Herb butter: On serving day, place all the ingredients for the herb butter in a food processor and blend. Transfer to a small pastry bag or Baggie, and set aside.
Cooking the turkey: About 5 hours before serving time, remove the turkey from the refrigerator. Lift it out of the brine, and rinse off under fresh cold water. Dry the bird with paper towels.
Slide a small rubber spatula between the skin and the breast meat to separate them. Pipe half of the herb butter under the skin of both breasts from the cavity opening, spreading the butter evenly over the whole breast area with the fingertips. Rub the remaining herb butter all over the outside of the bird.
Fill the body cavity and the neck cavity loosely with stuffing. Truss the bird loosely with butcher's twine and season with salt and pepper. Spread the sliced vegetables over the bottom of a large roasting pan and lay the turkey on top. Add a cup of stock to the pan.
About 4 hours before serving time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and position the rack in the lower half of the oven.
Put the turkey in the oven and roast for 1 1/2 hours. Check to see if the turkey is browning evenly, and turn the pan, adding more stock if it gets low. If the turkey is browning too fast, fold a 30-inch length of aluminum foil in half, then fold it loosely again and set it lightly over the turkey breast for the remainder of the roasting time. Reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Roast the turkey for another 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature of the thigh is 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer (5) and the juices run clear yellow with no tinge of pink when the thigh meat is pierced. If the turkey is not too brown, remove the foil for the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Take the bird out of the oven, and let it rest in a warm place for about 30 minutes while making the gravy.
While the turkey is roasting, remove the congealed fat from the top of the stock, and heat the stock in a saucepan. Cut the reserved giblets and, if desired, the liver into very fine dice. While the turkey is resting, use a little of the stock to deglaze the roasting pan, and strain the pan juices into a pitcher and reserve the vegetables. Allow to rest for a few minutes until the fat separates, then skim the fat from the surface.
Melt the butter in the roasting pan with the vegetables over medium heat, stirring to combine, then sprinkle with flour. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it is very thick and brown. Add the wine, stir to blend thoroughly, and cook and stir until the wine has nearly evaporated and the mixture is very thick. Watch it carefully so it doesn't burn. Add half the stock and the strained roasting-pan juices, and stir to blend well; strain the thickened sauce, and add to the remaining stock in the saucepan. Simmer the gravy for 20 minutes or so, skimming as necessary. Add the chopped giblets to the gravy, and simmer 5 minutes more. Taste, and check seasoning. Present the turkey on a large platter decorated with some grapes and a bunch of fresh sage.
Sources
The best-tasting free-range turkey in town, and the only one that is certified organic, comes from Eberly Poultry (717-336-6440), available for the holiday from Whole Foods, Ottomanelli & Son, and Urban Organic in Brooklyn; it's also sold under the D'Artagnan label at Balducci's, Dean & Deluca, Grace's Marketplace, Agata & Valentina, Garden of Eden, Food Emporium, Oppenheimer Prime Meats, and Park Slope Coop. Prices from $2.69 to $3.49 per pound. Eberly's all-natural turkey, though not certified organic, is a close second. (For mail orders, call 800-dartagnan.)
Wonderfully flavored free-range turkeys (with no hormones) from Whispering Hills Poultry Farm (888-887-7124) and KNK Poultry (607-847-8447) will be available only at Eli's Manhattan Warehouse and the Vinegar Factory, priced at $2.49 per pound.
All-natural White Holland turkeys from Quattro Farms (914-635-8202) are sold at the Union Square Greenmarket every Saturday and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for about $2.50 per pound and by mail order. (Wild turkeys also available.)
Lobel's Prime Meats on Madison Avenue (212-737-1373) has its own independent producer of free-range, all-natural turkeys. They sell them for $3.98 per pound and will ship anywhere in the country. And remember, no matter who you order from, call at least two weeks in advance to guarantee the size of turkey you require.
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