Ok this recipe is totally worth it and it is NOT as big of a pain in the butt as it seems. If I wasn't such a slacker, I would have thought to put this up last week. Seriously, I'm a "put ketchup on any meat, especially dry meat" kind of girl and this bird needs no gravy, ketchup, or barbeque sauce - even on the white meat! I pieced this recipe together from about 5 different roast turkey / chicken / pork recipes that I found over the years and it is a winner every Thanksgiving. You don't have to follow it completely, the recipe is more of a guideline :) Happy Turkey Day!
Maple glazed roast turkey with apple cider gravy
Step 1 - Brine that bird!
1/2 cup Kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gal vegetable stock (128 ounces - 4 of the 32 ounce cartons. If you can't find all vegetable, it's ok to mix vegetable, turkey, or chicken stock. Just use some type of STOCK, not broth or water)
1 T black peppercorns
1/2 T allspice berries (I always wait too long and our store does not have the berries, just ground. if you use ground, just put a small palmful. Buy this in June!)
1/2 T ground ginger (this year I put in 3 or 4 rounds from a fresh ginger root! Like I said, guidelines :) )
(I also threw in 1 T whole cloves and a cinnamon stick this year because they were sitting next to the peppercorn. Will update how it turned out!)
water and ice to cover
On Tuesday night before Thanksgiving
Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot. Bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve most of the solids, then remove from the heat. Let it sit on the stove until it comes to about room temp - a couple hours or so. Throw it in a gallon pitcher and put it in the fridge over night. Gotta get this really really cold! At least 6-8 hours before it's time to put the bird in the oven, (I did as much as 24 - don't stress about this, DANA!) that turkey needs to take a long soak in the brine. Get a CLEAN new 5 gallon bucket. Home depot has them with lids, they are great! Place thawed turkey (quick tip - your bird not quite thawed? use a sink full of COLD ice water, changing out the water every 30 minutes. It's a pain, but you can thaw a respectable sized bird in 3-4 hours instead of 4-5 days. I always put my bird in the fridge on Saturday or Sunday). Don't forget to take the bag of goodies out of your bird... Gina... :) Plop him in the bucket breast side down. Pour the brine over the top. Fill with water and add ice until just covering his leg bones. Place in the fridge or in a cool area for at LEAST 6 hours. Turn turkey over once half way through if you think about it - I usually forget and it's fine! When you are ready to start the big dance, rinse your turkey and place on a rack in a roasting pan and pat dry with paper towels. Part 1 - COMPLETE
Part 2 - Maple Thyme Butter Rub
1 cup PURE maple syrup - yes it is more expensive than pancake maple syrup but it's worth it
2 sticks butter, softened use unsalted REAL butter (I usually forget to soften the butter too... oops!)
4 T fresh thyme, minced
This can be done on Tuesday too while you are making the brine. Boil the syrup, lower heat and simmer until reduced, about 3 minutes. Put the butter and thyme in a freezer / heat safe bowl with a snug lid and pour over hot syrup. Stir until melted. Let it cool for about an hour. Put it in the freezer until Turkey time. After moving your turkey from the brine into the roasting pan, you will need to bathe him in butter. Using your fingers, gently loosen the skin from the breast and spread about half the maple butter over the breast meat under the skin. Rub the reamining maple butter on the outside and inside the bird. Part 2 - COMPLETE
Part 3- The TURKEY
1 red apple, cubed
1 onion, cut into chunks - I use yellow onion. Wear swimming goggles - seriously it keeps the tears away! no lie. true story.
2 ribs celery, cut into 1" pieces
1 cinnamon stick
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 c chicken stock (I use turkey stock if I can find it)
1 c apple cider
Heat oven to 500 degrees a few minutes before roasting. Stuff the bird with veggies, thyme and cinnamon stick. Scatter remaining veggies in the bottom of the pan. Add the liquid. Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove your bird from the oven and cover the breast meat only with a double layer of heavy duty foil. You want to make a turkey helmet - fold the foil into a square, and the square into a triangle. Put the triangle over the breast meat. Don't skip this step - you NEED a "keep in the bird" digital probe thermometer. I bought mine on amazon. It was cheap. Put the probe into the thickest part of the breast careful not to touch any bones. Return turkey to the oven. reduce the temp to 350 degrees. Set thermometer alarm to 165 degrees. A 14-16 pound bird should require a total of 2-2.5 hours of roasting. We always get a 21 pound bird and it takes him about 4 hours to cook. IMPORTANT - regardless of that stupid little pop up timer, when the breast meat is at 165 - take him out of the oven! (unless you hit a bone and it gets to 165 after an hour - yeah it's not done... reset your probe and try again!) Let him rest covered with a giant bowl (or the lid to one of those outdoor charcol grills or foil) for at least 15-20 minutes. Part 3 - DONE
Part 4 - Apple Cider Gravy
I am not a gravy eater at all, but I've been told this is really good.
1/2 stick butter
1/4 C flour
2 cups turkey stock
1 1/2 C apple cider
Strain pan drippings into a large glass measuring cup. discard solids and skim off any fat. Add enough stock to make 3 1/2 cups liquid. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the flour and remaining 1/2 stick butter. Place the roasting pan over 2 burners, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups cider and cook over medium-high heat, scraping up the browned bits. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring for 4 minutes. Slowly whisk in the butter-flour paste and the reserved pan juices. Cook, whisking until thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the gravy with the turkey. My pan is most of the time REALLY charred and gross from the syrup by the end of cooking so I usually make mine in a clean skillet, but I also have a phobia about my food touching. It weirds me out. I also have a fear of belly buttons, but that's another story for another day.
MISSION COMPLETE! I feel like I should say "this is Dinner POSSIBLE". yeah corny, I know. I'm tired! happy turkey day!
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