I've been working on my turkey recipe for years and definitely want to do a post on my blog featuring it but I haven’t been able to get photos good enough (w/o making a full turkey in advance).
Regardless, here is my method! I used to do a full brine in apple cider but realized a dry-brine (salting the turkey way ahead of time) and a glaze gave much better results and was a LOT easier.
By the way, I just posted a recipe round-up of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes (including the best gravy ever). There are lots of gluten-free and vegan options.
Here's the recipe for the Apple Cider Glazed Turkey
Ingredients
For Turkey
12 to 14 pound turkey
Coarse Kosher salt (do not use table salt for this or it will be way too salty)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup homemade turkey stock (recipe on blog, or use store-bought chicken stock)
2 tablespoons Calvados or any apple brandy
1 split head of garlic
1 tart apple (like granny smith), quartered
Herb bundle (thyme, rosemary, sage)
For Glaze
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup apple cider
Method
2 Days Ahead
Remove the giblets from the turkey, and refrigerate them to use in the gravy later (except the liver, which you can discard or save for another use). Then pat the turkey dry with paper towels, inside and out. Sprinkle two tablespoons of kosher salt and one teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper all over the turkey, spreading a little in the cavity and being sure to season the back, the breasts, and the thighs. It’s going to look like too much salt, but it's not. As the turkey sits in the refrigerator, the salt will sink into the meat (just like a brine) so that, when cooked, the meat stays juicy and perfectly seasoned. Arrange the turkey on a rack over a rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate uncovered (this dries the skin, which helps it turn crisp during roasting) for one to two days. When you take it out of the fridge two days later, it’s going to look a little weird. The skin will be taut and dry and you won’t see any of the salt. This is exactly what you want.
Cooking Day
Heat the oven to 450ºF/ 230ºC. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator about two hours before roasting to take the chill off; this also helps it cook more evenly. Insert garlic, apple and herb bundle into cavity (it should fit loosely). Tuck the wings behind the neck, and tie the tips of the drumsticks together with kitchen string. Arrange the turkey breast-side up on a rack in a sturdy roasting pan. Pour one cup of your homemade turkey broth (recipe on blog, or use store-bought chicken stock) and 1 cup of dry white wine into the pan, and slide the turkey into the oven, immediately lowering the heat to 350ºF / 180º. Then let it do its thing, rotating the pan after about one and a quarter hours, for two and a half to three hours total. (I usually start glazing after the first 45 minutes).
For Glaze: In a small saucepan, add 1/2 cup apple cider and reduce by 1/3. Add 4 tbsp butter and stir to melt and combine. (This can be made up to 2 days ahead). Use to baste over the breast and legs every 45 minutes starting after the first 45 minutes. If you notice the breast or drumsticks getting too dark, cover them loosely with foil during the last 30 to 45 minutes of roasting.(Alternatively, if the legs aren't browning — which can happen if the sides of your pan are too high — you may want to flip the turkey so it roasts breast-side down for about 35 minutes and then finish it breast-side up.)
The first hint that the turkey is ready will be the unbelievable aroma of absolute deliciousness; you can count on its cooking for about 13 minutes per pound. To be sure, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thigh, careful not to hit bone; it should read 170ºF / 80ºC.
When the turkey is done, grab both sides of the roasting rack with oven mitts to lift and tilt the turkey, and let the juices pour from the cavity into the pan. Set the turkey aside, tenting it very loosely with foil, to rest for at least 30 minutes. (This resting period allows the proteins to cool and firm up, so the turkey better retains its juices when carved.)
There should be quite a bit of liquid and brown bits in the bottom of the roasting pan. Set it on top of two burners on medium low and add 3/4 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth and two tablespoons of Calvados. When it simmers, scrape bottom and sides of pan to loosen any stuck browned bits (deglazing). Once it’s deglazed, turn off the heat and pour all the liquid from the roasting pan into a fat separator (or skim fat off with a spoon). Add all the de-fatted liquid to the pre-made gravy (recipe for that on blog). It will make it much darker and richer tasting. Once turkey has rested, carve, and serve it with gravy.
Here’s the recipe links for the stock, gravy and cranberry sauce.
Turkey Stock for Gravy (GF)
Make Ahead Turkey Gravy with Calvados (Apple Brandy)
bon appetit
No comments:
Post a Comment