Unbelievable Agave Brined Herb Turkey Recipes

HERB-BRINED TURKEY

Steps:

• In a stockpot, combine the salt, brown sugar, sage, thyme, rosemary and 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from the heat. Add the cold water to cool the brine to room temperature., Place a turkey-size oven roasting bag inside a second roasting bag; add turkey. Carefully pour cooled brine into bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible; seal bags and turn to coat. Place in a roasting pan. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours, turning occasionally., Drain and discard brine; rinse turkey and pat dry. Tie drumsticks together. Place the remaining ingredients in a food processor; cover and process until smooth. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub half of the butter mixture under skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks. Rub remaining butter mixture over skin., Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Bake at 450° for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°; bake 3-1/4 to 3-3/4 hours longer or until thermometer reads 180°, basting twice during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly., Remove turkey to a serving platter; cover and let stand for 20 minutes before carving.

UNBELIEVABLE AGAVE-BRINED HERB TURKEY

Steps:

• To make brine, combine all ingredients in a large pot and stir until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved. Line a large bucket or pot with a food-safe plastic bag, and add turkey to the bag. Pour brine over turkey, making sure it is totally immersed in brine and seal bag tightly with a knot. Place turkey in bag in bucket or pot and keep in a cool place (or refrigerate) for 6 to 12 hours, turning occasionally to evenly brine bird. (I do this right before I go to bed the night before and keep it in the garage.).
• On the day of serving, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove turkey from brine, rinse and pat dray. (You can discard the bag and the brine.) Squeeze lemon halves all over turkey, top and bottom, as well as in the cavity. Add apple, onion, lemon halves, and herbs to the cavity. Gently loosen skin from breast and rub breast generously with butter, as well as outside of turkey. Season with salt and pepper, then truss turkey, pinning back wings.
• Using a large deep roasting pan with a rack, spray rack generously with non-stick cooking spray. Place turkey on rack breast-side down and loosely cover with foil. Add about 2 cups of chicken stock to the bottom of the roasting pan and cook for 1-1/2 hours, basting often.
• After 1-1/2 hours, remove foil and flip turkey over so it is now breast-side up. Continue cooking for another hour, basting often. After 1 hour, remove turkey and cut drumsticks loose so that when they are done, they will move loosely in their sockets. Cook for about another 1/2 hour, checking temperature for doneness (180 degrees for thigh and 170 degrees for breast). When turkey is done, remove from oven and cover with foil. Let stand for 1 hour (very important). Reserve drippings for your gravy, if desired.
• While turkey is standing, heat remaining broth and keep warm on low heat. After 1 hour, you may carve the turkey and arrange in a large roasting or baking pan. Pour a little chicken broth over all, cover pan with foil, and keep warm in a 250 degree oven until ready to serve. While the turkey is keeping warm, you can finish off your side dishes, etc. When ready to serve, arrange carved turkey on platter.

BRINED, HERB ROASTED TURKEY

Steps:

• For the Brine:
• To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a nonreactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, food grade plastic storage bag). Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary. Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.
• Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for the gravy. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.
• Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels both inside and out. Place turkey, breast side up, in a large, heavy roasting pan. Rub breast side with orange segments and rub on all sides with the butter, stuffing some underneath the skin. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, remaining orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, sage and parsley. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string. Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.
• Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
• For the turkey broth:
• Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard to the pan and saute until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour the stock and 3 cups of water into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour, adding the chopped liver to the pan during the last 15 minutes of cooking. Strain the stock into a clean pot or large measuring cup. Pull the meat off the neck, chop the neck meat and giblets, and set aside.
• For the pan gravy:
• Pour the reserved turkey pan juices into a glass-measuring cup and skim off the fat.
• Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat add the pan juice and 1 cup turkey broth and the white wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 3 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, then transfer to a measuring cup. In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux. Add the hot stock, whisking constantly, then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Add the reserved neck meat and giblets to the pan and adjust seasoning, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour into a gravy boat and serve.
• Slice and serve guests with desired sides.

AGAVE-GLAZED TURKEY BREAST WITH SHERRY GRAVY

Steps:

• For turkey breast:
• Pat turkey breast dry and rub all over with 2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. If you have the time, chill the breast in a baking dish, covered, overnight (see Cooks' Notes).
• Let turkey stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third. Position turkey on rack in pan and roast 30 minutes.
• Reduce oven to 400°F and scatter onion slices in bottom of roasting pan. Add 1 cup water and continue to roast until thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast, close to but not touching bone, registers 160°F, 30 to 40 minutes.
• For glaze:
• While turkey is roasting, stir together agave nectar and vinegar in a small nonreactive saucepan and boil, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to 3 tablespoons. Remove from heat, but keep warm.
• Brush glaze on turkey and roast until thermometer registers 165°F, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer turkey breast to a platter and let stand 15 minutes.
• For gravy:
• While turkey is standing, remove the rack, scraping off any yummy bits into the pan.
• Straddle pan over 2 burners and add sherry, then deglaze pan by boiling sherry, stirring and scraping up browned bits, for 1 minute.
• Strain liquid through a sieve into a heavy medium saucepan. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and keep at a simmer.
• Meanwhile, whisk 1/2 cup water slowly into flour in a small bowl until flour slurry is smooth, then whisk in 1 tablespoon vinegar. Add flour slurry to simmering stock, whisking, and bring gravy to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking, 3 minutes.
• Season gravy with salt and pepper and additional vinegar, if desired.
• Slice turkey breast and serve with gravy.