock. Discard the liver. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the turkey cavity with salt and pepper. Place the quartered onion in the cavity.

In a small bowl, combine the parsley, thyme, rosemary, shallots, and 1 Tbsp. of the oil. Sprinkle with salt and a generous grinding of pepper. With your fingers, separate the turkey skin from the breast meat, taking care not to tear the skin or pierce the meat. Rub the herb mixture on the meat under the skin on each side of the breastbone. If you aren’t stuffing the turkey, tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string and twist the wing tips behind the back. Place the turkey, breast side up, in the prepared roasting pan. Loosely cover the turkey with aluminum foil and roast for 2 hours.

While the turkey roasts, in a large saucepan, cook the coarsely chopped onion, carrots, celery, and reserved giblets and neck in the remaining ½ Tbsp. oil over medium heat, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes, until the giblets, onion, carrots, and celery are well browned. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pan, and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the giblet stock through a fine sieve into a medium bowl (you should have about 2 cups). Discard the giblets and vegetables. Cover and refrigerate the stock up to 6 hours, until ready to use. Remove the foil from the turkey and roast about 1 or 1¾ hours more, or until a meat thermometer inserted in a thigh muscle registers 185ºF. Baste with ½ cup of the Madeira wine every 15 minutes. Transfer the turkey to a carving board. Loosely cover the turkey with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

While the turkey rests, pour the drippings from the roasting pan through a fine sieve into a small bowl. Place the bowl in the freezer about 20 minutes to solidify the fat. Meanwhile, set the roasting pan back on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the rest of the Madeira to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook about 1 minute, until it comes to boil. Strain the liquid through the fine sieve into a medium saucepan. Skim the fat from the chilled pan and discard. Add the drippings to the saucepan. Add the reserved giblet stock. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 2 Tbsp. cold water. Slowly add to the simmering mixture, whisking until the gravy thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the string from the turkey and carve. Serve the turkey with the warm Madeira gravy.