Spiced Roasted Turkey Recipes

EXPERTLY SPICED AND GLAZED ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Place turkey, breast side up, on a cutting board and pat dry. Grip a wing and pull it outward so you can see where it attaches to the body. Using a sharp boning or chef's knife, cut though the joint to separate the wing from the breast (if you hit bone, you're in the wrong spot; pull the wing out farther to help you get into the place where the joint meets the socket). Remove wing; repeat on the other side.
• Cut through skin connecting 1 leg to carcass. Pull leg back until the ball joint pops out of its socket; cut through the joint to separate leg. Repeat on the other side.
• Now for the breast: Position the turkey breast side down with the opening facing you. Using kitchen shears, cut along one side of backbone until you get all the way through the neck end, then turn the turkey 180°F and cut through the other side to remove the backbone (save it for making stock).
• Very finely grind black and pink peppercorns in a spice mill or mortar and pestle; transfer to a medium bowl. Add salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and 1 Tbsp. brown sugar and use your fingers to mix together.
• Place turkey pieces, skin side up, on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle salt mixture liberally all over turkey, patting to adhere. You may not need all of it, but it's good to have extra since some will end up on the baking sheet. Chill bird, uncovered, at least 24 hours and up to 2 days.
• Remove turkey from wire rack and rinse baking sheet and rack if needed (turkey will most likely release some liquid). Line baking sheet with 3 layers of foil to make cleanup easy and set rack back inside. Arrange turkey pieces on rack, skin side up, and let sit at room temperature 2-3 hours to help decrease the cooking time.
• Meanwhile, cook herbs, garlic, orange zest, soy sauce, vinegar, and remaining ⅓ cup brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and glaze thickens slightly (it should just barely coat a spoon), 10-12 minutes. Remove glaze from heat.
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425°F. Rub turkey with oil and pour 1 cup water into baking sheet. Roast turkey, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until skin is mostly golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F and continue to roast turkey, brushing with glaze every 20 minutes and adding more water by ½-cupfuls as needed to maintain some liquid in baking sheet, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breast registers 150°F, and 170°F when inserted into the thickest part of the thighs, 50-70 minutes longer (total cooking time will be 1-1½ hours). Skin should be deep golden brown and shiny. Transfer turkey to a cutting board; tent loosely with foil. Let rest 30-60 minutes before carving.

JAMAICAN-SPICED TURKEY

Steps:

• Brine the turkey: Combine all the brine ingredients except the turkey in a large stock pot and add 1 gallon water. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and stir in another 1/2 gallon water; let cool to room temperature. Place turkey breast-side-down in a container large enough to hold it and the brine. Add brine and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours. Remove from refrigerator about an hour before cooking and bring to room temperature.
• Make the herb butter: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 9 to 12 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning, until butter darkens to deep amber. Add thyme and scallions and remove from heat. (Butter may foam up; stir to keep it from foaming over.) Let steep for 10 to 15 minutes, then strain into a bowl, pressing out all the butter with a spatula. Allow butter to cool so it firms up, but is still a little soft and pliable. Stir butter while it cools to re-incorporate any bits that fall to the bottom.
• Make the spice rub: Combine all the rub ingredients in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Toast, stirring or shaking the pan occasionally, 2 to 4 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Let cool, then grind finely in a spice grinder or mortar.
• Roast the turkey: Heat oven to 475 degrees. Line a large roasting pan with the scallions, onions, celery, fennel, garlic and carrots and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour in stock.
• Remove turkey from brine and pat dry. Season cavity with about 1/2 tablespoon of the spice rub. Gently loosen the breast skin with your fingers as far down as you can go, being careful not to tear the skin. Spread almost all of the herb butter under the skin and smooth it out as evenly as possible by rubbing the skin. Rub remaining butter lightly over the rest of the turkey. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of the spice rub all over turkey.
• Place turkey in pan on top of vegetables. Tuck the wings under turkey, and tie legs together with kitchen twine.
• Roast turkey for 30 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and loosely cover with foil. Cook turkey, basting with the liquid in the pan every 45 minutes, until the leg feels loose in the socket and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees. Start checking the temperature after about 2 hours. Depending on the size of your turkey, it may take up to 4 hours to cook through. Let sit 20 to 25 minutes before carving.

SPICY BRINED TURKEY

Steps:

• Combine chicken stock, salt, brown sugar, onion, pepper flakes, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Stir until sugar and salt have dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate brine until thoroughly chilled.
• Combine brine and ice water in a clean, food-grade, 5-gallon bucket. Place turkey in the brine, breast-side down. Cover and refrigerate (or set in a cool area like a basement) for 6 hours, turning turkey once halfway through.
• Set an oven rack to the lowest level and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place a roasting rack inside a wide, low pan.
• Remove turkey from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine. Place turkey on the roasting rack and pat dry with paper towels. Tuck back the wings and rub butter liberally over the entire bird.
• Roast turkey in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, and cover the breast with a double layer of aluminum foil.
• Return to the oven, reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and cook until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, 3 to 3 1/2 hours longer. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove from the oven, keep loosely covered, and allow to rest in a warm area for 15 minutes before slicing.

SPICE-RUBBED ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse inside and outside of turkey; pat dry with paper towels. Transfer to a large roasting pan. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Tuck wings under turkey. Fill cavity loosely with stuffing, and tie legs together with kitchen twine. Squeeze 1 orange over turkey. Season outside of turkey generously with salt, and sprinkle with pepper. Gently rub seasonings into turkey.
• Heat juice of remaining orange, the butter, and wine in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Roast turkey, basting every half hour with melted-butter mixture until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. (Halfway through, rotate pan and cover with foil.)
• Remove stuffing, and transfer to a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan. Bake until stuffing reaches 165 degrees, about 30 minutes more. Meanwhile, let turkey stand for 30 minutes. Transfer to a platter; reserve pan juices in roasting pan for Aleppo pepper gravy. Carve turkey. Garnish with persimmons and sage if desired.

SPICED ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Make turkey:
• Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lowest position.
• Toast spices with sea salt in a dry small heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and coriander is a shade darker, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to grinder and pulse until finely ground. Reserve 1 teaspoon spice mixture, then stir together remaining spice mixture with grated ginger, garlic, and butter to form a paste.
• Rinse turkey inside and out, then pat dry. Fold neck skin under body. Starting at large cavity end of turkey, gently slide your fingers between skin and flesh of breast and legs to loosen skin, being careful not to tear skin. Using a spoon, slide spice paste under skin of turkey breast and legs, pushing butter out of spoon with a finger on outside of skin (do not put spice paste under turkey skin in advance). Tie drumsticks together with kitchen string and tuck wings under body.
• Pat giblets and neck pieces dry and cut into 1-inch pieces. Heat vegetable oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté giblets and neck pieces, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add scallions, carrots, celery, and sliced ginger and sauté, stirring, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.
• Add rice wine and boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute. Stir in 4 cups broth, soy sauce, and reserved teaspoon spice mixture and bring to a boil. Pour mixture into roasting pan, then set rack in roasting pan, arranging neck pieces and vegetables around rack as necessary (liquid should be just below bottom of rack).
• Roast turkey on rack, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through roasting, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of thighs (test both, close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Carefully tilt turkey so juices from inside large cavity run into roasting pan, then transfer turkey to a platter, reserving juices in roasting pan. Let turkey stand, uncovered, 30 minutes (temperature of thigh meat will rise to 175°F).
• Make gravy while turkey stands:
• Strain pan juices through a large fine-mesh sieve into 1-quart measure, pressing hard on and then discarding solids, and let stand until fat rises to top. Skim off and discard fat. (If using a fat separator, pour pan juices through sieve into separator and let stand until fat rises to top, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully pour pan juices from separator into measuring cup, discarding fat.) You should have 4 cups stock. If there is less, add more broth. If there's more, boil to reduce. Transfer all but 1/2 cup stock to a heavy medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Whisk together cornstarch and 1/2 cup reserved stock in a small bowl until smooth, then whisk into boiling stock and boil, whisking occasionally, 2 minutes. Serve turkey with gravy.

SPICY ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• Mix the spices into the mayonnaise until thoroughly blended.
• Tuck back the wings and slather the spicy paste all over the turkey, massaging it into the bird.
• (Rub inside the bird, outside the bird and make sure to spread it under the breast skin).
• Roast on lowest rack of the oven at 500°F for 30 minutes.
• Remove the turkey from the oven and cover the breast with a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil folded into a triangle (leaving the legs and dark meat uncovered), insert a thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return it to oven.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
• Roast until the turkey temperature reaches 161°F (14 to 16 pound bird only needs a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting).
• Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest, loosely covered for at least 15 minutes before carving.

SPICED AND SUPER-JUICY ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• For the turkey:
• Place the water into your largest cooking pot or bucket/plastic bin and add all the turkey ingredients, stirring to dissolve the salt, sugar, syrup and honey. (Squeeze the juice of the orange quarters into the brine before you chuck in the pieces.) Untie and remove any string or trussing attached to the turkey, shake it free and add it to the liquid. Add more water if the turkey is not completely submerged. Keep the mixture in a cold place, even outside overnight or for up 1 or 2 days before you cook it, remembering to take it out of its liquid (and wiping it dry with kitchen-towel) a good 40 or 50 minutes before it has to go into the oven. Turkeys - indeed this is the case for all meat - should be at room temperature before being put in the preheated oven. If you're at all concerned - the cold water in the brine will really chill this bird - then just cook the turkey for longer than its actual weight requires.
• For the basting glaze:
• Place the butter and syrup into a saucepan and cook over a low heat, while stirring, until the ingredients have melted and combined. Brush the turkey with the glaze before roasting, and baste periodically throughout the roasting time. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cook the turkey for 30 minutes at this relatively high temperature, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and continue cooking, turning the oven back up to 425 degrees F for the final15 minutes or so if you want to give a browning boost to the skin. For a 9 to 11-pound turkey, allow 2 1/2 to 3-hours in total. But remember that ovens vary enormously, so just check by piercing the flesh between leg and body with a small sharp knife: when the juices run clear, the turkey is cooked. Just as it's crucial to let the turkey come to room temperature before it goes in to the oven, so it's important to let it stand out of the oven for a good 20 minutes before you actually carve it.

SPICED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, garlic, cumin, oregano, allspice, chili powder, brown sugar and oil. Place the turkey breast in a 9 by13-inch roasting pan. Spread the mustard mixture over the top and sides of the turkey to form a crust. Add the onions, carrots, and chicken stock to the pan. Roast for 45 minutes. Cover the pan loosely with foil and continue to bake for another 45 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 175 degrees F. Allow the turkey to rest for 20 minutes before serving.
• Remove the vegetables and arrange on a serving platter. Remove the turkey and place on a cutting board. Pour about 1/2 cup of the pan juices into a small saucepan. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Whisk in the remaining pan juices. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens. Season the pan juices with salt and pepper and pour into a serving pitcher.
• To serve, slice the turkey into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange the turkey slices on the serving platter with the roasted vegetables and serve with the pan juices.

SPICE RUB ROASTED THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• Combine garlic powder, paprika, cumin, basil, salt, and pepper in a zip-top bag. Close and shake spice rub until well mixed.
• Cut small slits into the skin of the turkey. Use a palmful of spice rub at a time to rub all over turkey-on top, sides, bottom, inside cavity, and into the slits in the skin. Stuff the cavity with cilantro, onion, and garlic. Place in a roasting pan, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Remove turkey from the refrigerator. Baste with melted butter. Pour 1/2 of the chicken broth inside the pan. Cover with foil.
• Roast in the preheated oven, for 3 hours. Remove foil and baste with remaining chicken broth. Continue to roast until turkey is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 2 1/2 hours longer. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).

SPICE-RUBBED TURKEY BREAST WITH ROASTED CARROTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss carrots, garlic, and 1 tablespoon oil; push to sides. Place turkey in center; rub with 1 tablespoon oil, and sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon cumin. Season with salt and pepper.
• Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of turkey registers 165 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes, tossing carrots halfway through. Let turkey rest 10 minutes; thinly slice crosswise.
• In a small bowl, mix yogurt, lime juice, and teaspoon cumin; season with salt and pepper. Serve turkey and carrots with sauce.

HOT AND SPICY ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• Minus the turkey, put all of the above ingredients in a pot.
• Bring to a boil.
• Cover & simmer for 15 minutes.
• Using a deep pan, pour mixture over top of turkey - cook with breast down/upside down.
• Cook at 500°F first 15 minutes.
• Lower to 350°F & cook 20 minutes per pound.
• Use leftover drippings as sauce for turkey, potatoes or stuffing.