Pomegranate Glazed Turkey Legs Recipes

TURKEY WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• For the brine and turkey: In a large stock pot, bring water, 1 1/2 cups kosher salt, sugar, coriander, ginger and bay leaves to a boil over high heat. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the salt and sugar dissolve. While the brine is simmering, place the ice in a bucket or pot big enough to hold the turkey. Pour the brine over the ice. When the brine has cooled, add the turkey. Place a heavy object like a plate or lid on top of the turkey to keep it submerged in the brine. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
• Position an oven rack on the lowest level of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Remove the turkey from the brine and pat it dry; discard the brine. Tuck the wings underneath the turkey. Sprinkle the turkey inside and out with salt. Put the celery, lemon, onion and parsley into the cavity of the turkey and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Place breast-side down in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Roast for 30 minutes.
• For the glaze: While the turkey roasts, combine the pomegranate molasses, 3 tablespoons water and Aleppo pepper in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Adjust heat and simmer, uncovered, until thick and syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the butter and soy sauce and remove from heat.
• After 30 minutes of roasting, turn the turkey breast-side up and lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Roast 3 hours longer, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh but not touching bone registers 160 degrees F. When the thermometer registers 155 degrees F, or during the last 30 minutes of cooking, begin basting with glaze every 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

ROAST TURKEY WITH POMEGRANATE GRAVY

Steps:

• Roast turkey:
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Working from neck (small) cavity, run your fingers between skin and meat to loosen skin from breast, legs, and thighs, being careful not to tear skin. Rub softened butter between skin and flesh, then sprinkle turkey cavities and skin with salt and pepper. Fold neck skin under body and secure with metal skewer and fold wing tips under breast. Stuff large cavity with onion and thyme sprigs and tie drumsticks together with kitchen string. Brush skin all over with some melted butter.
• Put turkey on rack in a large flameproof roasting pan and roast, basting with some melted butter and/or pan juices every 20 minutes (if turkey is browning too fast, cover loosely with foil), until thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours.
• Carefully tilt turkey so any juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan, then transfer turkey to a platter (do not clean roasting pan) and let stand, loosely covered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 180°F).
• Make gravy while turkey stands:
• Cook sugar in a dry 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel. Add 1/2 cup pomegranate juice (use caution; mixture will bubble and steam vigorously) and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramel is dissolved. Remove syrup from heat.
• Pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-quart glass measure or bowl, then skim off fat and reserve 1/4 cup of it. Add enough turkey stock to pan juices to total 3 1/2 cups liquid. Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add water and deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Pour through fine-mesh sieve into glass measure with stock.
• Whisk together reserved fat and flour in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and cook roux over moderately low heat, whisking, until pale golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Add hot stock mixture in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil, whisking, and add pomegranate syrup, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in any turkey juices accumulated on platter and simmer gravy 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and stir in remaining tablespoon pomegranate juice.
• Remove string and skewer from turkey and discard onion and thyme from cavity. Serve turkey with gravy on the side.

POMEGRANATE MOLASSES-GLAZED TURKEY

Steps:

• Heat pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Bring to a simmer; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until reduced down to 1 1/2 cups, about 1 hour. Remove from heat. Let pomegranate molasses cool to room temperature, at least 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Whisk the pomegranate molasses, horseradish, mustard, and sage together in a bowl to make the glaze.
• Remove any giblets or gizzards from the turkey and place the turkey in a roasting pan. Brush with olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
• Bake in the preheated oven, basting with the juices from the bottom of the pan every 15 minutes, for 2 hours. When an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, reads 175 degrees F (79 degrees C), brush turkey with 1 cup glaze. Continue roasting until no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes more.
• Remove turkey from the oven and brush with the remaining glaze. Cover with a loose tent of aluminum foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving up that turkey.

ROAST TURKEY WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Combine first 5 ingredients and reserved neck, heart, and gizzard in saucepan. Simmer over medium heat. Simmer until giblet broth is reduced to 3 3/4 cups, about 1 hour. Strain; discard solids. Chill 3/4 cup broth for Bread Dressing with Dried Apricots, Pistachios, and Mint .
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Whisk orange juice and next 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend for glaze. Place turkey on rack in heavy large roasting pan. Starting at neck end, carefully slide hand between skin and breast, thighs, and legs to loosen skin. Using pastry brush or hand, apply thin coat of pomegranate glaze over meat under skin. Stuff main cavity with lemon, quartered onion, and mint. Tuck wing tips under; tie legs together loosely. Brush turkey with some of remaining glaze.
• Roast turkey 20 minutes. Pour 1 cup giblet broth into pan; brush turkey with glaze. Roast 20 minutes; brush with glaze. Roast 20 minutes. Add 1 cup broth to pan, brush with glaze, and cover turkey loosely with foil. Roast 20 minutes. Brush with glaze and reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Continue to roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175°F, brushing with glaze every 20 minutes, about 1 hour 10 minutes longer, about 2 1/2 hours total.
• Transfer turkey to platter. Tent loosely with foil. Let stand 30 minutes (internal temperature will increase 5 to 10 degrees).
• Meanwhile, tilt roasting pan and spoon fat from surface of juices. Add 1 cup giblet broth to pan. Place pan over 2 burners. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat, scraping up browned bits. Add chilled butter and simmer until gravy is smooth, whisking. Season with salt and pepper. Serve turkey with gravy.
• *A thick pomegranate syrup available at Middle Eastern markets, some supermarkets, and by mail from Adriana's Caravan (adrianascaravan.com). Do not use cane sugar molasses.

POMEGRANATE-GLAZED TURKEY MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, parsley, salt, paprika, pepper and garlic salt. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-in. balls., Divide between two ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pans. Bake at 375° for 10-15 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165° and juices run clear., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, combine 3 cups pomegranate juice and sugar. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. Combine cornstarch and remaining juice; stir into skillet. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened., Gently stir in meatballs and heat through. Serve in a slow cooker or chafing dish.

OVEN ROASTED TURKEY LEGS

Steps:

• Place the salt and sugar into a large resealable bag. Pour in enough water to cover the turkey legs, and squeeze the bag to dissolve salt and sugar. Immerse the turkey legs in the brine, and seal the bag. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to brine.
• In a saucepan, stir together the white wine, pomegranate molasses, brown sugar, regular molasses, vinegar, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half. Season with 1 tablespoon of sage and 1 tablespoon of thyme. Taste and adjust sugar, salt and pepper if desired.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Remove the turkey legs from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the brine. Heat a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Cast iron will work well. Fry the turkey, turning frequently, until browned on all sides. Place the pan with the turkey into the oven.
• Roast uncovered for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and turn legs over. Season with some of the remaining thyme and sage, and spoon some of the sauce onto the legs to coat. Return to the oven for an additional 30 minutes.
• Repeat the seasoning and baste with the sauce again, and return to the oven. Roast for 15 more minutes, then test for doneness. The internal temperature should be 180 degrees F (82 degrees C) when taken with a meat thermometer. Serve turkey with remaining sauce on the side.

ROAST TURKEY WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse turkey breast; pat dry. Rub breast with salt and pepper.
• Arrange vegetables in a large, heavy roasting pan, making sure that the vegetables are more or less flat in the bottom of the pan.
• Truss legs together with kitchen twine, if desired. Rub the bird with butter, and place on bed of vegetables in roasting pan.
• Roast turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. loosely cover bird with an aluminum-foil tent, if necessary, and continue roasting, basting every half hour with the juices in the pan
• Meanwhile, slice pomegranates in half crosswise. Using a hand-held wooden lemon reamer or manual juicer, collect the juice in a small bowl. Strain juice through a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Combine juice and 1 cup of the stock in a small saucepan. Cook over high heat until mixture is reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes. Stir in currant jelly. Set aside.
• When a meat thermometer placed between breast and thigh reads 170 degrees. remove turkey from oven (the total cooking time to this point should be about 3 hours and 15 minutes). Discard aluminum-foil tent, and brush bird evenly and smoothly with pomegranate reduction. Lower temperature to 325 degrees. return bird to oven, and continue roasting for 5 minutes. Brush again with pomegranate reduction, and roast for 5 to 10 minutes more. Do not allow glaze to burn.
• Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and transfer to serving plate. Let turkey rest for 20 minutes before carving.
• Remove vegetables from roasting pan with a slotted spoon, transfer to a food processor, and process until smooth.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings in pan, reserving juices in a fat separator or Pyrex measuring cup; discard fat that rises to the top. Place pan over medium-low heat, and add flour, working it in with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth. Add 3 tablespoons of the puréed cooking vegetables to pan, and stir until smooth. (Remaining purée can be served as an additional side dish or discarded.)
• Add cognac to pan, and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any particles on the bottom. Continue cooking slowly over medium-low heat. Stir constantly while adding degreased pan juices and the remaining 3 cups stock. Raise heat to medium high, and cook until the gravy thickens, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in a gravy boat alongside turkey.