Cider Glazed Turkey Recipes

CIDER-GLAZED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third.
• Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Put turkey on rack in roasting pan and season inside and out with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Put apple, onion, and thyme in large cavity. Fold neck skin under body, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with string.
• Add water to pan and roast, without basting, 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, boil cider and sugar in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved, until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until emulsified. Let glaze stand until ready to use.
• After turkey has roasted 1 hour, rotate pan 180 degrees. Roast, without basting, 40 minutes more.
• Brush turkey all over with all of glaze and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of each thigh (test both; do not touch bone) registers 165 to 170°F, 5 to 15 minutes more (total roasting time: 1 3/4 to 2 hours).
• Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into pan. Transfer turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into pan. Transfer turkey to a platter (reserve juices in roasting pan) and let rest, uncovered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 170 to 175&Deg;F). Discard string.
• Strain pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into 2-quart measure and skim off fat (or use a fat separator), reserving fat.
• Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add wine and deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 2 minutes. Strain through sieve into measuring cup containing pan juices.
• Put 1/2 cup reserved fat (if there is less, add melted butter) in a 4-quart heavy saucepan and whisk in flour.
• Cook roux over medium heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Add pan juices and stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly, then bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Briskly simmer, whisking occasionally, until gravy is thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve turkey with gravy.

CIDER-GLAZED TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Remove the giblets from the turkey. Transfer to a roasting pan. Rub the olive oil all over the turkey, and rub in a generous amount of salt and pepper all over.
• Put the apple, rosemary and onion into the cavity of the turkey. Tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings underneath the body.
• Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Pour in 1 cup of water or stock into the pan and cover the turkey very loosely with foil. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees. Cook for another hour.
• While the turkey is roasting, in a small saucepan combine the apple cider, sugar, and rosemary sprig. Cook over low heat, until reduced to about ¼ cup, about 8 to 10 minutes. Discard the rosemary and remove from heat. Whisk in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Set aside, keeping warm, until ready to use.
• When the inside of the turkey reads between 165 and 170 degrees, remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the gravy.

CIDER-BRINED TURKEY WITH MAPLE-CIDER GLAZE

Steps:

• For the turkey brine: Heat the apple cider, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves, oranges, shallots, parsley, sage and thyme in a saucepot to dissolve the sugar and salt. Then let the mixture cool completely.
• Divide the turkey pieces between two 2 1/2-gallon resealable plastic bags or containers big enough to hold them. Add equal parts of the brine to the two bags. Let rest for several hours in the fridge, preferably overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry. Rub the skin with oil and sprinkle with pepper. Set the turkey on a metal rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet and cook about 15 minutes per pound, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers about 165 degrees F. The temperature will go up 5 to 10 degrees as it rests.
• For the glaze: Place a small saucepot over medium-high heat. Add the apple cider, turkey stock, maple syrup, butter, peppercorns and orange rind. Bring the mixture to a light simmer and reduce by half. Baste the turkey every now and then during the last half of the cooking time.

MOLASSES-AND-CIDER-GLAZED TURKEY WITH RYE-AND-BLACK-WALNUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Turkey: Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in lower third. Boil 1/2 cup cider in a small saucepan until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in molasses until combined. Season body and neck cavities of turkey generously with salt and pepper. Rub butter evenly over skin; season with salt and pepper. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Stuffing: Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onion, celery, apple, and garlic; season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add wine; bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; toss with bread, walnuts, parsley, and 1 cup broth until combined. Fold in eggs.
• Lightly pack half of stuffing into body and neck cavities of turkey. Toss remaining stuffing with remaining 1 cup broth; transfer to a lightly buttered 2-quart baking dish and cover with parchment-lined foil. Tie turkey legs together with twine. Transfer to a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Pour broth and remaining 3/4 cup cider into pan.
• Roast turkey 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Brush turkey with some of cider-molasses glaze. Continue roasting, brushing with more glaze every 20 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh (avoiding bone) and into stuffing registers 165 degrees, 1 hour, 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on size of bird. (Add more broth as needed to prevent bottom of pan from scorching.) Transfer turkey to a carving board. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bake extra stuffing in baking dish 15 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until top is crisp and golden brown in spots, about 15 minutes more.
• Gravy: Remove rack from roasting pan; skim excess fat from pan drippings with a large spoon. Heat pan across two burners over medium-high. Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Add 2 1/2 cups broth; return to a boil. Whisk together remaining 1/4 cup broth and flour in a small bowl. Slowly pour flour mixture into pan, whisking constantly, until gravy thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter until combined. Strain gravy through a fine-mesh sieve; transfer to a gravy boat.
• Remove twine from turkey and transfer to a platter. Garnish with apples, pears, and fennel. Carve turkey and serve, with stuffing and gravy alongside.

BUTTER AND CIDER GLAZED TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove neck and giblets from bird. Rinse inside and outside of turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Season body cavity generously with salt and pepper and rub one of the cut garlic cloves on cavity. Place garlic cloves, onion, and the first apple in cavity.
• Pull neck skin to the back and fasten with a skewer. Tuck the drumsticks under the band of skin across the tail, or tie them securely to the tail with kitchen string. Twist wing tips under the back.
• Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush the turkey with two tablespoons melted butter and season with additional salt and pepper. Cover turkey loosely with foil and roast in a 325°F oven about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours or until temperature in thigh registers 160°F Cut band of skin or string between drumsticks.
• Toss apple wedges with lemon juice, place around turkey, and cover with foil. Roast 30 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring apple cider and cinnamon sticks to boiling. Reduce heat and boil steadily about 30 minutes or so or until the cider is reduced to 2/3 cup. Add 1/3 cup butter, brown sugar, and thyme. Heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove and discard cinnamon sticks.
• Remove foil from turkey and brush with cider mixture. Also, drizzle a little cider on apple wedges. Continue roasting, uncovered, until meat thermometer registers 180°F (juices run clear and drumsticks move easily in sockets), basting bird and drizzling apples with cider mixture every ten minutes. And okay, I know there is controversy over when the bird is done, but not dry, so use your own methods. This id the "safe" temperature.
• Remove turkey from oven, discard cavity ingredients. Transfer turkey to large serving platter. Surround with roasted apple wedges. Cover with foil and let stand for 15 or 20 minutes before serving.
• Meanwhile, pour drippings into a large measuring cup. Scrape the browned bits from the pan into the cup. Skim and reserve fat from the drippings. Pour 1/3 cup of the fat into a medium saucepan (you can discard the rest of the fat). Stir in flour. Add enough broth to remaining pan juices to equal 2 1/2 cups; add broth mixture all at once to flour mixture in saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly; cook and stir one minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• OR, you can do what I do regarding gravy: I find gravy impossible to make. Don't know why. So I buy 3 or 4 jars of Boston Market turkey gravy, put it in a saucepan, and add my turkey drippings to that. Heat it up and throw it in your good gravy boat and no one will know the difference.

CIDER ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Wash and dry the turkey, removing any feathers. Pull out the giblets and the neck, then set aside. Lift up the skin that covers the neck opening, then stuff the stuffing up and under the skin, securing it tightly underneath with a skewer or two cocktail sticks. Weigh the stuffed turkey, then calculate the cooking time, allowing 40 mins per kg (20 mins per lb).
• Put the leeks and carrots along the bottom of a roasting tin in a single layer - this will make a trivet for the turkey to sit on and add flavour to the gravy. Add the neck to the tin. Sit the turkey on top and coat the breast all over with butter. Pour in the cider, cover with foil, then roast according to your timings. Keep checking the tin - if the vegetables look like they're burning, add a splash of water or cider. At 30 mins before the end of cooking, remove the foil and season generously.
• To test that the turkey is ready, pierce the thigh through its thickest part; the juices should run clear. Take the turkey out and leave to rest, covered with a clean tea towel. Can leave to rest for up to 1 hr. Now make the gravy. Drain the fat and juices from the tin into a jug, discarding the veg and the neck. Place the tin over a flame, then pour in the cider, scraping up the flavour-filled crusty bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce the cider by half, then strain into a saucepan (this will save you hob space later).

CIDER-BRINED-AND-GLAZED TURKEY

Steps:

• For brine:
• Simmer 1 quart apple cider, salt, allspice, and bay leaves in 20-quart pot 5 minutes, stirring often. Cool completely. Add remaining 3 quarts cider and 4 quarts water. Place turkey in brine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Drain turkey and rinse. Arrange on several layers of paper towels in roasting pan. Refrigerate uncovered overnight.
• For broth:
• Simmer all ingredients in large saucepan 30 minutes. Strain sage broth into bowl.
• For glaze:
• Boil cider in saucepan until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Whisk in butter. Cool completely.
• Set rack at lowest position in oven; preheat to 350°F. Remove paper towels from roasting pan. Pat main and neck cavities of turkey dry; stuff loosely with stuffing. Place turkey in pan, tuck wings under, and tie legs together loosely.
• Roast turkey 1 hour. Brush with some of glaze. Roast until beginning to brown, about 1 hour. Cover with foil. Roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175°F, brushing with glaze every 30 minutes and adding up to 1 cup water to pan if drippings begin to burn, about 3 hours longer. Transfer turkey to platter; tent with foil. Let stand 30 minutes.
• For gravy:
• Pour pan juices into large measuring cup. Spoon off fat. Reserve 3 tablespoons fat and degreased juices. Pour sage broth into roasting pan. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Combine flour, sage leaves, and reserved 3 tablespoons fat in heavy large saucepan; stir over medium heat 1 minute. Whisk in broth from roasting pan and reserved pan juices. Add applejack and cream and boil until gravy thickens slightly, whisking often, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Strain into sauceboat. Serve turkey with gravy.

DELICIOUS TURKEY GLAZE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider, butter and honey.
• Brush over entire bird 45 minutes before it completes cooking. Repeat several times before removing turkey from oven.