Turkey with Cranberry Glaze

Turkey with Cranberry Glaze
Adapted from Alton Brown, Bobby Flay and Paula Deen
16-18lb turkey
8-10 cups chicken broth
2 onions quartered
1 small bag of baby carrots
4 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch
1 container poultry herbs
1 1/4 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions:  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Quarter the onions and cut the celery stalks into 1 inch pieces.  Finely chop the herbs.  Mix the herbs in with the butter.  Pour the chicken stock into a saucepan and warm.

Take package off of turkey.  Reach inside the cavity and take out the neck and the bag.  Rinse turkey.  Pat dry.

Salt and pepper the cavity.  Put 1/2 of the vegetables inside of the turkey.  With your hands, massage the butter mixture all over the turkey.  Try to get under the skin (without cutting holes in the skin).  Put some of the butter mixture inside the cavity.

Put the rest of the vegetables in the bottom of a roasting pan.  Pour half of the chicken stock into the bottom of the roast pan.  Place the turkey breast side down directly into the roasting pan (not on a roasting rack).

Let turkey cook for 30 minutes at 500 degrees.  Baste every 15-20 minutes.  At 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 degrees.  Cook for another hour.  Turn the turkey over so that the breast is facing upward.  This will require help!!

Continue to cook 15-16 minutes for every pound of the turkey.  Continue basting every 15-20 minutes.

The turkey will start to brown.  Don't freak out!  This is just trapping the juices in.  Continue to baste. 

I turned the turkey down to 275 after about 4 hours.

Once the turkey is done, pull it out of the oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Chop up the vegetables.

#2 Put the chicken broth in a saucepan to warm up.

#3 Finely chop all of the herbs.

#4 Add the herbs to the butter.

#5 Take the turkey out of the packaging.  Pull out the bag that is full of turkey "innards".  Throw away.

#6 Go to the other end of the turkey cavity and pull out the neck.  Throw it away.

#7 Tuck the wings up under.

#8 Place half of the onions, carrots and celery into the turkey cavity.  Salt and pepper the cavity and outside of the turkey.  Grab a big handful of butter and rub it all over the turkey.  Try to stick your hands up under the skin.  Put some butter inside the cavity.  Use all of the mixture.

#9 Place the remaining vegetables and about 3/4 of the chicken stock in the bottom of a roasting pan.  Place the turkey breast side down into the roasting pan.

#10 Place into the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. 

#11 After 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 degrees.  Continue basting every 15-20 minutes.

#12 After an hour and a half, turn the turkey over so it is breast side up. 

#13  As the turkey cooks, use your instinct.  If you think it is getting too dark or you are starting to worry, turn the oven down to 300 or 325. 

#14 This is what it looked like after cooking from 9:30-2:30.

Cranberry Glaze

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsps Apple cider vinegar

1 cup cranberry juice

1 bag of cranberries

1/2 cup apple cider

4T of butter

Directions:  Mix all ingredients and warm.  Pour over turkey.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 Put the butter in a saucepan and let it melt. 

#2 Add all of the ingredients and let it slowly warm.

The Finished Product:

Finished Product with Cranberry Glaze:

Review:

This is the the 2nd year that I have made this recipe for the turkey and it really turned out great. 

By cooking the turkey on 500 for the first 30 minutes, the skin starts to crisp up.  The herbed butter rub seeps into the skin and helps to brown it, too.

I cook the turkey breast side down for the first hour and a half.  This allow for the breast to really soak up all of those juices, then flip it over.

I just can't say enough about the cranberry glaze.  It is SO good.  Next year, though, I am not going to put the glaze on until after the turkey is sliced up.  Some of the pieces did not get the turkey glaze by me pouring it over before it was sliced but, either way, this turkey was fantastic. 

Hope you enjoy!
April

*****(5 Stars)--This dish was fantastic!