Braised Turkey with Gravy

From America's Test Kitchen Season 12: A Slow and Easy Thanksgiving

Braising turkey parts can be a great way to keep them from drying out—simmering the meat in a covered pot is an inherently gentle cooking method, which helps ensure the delicate breast meat won’t dry out. But braising doesn’t necessarily guarantee moist meat; first, we’d have to find just the right temperature and cooking time. Braising the turkey parts in a roasting pan (rather than a Dutch oven) ensured they would all fit in a single layer. After trying higher and lower temperatures, we settled on cooking the parts at 325 degrees, which took a reasonable two hours. Brining the turkey seasoned the meat and helped it stay moist. Searing the pieces before adding the liquid added rich flavor to the stock. Adding some white wine, aromatics, and porcini mushrooms deepened the flavor of the stock further, which then allowed us to create a rich gravy.