Apple Sage Roasted Turkey Recipes

APPLE AND SAGE TURKEY

Steps:

• For the turkey: Heat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature white oven heats, about 30 to 45 minutes. Discard the giblets and reserve neck. Rinse out the turkey's cavity and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the turkey all over with 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil; season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put the sage leaves under skin. Season the cavity with salt and pepper, squeeze 1/2 of the orange all over the bird and put the other half inside the cavity along with the garlic.
• Arrange the turkey in a large roasting pan and roast until the skin is golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. Put the neck, onions, and apples in a bowl and toss with remaining 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Reduce the oven the temperature to 350 degrees F and add the apples, onions and turkey neck to the roasting pan. Baste with pan drippings about every 45 minutes. Roast the turkey until the internal temperature of the inner thigh reaches 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
• Remove from the oven to a cutting board and let rest uncovered, at least 30 minutes, while you prepare the gravy. Remove apples and the onions to a serving platter. Carve the turkey and arrange on the serving platter. Serve with the Simple Gravy.
• No Recipe Recipe: Simple Gravy:
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When it foams, whisk in the flour until smooth. Cook until the flour loses its raw flavor and turns peanut color, about 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth until the mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook until it becomes a light tan color.
• Meanwhile, remove the turkey from roasting pan and set aside to rest. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings from roasting pan. Put the pan on the stovetop over medium heat. When pan juices are hot, add the sage leaves and fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove the neck bone. Add a big splash of apple juice and scrape up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
• Strain this liquid into the thickened chicken broth mixture and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes until thick and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with your turkey and sides.

APPLE SAGE ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• In small saucepan over medium heat, stir 1/3 cup apple cider, jelly, and butter until the mixture is melted and smooth.
• Remove from heat.
• Rub the turkey inside and out with the 2 tablespoons apple cider and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Gently loosen the skin over the entire turkey breast by inserting fingertips between skin and flesh.
• Slide as many sage leaves as you want under the skin and place the skin back in place.
• Stuff the neck and body cavities of turkey loosely with apple wedges and some more sage leaves, making sure to reserve a few for garnish.
• Close both cavities with skewers.
• Truss the turkey and brush with cider mixture.
• Roast according to weight.
• Serve the turkey garnished with reserved sage leaves and additional apple slices.

APPLE-GLAZED ROAST TURKEY

Steps:

• For the brine: Combine 8 cups cool water with the salt, sugar, rosemary, coriander and peppercorns in a container large enough to hold the turkey. Stir until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Stir in 8 more cups of cool water. Remove the bag of giblets and the neck from turkey; and, if you like, reserve for another use (you can freeze them, freezing the liver separately). Discard any large pieces of fat from the turkey, rinse the bird inside and out and place in the brine. Top with a weighted plate to keep it submerged. Refrigerate, or, if it is winter and you have an unheated garage, place it in there. A cooler, lined with a plastic bag works well too. Brine for 24 hours and up to 48 hours.
• For roasting the bird: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lift the turkey from the brine; discard the brine. Rinse and pat dry. Pour 2 cups of water into the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the turkey, breast-side up, on a rack in the pan. Place the lemon and orange in the turkey cavity. Tie the legs together with twine. Tuck the wings under. Rub the entire turkey with the oil. Roast for 30 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F in the thigh without touching the bone, 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 45 minutes total (about 12 minutes per pound).
• For the glaze: While the turkey is roasting, combine the cider, soy sauce and rosemary in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and boil until the mixture is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 30 minutes. Baste the turkey with the glaze every 15 minutes during the final 45 minutes of cooking time. Transfer the turkey to a platter or carving board and tent with foil. Rest the turkey for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before carving.

SLOW-ROASTED TURKEY WITH APPLE GRAVY

Steps:

• Brine the turkey: Tear the bay leaves to release their natural oils. Place in a large bowl with the buttermilk, sugar, salt, black pepper and cayenne, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Place the turkey in a brining bag or clean unscented garbage bag, pour in the buttermilk mixture and tightly tie the bag closed. Place in a pot or bowl that holds it snugly, making sure the legs are fully immersed in the brine, and refrigerate for at least 48 hours and up to 72 hours.
• Make the turkey: Position a rack at the bottom of the oven and heat oven (not convection) to 450 degrees. Tear the bay leaves to release their natural oils. Spread the apples, fennel, onions, 12 bay leaves and half of the thyme, ginger, garlic and orange across the bottom of a large roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and the whole peppercorns.
• Drain the turkey and wipe dry. (Discard the brine.) Place the turkey in the pan breast side up, and rub its cavity with salt and ground pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon and the remaining bay leaves, thyme, ginger, garlic and orange. Tuck the wings underneath and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Sprinkle the turkey with salt and ground pepper, and drizzle everything with oil. Drizzle more oil all over the turkey and rub to generously and evenly coat the skin. Transfer to the oven and roast until browned in spots all over but not burned, 20 to 40 minutes. (Ovens vary widely in how quickly they brown such a large bird, so start checking at 20 minutes and keep going until it's spotted all over.)
• Pour 2 cups water into the pan, cover the turkey with foil and loosely crimp around the edges of the pan. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and slide the pan back into the oven. Slow-roast until the turkey is almost cooked through (a meat thermometer will register 150 degrees in the thickest part of the breast and 160 degrees in the thigh), about 4 hours.
• Uncover, baste all over with the pan juices and roast uncovered until the skin is more evenly browned and the meat registers 155 degrees in the breast and 165 degrees in the thigh, 30 to 45 minutes. The internal temperature will continue to rise as the turkey rests. Let cool slightly in the pan, then transfer the turkey to a serving platter.
• Make the gravy: Smash the fruits and vegetables in the roasting pan. Set a colander with small holes or a medium-mesh strainer over a bowl or pot, and pour in everything from the pan, working in batches if needed. Press hard on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible along with fruit and vegetable pulp. Discard the solids in the colander; scrape any strained pulp into the bowl. Skim and discard fat from the strained juices.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk until deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. While whisking, add the defatted pan juices a little at a time, whisking until smooth, then stir in the brandy. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Keep warm over low.
• When ready to serve, season the gravy to taste with salt and pepper. Carve the turkey and serve with the hot gravy.