Spice Cured Roast Turkey Recipes

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.

SPICE-CURED TURKEY

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, combine salt, sugar, carrots, celery, onions, leeks, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, cumin, red-pepper flakes, cloves, and allspice. Add the water, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. The brine needs to cool completely before the turkey is soaked in it: It can be made a day ahead or chilled over an ice bath.
• Rinse turkey under cold water; pat dry. Place in stockpot, breast side down. Add brine and enough water to cover. Cover the stockpot, and refrigerate overnight. Remove turkey from brine; drain.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Fill cavities with stuffing, being careful not to pack too tightly. Secure skin over neck cavity with toothpicks or skewers, and tie legs together with kitchen twine. Rub turkey generously with spice butter, and place on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Place in oven, and roast 30 minutes. Baste, rotate pan, and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue basting every 30 to 45 minutes, until temperature taken in thickest part of the thigh registers 180 degrees. 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Once turkey is well browned, cover with foil, in sections, if necessary to prevent overbrowning. Remove foil for last 30 to 60 minutes, to crisp skin. Allow turkey to rest 30 minutes before carving. While turkey is resting, remove stuffing.
• To make gravy, pour liquid from the roasting pan into a gravy skimmer; set aside. Place the roasting pan on the stove over medium-high heat; deglaze with 1/2 cup apple cider, using a wooden spoon to scrape up bits stuck to the pan. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan, combine 3 tablespoons of reserved fat from pan and flour; cook 3 to 4 minutes, until browned. Add reserved apple-cider mixture, stock, and any separated juices from pan. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Serve.

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-CURED TURKEY

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, combine the salt, sugar, carrots, celery, onions, leeks, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, cumin, red pepper flakes, cloves, and allspice. Add the water, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. The brine must cool completely before the turkey is soaked in it: It can be made 1 day ahead or chilled over an ice bath.
• Rinse the turkey under cold water; pat dry. Place in a stockpot, breast side down. Add the brine and enough water to cover. Cover the stockpot, and refrigerate overnight. Remove the turkey from the brine; drain.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Fill the cavities with stuffing, being careful not to pack too tightly. Secure the skin over the neck cavity with toothpicks or skewers, and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Rub the turkey generously with spice butter, and place on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Place in the oven, and roast 30 minutes. Baste, rotate the pan, and reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue basting every 30 to 45 minutes, until the temperature taken in the thickest part of the thigh registers 180°F, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Once the turkey is well browned, cover with foil, in sections, if necessary to prevent overbrowning. Remove the foil for last 30 to 60 minutes, to crisp the skin. Allow the turkey to rest 30 minutes before carving. While the turkey is resting, remove the stuffing.
• To make the gravy, pour the liquid from the roasting pan into a gravy skimmer; set aside. Place the roasting pan on the stove over medium-high heat; deglaze with 1/2 cup apple cider, using a wooden spoon to scrape up bits stuck to the pan. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan, combine 3 tablespoons reserved fat from the pan and the flour; cook 3 to 4 minutes, until browned. Add the reserved apple-cider mixture along with the stock and any separated juices from the pan. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Serve with the turkey.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using a chestnut knife or a small paring knife, make an incision about 1/8 inch deep through the shell and into the flesh of the chestnut almost all the way around the circumference of the nut. Transfer to a chestnut pan or rimmed baking pan. Roast in the oven until the chestnuts are tender, about 35 minutes. Turn the oven off. Leaving the pan with the chestnuts in the oven, remove several at a time. Working quickly, place 1 chestnut in a towel, and, holding both, peel the chestnut while still hot. Remove and discard the shells and inner skin; coarsely chop, and set aside.
• Remove crusts from the bread, and set aside. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. Place in a single layer on two baking sheets, and toast in the oven until dry, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside to cool. Place the reserved crusts in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until coarse crumbs are formed.
• Place the prunes and apple cider in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until all liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and add the chestnuts, red onion, half the celery, and half the apples. Cook until onion is translucent, about 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes and crumbs, prune mixture, chestnut mixture, remaining celery, apples, eggs, heavy cream, and sage. Stir to combine. The juices from the brine will season the stuffing; stir before serving.
• The stuffing can be baked in turkey until its temperature reaches 165°F. Excess stuffing can be seasoned with salt and pepper and baked in a buttered baking dish, covered, at 350°F for 30 minutes and then uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.
• Combine the butter, salt, pepper, thyme, cumin, garlic powder, pepper flakes, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg in a bowl. Beat on medium speed with an electric mixer or by hand until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate until ready to use, for up to 4 days.

SUGAR-AND-SPICE CURED TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove giblets and neck; rinse turkey with cold water.
• Pat dry.
• Tie legs together with string; tuck wingtips under.
• Combine brown sugar and next 6 ingredients.
• Rub over turkey.
• Cover with plastic wrap; chill 8 hours.
• Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up.
• Arrange onion quarters round turkey.
• Pour 2 cans broth in bottom of pan.
• Bake, loosely covered with foil, at 325°F for 1 1/2 hours.
• Uncover and bake 1 1/2 more hours or until meat thermometer registers 180°F.
• (Cover with foil to prevent excessive browning, if necessary.) Remove onion; discard, reserving pan drippings.
• Let turkey stand 15 minutes before carving.
• Combine pan drippings and enough additional chicken broth to equal 2 cups in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened.
• Serve with turkey.

SPICE-CURED TURKEY

Steps:

• To make the brine-- In a large stockpot combine first 13 ingredients and bring to boil.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool COMPLETELY.
• This can be made a day in advance.
• Rinse turkey and pat dry.
• Place in a large pot, or even a plastic tub big enough to hold turkey, but small enough to fit in your refrigerator.
• Add brine and enough water to cover.
• Cover container and allow to marinate overnight.
• Remove turkey from the brine and drain.
• Make spice butter by combining ingredients and mixing well.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Stuff turkey (if desired).
• Rub turkey with spice butter and place in roasting pan.
• Roast for 30 minutes then reduce heat to 390 degrees.
• Rotate pan every 30 minutes, baste as needed until the temperature reaches 180 degrees in the thigh (or if you used a breast, 160 degrees).
• If needed cover areas with foil to prevent overbrowning.
• Allow to rest 30 minutes before carving.
• This is a VERY juicy turkey recipe (you may need goggles while you cut it... haha).

HOMEMADE TURKEY SEASONING

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. To use on whole turkey, rub under skin, over skin and in body and neck cavities before roasting.

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.