Cranberry-Orange Glazed Turkey
Cranberry-Orange Glazed Turkey
Giada De Laurentiis' recipe has been our go-to for over a decade. Everything turns out moist. Your local supermarket butcher can cut the turkey for you (let him know you want the neck, heart, and gizzards for broth/stuffing).
We don't garnish the dish unless it would be a formal meal. Then I'd make it pretty by scattering oranges wedges and cranberries around the plate.
You don't have to limit this to just Thanksgiving. It makes a wonderful Christmas dinner as well.
Ingredients
- One 11-pound turkey, cut into 6 pieces
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (I use 1 teaspoon)
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I use 1/2 teaspoon)
- Cranberry Orange Glaze, recipe follows
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth - or - 1 cup of turkey broth made from the neck, gizzards, etc.
- Assorted fresh herb sprigs, orange wedges and whole cranberries, for garnish
Directions
- Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
- Rinse the turkey pieces and pat very dry with paper towels. Brush the turkey all over with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the turkey, skin-side up, on a baking sheet with the thick end of the breasts and thighs at the corners, the drumsticks in the center. Roast for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Remove the turkey from the oven and brush with the Cranberry Orange Glaze. Pour the broth onto the baking sheet to prevent drippings from burning and roast the turkey, covering loosely with foil if browning too quickly, until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 °F to 170 °F in thickest part of the thigh (do not let the thermometer touch bone), 20 minutes.
- Transfer the turkey to a platter. Brush generously with more glaze and let rest 25 to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, scrape all the pan juices and browned bits from the baking sheet into a large measuring cup. Spoon off and discard the fat that rises to the surface. Heat the pan juices in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk 2 to 3 tablespoons of the glaze into the pan juices (or more if desired) to make the gravy and bring to a simmer for the flavors to blend.
- Slice the turkey and arrange on the platter. Garnish with herb sprigs, oranges wedges and cranberries, and serve with gravy.
Cranberry Orange Glaze
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup frozen cranberry juice cocktail concentrate, thawed
- 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
- 1/4 cup orange marmalade
- 1 1/4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
In a small saucepan, bring the cranberry juice, orange juice, marmalade and rosemary to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the glaze thickens enough to coat a spoon, whisking often, 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the butter, then season the glaze with salt and pepper.
Turkey Broth
This is really easy to make and can be done the night before. Take the neck, gizzard and heart that comes with the turkey and put it in a pan of water. Boil it until the meat looks cooked. I add some garlic, onion, carrot, and a bay leaf to mine. If you have a bit of cheesecloth, wrap up the turkey bones and let this cook with everything else.
You'll use this stock for the recipe above as well as the stuffing recipe found elsewhere on this blog.
